Retail Recovering

Economy may be rebounding faster than anticipated. There was an increase in March retail sales of 1.6%. This boost in retail sales is giving forecasters hope that the 8.2 million jobs that have been lost since the recession began may be coming back. Some believe we are underestimating the strength of the recovery. Historically, long recessions are typically followed by steeper recoveries. Many economists are stating that their growth forecast for the next 18 months was probably too low. After the retail report came out the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied to over 11000, which was up 7.6% over last year at the same time. This was the largest increase since July of 2005. Although many factors that have held the economy back, like bad debt, wounded banks, and many foreclosed homes, still prevail, the outlook is positive. The Federal Reserve appears to be keeping interest rates low in order to shore up growth. This may cause inflation adjusted spending to rise at a rate of more than 3% instead of the forecasted 2%. Hopefully, this increase in spending will be supported by increased incomes so that the U.S. won't be back in the cycle of bad debt and a tight money supply. Only the future will tell. I say Americans go out and buy a new car, go out to dinner, remodel your house, and go on vacations.
Keep the economy growing.