Year-End Economy Appears Resilient; Figures Strong Despite Housing, Inflation Worries
The U.S. economy is ending the year with a flurry of good news, including signs that inflation has receded, consumers are spending money briskly and growth is likely to continue well into 2007.</br></br>"Here comes Santa Claus!" Mark Vitner, a senior economist at Wachovia, wrote to clients after a new batch of favorable statistics was released yesterday. "All we wanted this holiday season was a little more growth and a little less inflation. Boy oh boy, has Santa delivered."</br></br>Nearly gone is the inflation scare of the spring and summer, as are investors' doubts about whether a new Federal Reserve chairman would be tough enough to beat back price increases. And almost gone are analysts' worries that the slumping housing market would curb consumer spending and trigger a recession.</br></br>On the contrary, Wall Street loosened the corks in the champagne bottles all week as each unexpectedly rosy economic figure rolled in.</br></br>Inflation, for the moment, is at 0 percent: The consumer price index was unchanged in November, as falling fuel prices and discounts on such items as clothing, electronics, airfares and hotel rooms offset increased prices for many other goods and services, the Labor Department said yesterday.