Good news on the economy

Despite fears that the exceptionally tough hurricane season might damage the economy, the latest report by the National Association of Business Economists raised the 2005 estimate one-tenth to 3.6%.

The hurricanes failed to blow the US economy off course, according to Carl Tannenbaum, NABE vice president and chief economist. The NABE economists predict strong GDP growth next year, which should be enough to push the Federal Reserve to continue to increase interest rates.

The economists say they expect the Federal Reserve to keep lifting interest rates to 4.75 percent by the end of 2006 from the current 4.0 percent.

In related good news, the National Retail Federation just raised their estimate for the Holiday season from a 5% increase over 2004 to 6%.

Merry Christmas!