EconomicCrisis.US

After three years of watching the US economy sputter along at stall speed, it seems long overdue to start revving up.

Don’t bet on it.

There’s been plenty of debate over the past few years: has the US Federal Reserve been doing too much or not enough to revive the economy; did the USD 787 billion government stimulus package help, or was it a waste of money; is a double-dip recession in the wings; should we be worried about inflation or deflation ; is Washington killing the economy with regulation or is business simply gun shy; is tight lending because of a lack of demand, cautious banks, tougher regulations, or all of the above?
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The U.S. economy may have achieved a sustainable pace of growth that eases pressure on the Federal Reserve to buy more bonds while giving it time to fine tune how it informs the public about the outlook for interest rates.

“Recent economic data takes away some of the urgency for the need to engage in a new round of quantitative easing,” said Michael Feroli, a former Fed economist who is now chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York. The Federal Open Market Committee “can say, ‘Let’s wait and see if this is going to build on itself.’”
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Industrial production in the U.S. advanced more than forecast in October, adding to evidence the world’s largest economy is weathering disruptions in financial markets caused by the crisis in Europe.

Output at factories, mines and utilities climbed 0.7 percent after a revised 0.1 percent drop in September, figures from the Federal Reserve showed today. Other reports showed the cost of living unexpectedly fell and builder sentiment improved.

Combined with rising retail sales and record exports, the data signal manufacturing will help the economic recovery strengthen heading into 2012, overcoming concern surrounding a default in Europe that has caused stocks to plunge. Less inflation also opens the door for Fed policy makers to take additional action should the expansion falter.
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U.S. President Barack Obama will lay out a jobs package worth more than $300 billon on Thursday, staking his re-election hopes on a call for urgent bipartisan action to revive the faltering American economy.

With his poll numbers at new lows amid voter frustration with 9.1 percent unemployment, Obama will make tax cuts for middle-class households and businesses the centerpiece of the plan and will press for new spending to repair roads, bridges and other deteriorating infrastructure.

He will use his televised speech before a joint session of the U.S. Congress, at 7 p.m. EDT (2300 GMT), to urge passage of his “American Jobs Act” by year-end.
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