With stocks soaring, low interest rates, inflation and unemployment being low, the 2019 economic forecast is looking bright.
“Over the past year, the U.S. economy has grown around 2%. That’s down from 3% a year ago, but still a very solid number,” said Gus Faucher, chief economist for PNC Financial Services. “And that’s close to the rate that the economy can grow over the long run without leading to higher inflation.”
Who Were The Panelist?
Joining Faucher at the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce and Calamos Investment annual economic forecast were panelists John Calamos, founder of Calamos Investments, and Caroline Harris, vice president of Tax Policy for the United States Chamber of Commerce.
They all agreed there are concerns with trade tension between the U.S. and China, but stronger homebuilding in 2019 has offset some of that, and lower mortgage rates have boosted in sales this year.
Predictions For Next Year Economic Forecast?
After a brief Q&A, panelists were asked one final question by moderator Terry Savage – what is one prediction for next year?
“I think we’ll still see a positive market in here. If had to guess, the market will be up 10-15%,” said Calamos.
“We’re cheating our economy on opportunity on growth if we don’t modernize our infrastructure and make these trade wars worth it,” said Harris. “Let’s get modern trade policy that we need.”
Though confident in their predictions, the panelists said they could change depending on who’s the next president.
Naperville News 17’s Christian Canizal reports.
