Economist | featured news

A raft of monthly economic data early next week could show that China's growth momentum is starting to peak, some economists say, as the impact of stimulus spending wears off and Beijing steps up its efforts to rein in property speculation and other excesses.

Government economic forecasters say President Obama's healthcare overhaul will increase the nation's healthcare tab instead of bringing costs down. The report by economic experts at the Department of Health and Human Services, released late Thursday, says the healthcare remake will achieve Obama's aim of expanding coverage.

Economist says recovery is stronger than thought; 4-percent economic expansion expected this year.

The committee of academic economists that dates the beginning and end of recessions said it isn't ready to put an end date on the recession that began in December 2007.

Economists had expected the snowstorms to have a bigger impact, but job losses were surprisingly mild in February as employers cut 36,000 jobs.

In a report to be released Friday, Harvard and USC economists say legislation being considered would slow cost increases and free up money for companies to raise wages and hire more workers.

National healthcare legislation in Congress could slow the growth of medical costs, allowing employers to create 250,000 to 400,000 new jobs a year over the next decade, economists from Harvard University and USC are predicting.

Unemployment will top out this month at 12.7%, but the recovery will take years, UCLA economists say.

California's jobless rate is close to peaking, but the recovery will be sluggish, with employers not expected to resume hiring until at least next spring, according to new forecasts by UCLA and other analysts.

Economists expect the joblessness that has weighed down the nation's economic recovery will start to slowly abate in 2010, but they predict consumers will continue to keep a tight rein on spending, according to a new survey.

President Obama said he was looking for a "careful balance" when sketching his blueprint to stabilize the nation's financial sector and wring from the system the kind of risky practices that propelled the country into economic turmoil.