Goldman Sachs 2011 Forecast

Goldman Sachs 2011 Forecast Would Be An Absolute Disaster For Dems

By James Pethokoukis, Reuters | 23 July 2010

This would be New Normal with extreme prejudice. Bad for Democratic incumbents in the 2010 congressional midterms, but it should make the White House political team nervous as well for 2012. If Goldman Sachs is right, of course. Here is the firm's 2011 forecast:

The key features of our 2011 outlook: (1) a strengthening in growth from 2.1% on average in 2010 to 2.4% in 2011, with real GDP rising at an above-potential 3½% pace in late 2011; (2) a peaking in unemployment in mid-2011 at about 10¾%; (3) extremely low inflation— close to zero on a core basis during 2011; and (4) a continuation of the Fed's (near) zero interest rate policy (ZIRP) throughout 2011. That said, we see risks that could upset this outlook. On the one hand, we might be underestimating the vigor of the economic recovery, and therefore the pressures for Fed tightening. In addition, surging asset prices and worries about a "bubble" could prompt Fed officials to tighten before such a move seems warranted on real-economy grounds. On the other hand, the economy (and the markets) could struggle under the weight of credit restraint for small businesses, weakness in commercial real estate markets, or fiscal tightening, especially by state and local governments.

The implications? I hardly know where to begin: a) with unemployment rising all next year, a GOP blowout in 2010; b) certainly more job creation packages; c) no cap-and-trade; d) increased anti-Wall Street/Fed sentiment; e) third party prez candidate in 2012; an Obama challenger in 2012 (Dean?). But who really knows. This would be like a 'technological singularity' where seeing beyond the event is pretty much impossible. Such a Long Recession (essentially) would be so contrary to American expectations— such a slow-mo, psychological shock— that it would be a full-out system perturbation equivalent to 9-11 or the Iraq War.