Growth was clearly weaker in the fourth quarter. But the ECB will call that an exception and say growth will accelerate. The bank will raise rates in March and possibly sometime thereafter.

132

The trend of slight increases in industrial production will continue, because the environment is very positive and companies are profiting from demand. We can expect a relatively good first quarter in terms of economic growth.

110

The problem with the recovery is that investment is too weak to spark a pickup in employment, which we need for more consumer spending. But growth rates should bounce back. We see 0.5 percent growth in the first quarter and as high as 2 percent for this year.

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