Good news raises hopes recovery won't fizzle

[ProSense]

Good news raises hopes recovery won't fizzle

By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON – A flurry of good news this week — including falling jobless claims, stronger consumer spending and higher new-home sales — suggests the economic rebound, modest though it is, might just be here to stay.

While analysts caution that the recovery will be too sluggish to stop the unemployment rate from rising, the reports are at least encouraging enough to calm fears of a dreaded "double-dip" recession.

"This recovery continues to trudge ahead," said economist Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics. "It is not a gallop. But it is still forward movement."

Looked at together, the reports the government issued Wednesday signaled that the final quarter of 2009 at least got off to a decent start. And holiday sales should be slightly better than last year's figures, which were the worst since at least 1969.

The number of newly laid-off workers filing applications for unemployment aid fell by 35,000 last week to 466,000, the Labor Department said. It marked the fewest new filings since September of last year.

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[Cha]

1. I certainlyl hope not..it's our

country and I want it to make a comeback from the 8 years of being abused by the facists, bush-cheney ilk.

[valerief]

2. Whose recovery? Bankers and their ilk? They're the only ones recovering. nt