Russell T. Price, Sr. Economist, provides a monthly analysis on the state of the economy. http://budgeting-investing.ameriprise.com/planning-and-budgeting/financial-analysis/?cid=RSS_perspectives Following six consecutive quarters of economic contraction, which amounted to the deepest and longest period of decline since The Great Depression, the U.S. economy should enter 2010 with two quarters of fairly solid growth under its belt. Clearly we are not out of the economic woods as of yet, but we are optimistic of the economic path ahead. http://budgeting-investing.ameriprise.com/planning-and-budgeting/financial-analysis/economic-perspective/2010-01-06.pdf?cid=RSS_all Economic indicators, both in the U.S. and across the globe, continue to provide evidence of a developing economic recovery. The recovery's strength, however, remains modest and we expect conditions will remain somewhat tentative until we see sustained evidence of new hiring activity, hopefully in the first quarter of 2010. http://budgeting-investing.ameriprise.com/planning-and-budgeting/financial-analysis/economic-perspective/2009-12-02.asp?cid=RSS_all On October 29th investors cheered as the Commerce Department announced the U.S. economy’s first quarter of growth in more than a year. The agency said economic activity in the third quarter expanded by a stronger than expected 3.5%, thus ending the longest consecutive streak of economic contraction since World War II. http://budgeting-investing.ameriprise.com/planning-and-budgeting/financial-analysis/economic-perspective/2009-11-02.asp?cid=RSS_perspectives U.S. economic growth in the third calendar quarter appears on track to post its strongest growth in two or more years. We currently estimate growth for the period of about 3.2% but growth for the period could be as high as 4%. http://budgeting-investing.ameriprise.com/planning-and-budgeting/financial-analysis/economic-perspective/2009-09-30.asp?cid=RSS_perspectives