No Recession for 2008?

We’ve spent a bit of time here explaining some ways to prepare for a recession next year. Sometime around the end of this past summer, it was nearly a foregone conclusion that we were on a sinking ship and a recession was looming around the bend. Well, it looks like things aren’t looking quite so bad now. In fact, we may have just about weathered the storm and next year might actually be a bit better.

According to this article in CNNMoney, a recession is not imminent: “Recession is not around the corner. The consensus of the 52 economists polled each month by Blue Chip Economic Indicators is that the economy will kick off 2008 with annualized growth at the sluggish pace of 2 percent or so in the first quarter. Then it will gradually pick up steam and close out the year chugging along at just under 3 percent (see the chart at right), roughly in line with the U.S. economy’s long-term annual growth rate.”

Still, it’s probably good advice to read through the ideas to recession proof your portfolio. You can never be too prepared for a downturn, and paying close attention to your portfolio will help you isolate weaknesses in your game plan.