By Stephen Kyne
If there’s a consensus about 2016, it seems to be that it was entirely too long. It wasn’t bad enough that it was a leap year. There was even a “leap second” on Dec. 31.
The year that killed the celebrities we loved just wouldn’t seem to die. Now that it’s over, and Betty White is safe, we can reflect on the year that was and turn an eye toward the new year.
Once again, U.S. GDP grew as expected last year, with annual figures likely to come in somewhere in the 2.1-2.5 percent range, which has been the average growth rate since the recession. We do anticipate potential for increased growth in the coming year as many economic, policy, and regulatory headwinds dissipate. At worst, we expect the same slow growth to continue and expect the likelihood of an imminent recession to be extremely low.