Forecast: Growth for SoCal, Less for US

FULLERTON, CA-Orange County and the rest of the Southland should see a modest amount of economic growth over the next six months, a new report says, even as the rest of the US flirts with but avoids a full blown recession.

The forecast is based on an index of leading economic indicators compiled by the Cal State Fullerton Institute for Economic and Environmental Studies. The Southern California index rose 0.86% in the latest quarter from the previous quarter, the school says, its biggest gain in a year.

The national index rose only 0.37%. That means the US economy in general will likely poke along over the next six months, but that a full-blown recession will probably be averted.