Prognostications for 2012

Prognostications for 2012 A Happy and Healthy New Year to All, and goodbye and adios to 2011. I am feeling relatively good about the New Year, and here are my prognostications for the year ahead: •With Iowa behind us, this presidential election year kicks into high gear, and we will be barraged by the left and the right, but not a peep from the center. I am not going to call this one, but I do harbor the hope that this election will ultimately break the log jam and find an effective center where our government operates at its best. •The Euro crisis will fade into the background as the EU makes hard decisions and establishes a way forward, calming the world markets. •Employment will show respectable gains in 2012, still not anywhere near pre-recession levels, but we’ll take what we can get. • The Dow will crack 13,000 by year end. I sense that the “Bear” is heading back into hibernation, and equity markets will begin a steady, long run returning smiles to the faces of Wall Street bankers. •Alas, real estate will lag the recovery, but this is not unusual. However the stage is being set for a slow and steady rebound that will gather steam later this year and hiring activity will follow suit. However it turns out, I am confident that 2012 will be a good year, and one that heralds a calming of the choppy waters.