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Esteemed Santa Clara University Professor of Economics, Mario Belotti, Shares Upbeat Economic ForecastSanta Clara University's esteemed economist Mario Belotti, the W.M. Keck Foundation Professor of Economics, shared his largely upbeat annual economic forecast Jan. 20, before a roomful of Bay Area business leaders, bankers, and students, some of whom Dr. Belotti has advised for decades. Dr. Belotti's forecast, which he has been sharing nearly every year since 1970, coincided with the recent publication of his autobiography, It Was All for the Love of a Horse: A Life Story, recounting his life and history as the son of a sharecropper in Italy through his 55-year tenure at Santa Clara University. At the event Tuesday, Dr. Belotti predicted that the U.S. economy will continue to grow, at pace of 3.2% to 3.3% for 2015. That predicted GDP growth rate, which is lower than in recent quarters, was held back by problems in international economies and the 12-year high in the value of the dollar, which makes exports more expensive and imports cheaper. Dr. Belotti suggested that growth in the GDP will come from:
Dr. Belotti also predicted that interest rates will stay low for the majority of the year, as the Federal Reserve said it will be "patient" with interest rate increases, and that inflation could be a bit higher this year than last, perhaps close to 2 percent. Oil prices will probably not fall below $40 a barrel, he said, but rather will level off at about $50 a barrel, keeping gasoline prices low for the year.
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