MARKETWATCH: SEPTEMBER 20 - 24, 2010
The September growth play picked up speed at the end of the week, as markets liked stronger than expected US business investment data from August (taking out the volatile transportation sector, durable goods orders were solid, suggesting a good third quarter) and news coming out of Germany (growth appears to have kept up, based on a reliable business sentiment indicator).
But, going forward, things are in fact complicated. Uncertainty and concern over the outlook for the
For the economy in the 4th quarter and early next year, uncertainty over tax policy is becoming a problem. Households and businesses, trying to plan, do not know whether what their tax bill will be, starting January 1st. This uncertainty appears to be starting to dampen economic activity now. With the recovery struggling, the last thing we need is avoidable policy uncertainty.