US economy’s gloom expected to begin lifting by late ’09

If there is a silver lining, it is that as the year progresses, economists expect the rate of decline in the economy to start to slow – with some modest growth possible by the last quarter of the year.

Before the skies brighten, however, unemployment will rise, business bankruptcies will accelerate, housing prices will continue to fall, and consumer confidence will remain low, according to most forecasts.

"It's a struggle to say there is an upbeat outlook," says Richard DeKaser, Washington-based chief economist at National City Corp. "We would not call the forecast for 2009 optimistic." …