Research and Markets: Country Forecast United States Updater Forecasts GDP Growth of 2.2% in 2012 and an Annual Average of 2.3% in 2013-16

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dublin - Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/097ce1bc/country_forecast_u) has announced the addition of the "Country Forecast United States Updater" report to their offering.

Republican control of the House of Representatives since late 2010, has slowed the legislative process almost to a halt. An improvement is highly unlikely before the elections in November 2012. The re-election bid of the president, Barack Obama, will be heavily dependent on the performance of the economy.

Mitt Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, has essentially secured the Republican nomination for president and will now increasingly focus on the general election, which is his to lose. The outlook for the public finances is poor, with large budget deficits forecast over the next two years.

Private job creation has improved recently, but the unemployment rate remains stubbornly high. Rising energy prices will keep upward pressure on headline inflation, but core inflation is still comfortable. The Fed ended its programme of quantitative easing (QE2) at the end of June last year, but is lengthening the maturity of its portfolio of US Treasuries to try to push down long-term interest rates.

We do not expect the Fed to start raising its policy rate until 2014. We forecast GDP growth of 2.2% in 2012, and an annual average of 2.3% in 2013-16.

Mitt Romney has effectively secured the Republican presidential nomination with a string of victories in key primaries. He will aim to focus on the general election campaign, but his main challenger, Rick Santorum, has the resources to drag out the primary campaign for some weeks.

The Supreme Court has heard a legal challenge to the president's signature healthcare reform. If it strikes down the individual mandate (a key component that requires US residents to obtain health insurance), the whole reform could fall--or Congress may have to return to the issue, because the remaining provisions would become unworkable.

Key Topics Covered:

Country Forecast United States Updater

United States of America at a glance: 2012-16

Country forecast overview: Highlights

Country forecast overview: Key indicators

Country forecast overview: Business environment rankings

Country forecast overview: United States of America's business environment

Fact sheet

Outlook for 2012-16: Political stability

Outlook for 2012-16: Election watch

Outlook for 2012-16: International relations

Outlook for 2012-16: Policy trends

Outlook for 2012-16: Fiscal policy

Outlook for 2012-16: Monetary policy

Outlook for 2012-16: Economic growth

Outlook for 2012-16: Inflation

Outlook for 2012-16: Exchange rates

Outlook for 2012-16: External sector

Data summary: Global outlook

Data summary: Gross domestic product, current market prices

Data summary: Gross domestic product, at constant prices

Data summary: Gross domestic product by sector of origin

Data summary: Growth and productivity

Data summary: Economic structure, income and market size

Data summary: Fiscal indicators

Data summary: Monetary indicators

Data summary: Employment, wages and prices

Data summary: Current account and terms of trade

Data summary: Foreign direct investment

Data sources and definitions

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