ECONOMY

Business Council Sees Soft Landing: The council, a group of chief executives of 100 of the largest corporations, forecast a milder pace of economic activity, without a recession. Growth in the nation’s output of goods and services will slow to an annual rate of 2.3% during the next seven quarters, compared to a robust expansion rate of 4.3% in the past 18 months. Although the economists from manufacturing firms see some weakness in their industries, they agree that “a recession will be avoided and late next year the pace of economic growth will pick up again.” Inflation is expected to rise to 3.5%, accelerating from 2.8%, the economists said.