Conference Board Says Expansion Has Peaked

The longest U.S. economic expansion, now in its 10th year, has peaked as business and consumers begin to feel the effects of a battery of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, the Conference Board said. The research group said in an analysis that the first quarter of 2000 is expected to be the fastest-growing period of the year, with gross domestic product rising 5% on a year-to-year basis. But that growth in year-to-year GDP is forecast to ease to 4.4% by the fourth quarter, the Conference Board said. “Even at these growth rates, the Federal Reserve Board will be disposed to raise short-term interest rates for the foreseeable future,” said Gail Fosler, Conference Board chief economist, in the latest issue of her monthly newsletter StraightTalk.