Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 05/2010

The Year to Date

John H. Makin

March 2011

American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research

Abstract

The array of postbubble stresses and uncertainties identified in the January 2010 Economic Outlook ("The Year Ahead") promised that the new year would see plenty of volatility in markets. That is exactly what is playing out as we move through the first quarter. As risks accumulate, it may be that 2010 is shaping up as a mirror image of 2009, reversing last year's down-then-up pattern with an up-then-down pattern this year.