"Cautious optimism" may be the best way to describe one local expert's outlook for the local, national, and world economies. This afternoon, Deere and Company chief economist, J.B. Penn gave his annual forecast to the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce.
Penn says the US is the world's largest single economy, and he believes it will grow 3 per cent this year. He's equally upbeat about the Quad Cities and the midwest.
The world economy should also do pretty well.
He says the farm economy is slowing down after several years of strong growth, but it's not expected to hold back the overall US economy. He's predicting continued growth in employment and housing starts.
For Deere, Penn's job is to follow business, political, and economic conditions where-ever the company makes and sells products.
