Hurricane Katrina's aftermath is unlikely to plunge the U.S. economy into recession -- "unless the psychological impact flips people overboard," says Jeremy Siegel, a finance professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School in a current Knowledge@Wharton Web site article.
However, rising fuel prices could knock a percentage point or two off GDP growth in the second half of 2005, he speculates. "All forms of transportation -- cars, buses, trucks, airplanes and diesel trains -- are going to be affected and will have to raise prices to cover their costs," Siegel says.
Before Katrina hit, economic forecasters generally expected the U.S. economy to grow at an inflation-adjusted annual rate above 3% from July through December of this year.
| See IndustryWeek's Hurricane Katrina News & Resources section for more on coverage and how companies are responding. |
