...Europe's financial crisis."Things are looking better than we thought they would ? not great, but better," said David Wyss, a former chief economist at Standard & Poor's.The most recent sign was Friday's report by the Conference Board...

...unfunded pension liabilities and retiree health liabilities are $2.26 billion and $7.5 billion, respectively.David Wyss, the chief economist at Standard & Poor's in New York, called the pension debt "the biggest headwind that the states...

...depressed housing market."There were some positive effects to the bond buying, but they were fairly transitory," said David Wyss, former chief economist at S&P and now a visiting fellow at Brown University.Still, Zandi said critics should recall...

...think the best that can be said right now is that the pace of decline has slowed, but we are still heading down," said David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor's in New York. "Any recovery is still a work in progress." Mr. Wyss predicted...

...showed weakness in everything from consumer spending to manufacturing. "It could be a rather blue Christmas," said David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor's. Last month's jobless rate increased from 5.6 percent in September, and...

...a temporary ripple in the economy, experts say. "It is a minor nuisance, as opposed to a major disaster," said David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poors. He added that the closures were too short to have a significant effect on overall...

...away at consumers' disposable income."Consumers are back, but whether they will stay is the big question," said David Wyss, the chief economist at Standard & Poor's in New York.Retail sales rose 1 percent last month, the Commerce Department...

...could falter next year as unemployment keeps rising. "We have a recovery, but it is going to be a slow one," said David Wyss, the chief economist at Standard & Poor's in New York. "People are still reluctant to add workers." In one hopeful...

...be seeing the end of the beginning of this recession, but it is not the beginning of the end of the downturn," said David Wyss, the chief economist at Standard & Poor's in New York. Still, the recent news has been better than expected. On...

...meantime, Americans likely will be spending only warily."Clearly, the consumer is being more cautious now," said David Wyss, the chief economist at Standard & Poor's in New York.Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity...