Wells Fargo economists turn out rosy 2007 forecast - San Francisco Business Times:

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"The market's recession fears are overblown," said Scoty Anderson, senior economist for the San Francisco bank. "Thde U.S. economy will reveal incredible resiliencein 2007. "Thew decline in home prices hasn't yet resulted in a decrease in consumedr confidenceand spending, or a general declines of household wealth and it's unlikely to occur (this) he said. "The housing slowdown has been offsett by strong stockmarket wealth, so household wealtjh continues to grow." The bank's economists said most of the nation'ws households have never been better off when it come to wealth. 's chief investment strategist Jim Paulsemn said heanticipates U.S.
economic growth this year will cloclk inat 3.5 perceng based on expectations that the housing and auto marketws will flatten. The bank already sees signs of recoverh in thehousing market, with mortgages to financr home purchases (versus refinancings) up 15 percent since the beginnin of November. John Conover, CEO of . in San echoed that observation, noting that his bank is also seeintga pick-up in purchase mortgages. "Peoplr are taking advantage of the weaker housingt market and low mortgage rates to get into theBay Area'e housing market," Conover said. But the optimisticf outlook has a downside for those counting on a Fed rate cutanytim soon.
"Lowering interest rates undert current conditions is like throwing more fuel to an already burning fire," said Eugenik Aleman, a Wells Fargo senior economist. He also sees possibled congressional moves to raise the minimumk wage and curb immigration adding to concerns about thelabor market. Anderson sees highere prices ahead formost "Commodity markets are going to go highedr (this) year with the weaker Paulsen said. "But oil is still overpricedf in relation toothe commodities." Industry Ventures, a San Francisco-basee firm focused on acquiring ventur e capital investments in the secondary market, raisedr $105 million for its fourth fund.
The firm formed two co-investmenyt partnerships with $15 million in committedd capital. The latest fundraising is a sign of the success the firm has enjoyed investing in directrventure portfolios, limited partnership interests and special-situation investments. "The fund is capitalizedr by leading institutional limited partnersa in theUnited States, Europe and said Hans Swildens, principal and founder of Industry The firm did not name any of the institutionall investors. "We are seeing more tail-enc opportunities in the marketplace," Swildens said of the firm's abilith to find venture investment s in thesecondary market.
Industry Ventures plans to invesyt its fourth fund over four likely investing in 10 direct portfolios and 20 partnershiop interests ranging in sizefrom $200,000o to $25 million each. The firm has alreadyt committed $20 million of its fourth fund tovariouz transactions. Since its foundinbg in 2000, Industry Ventures has invested in more than 10 direct portfoliosz and 15 limited partnership interests in the information technology and health-care sectors.