While the euro-zone crisis continues to depress the economic outlook here stateside, the U.S. economy is growing and we will see ""a decent close to a tough year,"" according to a fourth-quarter report from Fannie Mae.
[IMAGE] [COLUMN_BREAK]The fourth quarter will end with more than 2.5 percent economic growth, making it the best-performing quarter in 2011.
Fannie Mae also notes that 140,000 private sector jobs were added in November, while September and October employment data was revised upward.
The report also mentioned ""slight improvements in housing.""
However, Fannie Mae predicts the positive momentum will slow as we move into the new year.
Second and third quarter data for wages, salaries, and real disposable income were revised downward.
Additionally, consumer spending rose, surpassing income growth, which caused the saving rate to fall from 4.8 percent to 3.8 percent in the third quarter. This is the lowest saving rate since the fourth quarter of 2007.