In the recent MDM Webcast, the 2012 Economic Outlook: Looking Forward in Fragile Times, available here, economists reported that while there are many bright spots in the economy going into 2012, uncertainty still pervades the environment thanks to political gridlock in Washington, the financial crisis in Europe and ongoing construction weakness.

The bottom line of MDM’s recent Economic Outlook webcast: The U.S. is unlikely to go into a double-dip recession.

Growth slowed considerably in the first quarter of this year, and it was anemic at best in the second and third quarters, according to...