At the 16^th annual Automotive Outlook Symposium sponsored by the Chicago Federal Reserve, the following median economic forecast of participants was presented:
 
"The nation’s economic growth in 2009 will be substantially slower than in 2008, inflation will turn negative (because of lower energy prices and the large amount of slack in the economy), and the unemployment rate will rise substantially. Real GDP, after having fallen 0.8% last year, is forecasted to decrease 1.8% this year and then rise to an above-trend rate of 3.2% in 2010. After rising 1.5% last year, inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, is expected decline 0.5% this year and then rise at a moderate pace of 1.6% in 2010. The unemployment rate, after having …