U-M economists see steady growth

Predicting that the gross domestic product (GDP) will grow by 2.6% in 1996 compared to barely 2% this year, University of Michigan Economist Saul Hyman is quoted in The Detroit Free Press as saying he expects "little change in the employment rate and subdued inflation," with little reason for the Federal Reserve Board to raise interest rates. That bodes well, he says, for continued high -- if not brisk -- car and truck sales for '96 and '97. Richard Curtin, director of U-M's consumer surveys, now predicts flat '96 sales and a falloff of 100,000 on an annualized basis through '97, says the Free Press.