Economy Is on an Upswing, Says Dr. Doom

The financial crisis is over and the worst of the recession is behind us, writes Nouriel Roubini, the extremely pessimistic economist who was among the few who predicted the scale of the downturn. "The light at the end of the tunnel is for once not an incoming train," he told investors at a lecture yesterday in New York. But with unemployment in the US nearing 10%, Roubini thinks a second stimulus is necessary.

Roubini suggested that the second stimulus should be in the range of $200 to 250 billion—"not too small, not too big." Stock markets rallied after Roubini's remarks, which suggested that the American economy will return to growth before the end of the year, Reuters reports. But late yesterday the economist felt compelled to issue a statement that "my views expressed today are no different than the views I have expressed previously."
(More Nouriel Roubini stories.)