MarketWatch (04/22/13) Jeffry Bartash

Even though Friday’s gross domestic product numbers are expected to be favorable, softer consumer spending, tepid manufacturing growth, and a slower pace of private-sector hiring point to a midyear economic slowdown. “It’s just like 2012. There will be ups and downs throughout the year,” says Paul Edelstein, director of financial economics at IHS Global Insight. “We’re in an uneven recovery.” Economists surveyed by MarketWatch forecast that growth will slow to 1.8% or less in the second quarter. However, Ryan Sweet of Moody’s Analytics says, “I don’t think there is any reason to worry about a recession.”