RJ and Makay

No one's promising a rose garden, but economists do seem increasingly optimistic. According to a Reuters poll released today, the consensus for 2011 among 80 economists surveyed is for overall GDP growth of 3%, up from the 2.7% forecasted in December and the 2.3% predicted in November.

Growth expectations for the first and second quarters of 2011 also rose dramatically, to 3.2% from 2.7% and 2.8%, respectively, in last month's poll. "The upgrade in view has been due to better data, more fiscal stimulus in 2011 than we had expected — particularly the payroll tax cut which was not anticipated — and analysis that suggested households have now increased saving," says Goldman Sachs economist Andrew Tilton.