RJ and Makay

It may not be necessary to complete the second round of quantitative easing (QE2), the Federal Reserve's $600 billion bond-buying program aimed at stimulating the U.S. economy, suggests St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard. “The economy is looking pretty good,” he explains. "It's still reasonable to review QE2 at coming meetings, especially this April, and see if we want to finish the program or stop a little bit short."

However, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has given no indication the central bank will deviate from its plan to buy bonds through June to spur economic growth and reduce unemployment. In two days of congressional testimony earlier this month, Bernanke said that while growth will accelerate in 2011, he still wants to see a sustained period of stronger job creation before curtailing economic stimulus.

Citigroup economist Willem Buiter is calling it: By 2020, less than nine years from now, the U.S. economy will slip from #1 in the world to #2. By 2050, it'll be #3.

"China should overtake the U.S. to become the largest economy in the world by 2020, then be overtaken by India by 2050," Buiter predicts. Nevertheless, his global economic projections suggest that generally good times are ahead.