Last May, Liz Ann Sonders predicted that the recession was over.
The chief investment strategist for Charles Schwab & Co. says for that bit of early optimism she was lambasted. In fact, she says, her declaration was so at odds with the conventional wisdom that she was invited on national TV to be defend her position.
The pessimism was so pervasive back then, she says. That alone is a sign that the bottom had struck and the only direction from there was up. (Most economists now say the recession ended sometime last year.)
Sonders stopped by The Baltimore Sun's office recently and updated her forecast. She is more optimistic about the economy than the stock market.
And what so many of us care about, the job market?
Good signs, she says. The four-week average for initial unemployment claims is down. And she predicts the next monthly unemployment numbers out in early April will show the creation of jobs, not more losses.
It's not that far away. We'll see if Sonders' optimism is on target.