Briefly:

(December 27, 2007) Economists at Desjardins Group released their forecast for next year, and they’ve concluded that a U.S. recession can be avoided.

The economists predict that real GDP growth in the U.S. will be 2% next year. Despite a 40% risk of recession, the company thinks the U.S. Federal Reserve will continue to cut rates to help the economy. It expects a 35 basis point cut at each of the next three Fed meetings.

By 2009 “the storm will have passed and the economy will regain strength with growth of 2.6%, very close to potential,” says François Dupuis, vice-president and chief economist at Desjardins.

Stock markets will still be volatile next year, say the economists, as sub-prime concerns haven’t evaporated. Still, key North American indexes should advance by about 5% to 10% over the next two years.

GGOF files preliminary prospectus for mining LP

(December 27, 2007) GGOF recently announced that it filed a preliminary prospectus on behalf of the GGOF 2008-I Mining Flow-Through limited partnership.

The maximum gross proceeds of the offering is set at 2 million units or $50 million.

The partnership’s investment objective is to give holders a tax-assisted investment in a diversified portfolio of equity securities of mining issuers with a view to earning income and achieving capital appreciation.

To achieve its objective, GGOF will invest in flow-through shares of mining issuers that have experienced management, have a strong exploration program in place, may require time to mature and offer the potential for future growth. The partnership’s portfolio manager expects to invest the portfolio primarily in mining issuers listed on the TSX.

(12/27/07)

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.