ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The featured speaker at a St. Louis conference says the economy may not recover for at least five more years.
Jack Strauss is director of the Simon Center for Regional Forecasting at Saint Louis University. He told KMOX that consumers are being cautious about buying cars and homes, the very expenditures that would help the U.S. recover.
Strauss says banks are holding back on loans to small businesses that create jobs.
He also fears more job losses and another recession when the stimulus funds expire in six months to a year.
Strauss was scheduled to speak Wednesday at an economic forecasting conference at Saint Louis University's John Cook School of Business.
