Happy New Year!
It was a cold and gray day here in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, so I spent the day reading rather than on the slopes. I read TIME Magazine’s “Person of the Year” coverage on Barack Obama and it left me highly optimistic that competent leadership, something we’ve lacked for a very long time in the United States, can lead to good things happening faster than people may expect.
The US economy is obviously deeply sick, but between the optimism Obama’s administration embodies, combined with the decline in energy costs, super-low interest rates, and the substantial stimulus package he’s promising, I expect a shift in consumer confidence sooner than many of the pessimistic reports that are dominating the headlines.
I wish everyone — friends, family, and business colleagues around the world (Canada, India, Peru, Philippines, Romania, and Ukraine) — a happy, healthy and prosperous 2009!