Sources:  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PNC Financial Services Group, Colliers International Q3 2011 Office North America Highlights

On October 24^th, at the Heinz History Center, the PNC Financial Services Group presented a Post-Gazette Town Meeting on the economic outlook for 2012. The discussion was moderated by Executive Editor David Shribman, and featured panelists Stuart G. Hoffman, chief economist of PNC; Paul O’Neill, former secretary of the Treasury; Heidi Przbyla, political reporter for Bloomberg News, and Guhan Venkatu, economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that America’s languid economy — low growth, high unemployment and no obvious way out — has perplexed and befuddled the nation’s top financial minds. Except for two months, the unemployment rate in the United States has not been below 9 percent since April 2009. Forty-five percent of the jobless have been out of work for six months or more.

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