New Year's Possibilities

That's what IBD call their version of predictions for the coming year. There are 8 of them, one forecasts rough weather ahead for Cuba. Take their description of current conditions:

The lights are going out for Fidel Castro, and the likelihood of unrest is growing. A destitute population and a corrupt party elite desperate to defend its privileges could be a powder keg. The 81-year-old Cuban dictator ceded power to his brother, Raul, 76, last year. The transition may look smooth enough, because the latter already can project power, leading Cuba's military, which controls 60% of Cuba's enterprises.

Another concerns the Bush legacy:

If the economy does skirt recession and strengthens in the second half, expect a grudging, Trumanesque reappraisal of the Bush presidency. But as with the erosion of the global-warming consensus, it'll probably take years for an objective verdict on Bush to come in. The economy itself should stand as a hallmark of success. After inheriting a recession and the after-effects of a stock crash that in many ways was worse than 1929, he moved decisively to cut taxes and, though he gets little credit for it, eschewed cuts in federal spending to ensure that stimulus would not be diluted.

A bit of reading for those house bound on this evening.