PhillyInc finds glass half-full economists again

Another day, another survey of economists who do see stronger economic growth in the second half of 2011. This time, a survey by Bloomberg News finds the median forecast of 67 economists to be 3.2 percent growth for the last six months of the year. That tracks what Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said earlier in the week and Thursday's release of the Livington Survey.

As readers are quick to remind me whenever I write about such expectations, the man on the street can't pay his mortgage or rent now on the hope of future growth. It takes money from a job and job growth continues to be sluggish.

Mayor Nutter's proposed soda tax goes before City Council today. Here's the agenda for the session that starts at 10 a.m. and here's a link to the bill page. This is round two after Council declined to adopt a 2-cents-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages in 2010.

Finally, can the market avoid a sixth straight week of declines? Thursday's rally snapped a string of six down sessions in a row. But it's Friday and it feels like summer and the market is, as always, unpredictable. We'll know when we know after the closing bell.