Amid deepening economic gloom, some see hope

Even as economic indicators point to an increasingly brutal recession, some analysts see tentative signs of a bottom in sight for the worst economic slump in decades.

Few economic forecasters are calling for a quick improvement but some argue that data point to stabilization in the housing market, credit flows and even the troubled auto sector.

The sharp rise in unemployment is worrisome, but this often peaks near the end of an economic downturn, said Robert Brusca at FAO Economics.

"Typically you get these sharp spikes at the end of recessions," Brusca said.

"It's a little early to make this call but I'm suggesting it may be appropriate to think of the end of the recession by mid-year."

Brusca said his outlook was unfazed by Friday's news that the US unemployment rate surged to a 16-year high of 7.6 percent in January as 598,000 jobs were lost.

"The last three months have been terrible, but service sector losses are not getting worse," he said. "In manufacturing, losses are probably due to piled up inventories."

The housing market, which ignited the global economic firestorm with the bursting of the US real estate bubble, is also showing some signs of steadying, say some economists.

"The worst housing downturn in memory will stabilize by the end of this year," said Economy.com's Celia Chen.

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