SmallBusinessNewz

While many experts aren't exactly expecting the economy to take off this year - and as we noted Wednesday, some are worried that the recession will strike again - the National Retail Federation believes things will at least improve a bit.  It predicted that retail sales will rise by 2.5 percent in 2010.

Of course, 2.5 percent may not sound like an extraordinary figure, but it's the same amount by which retail sales decreased during 2009, so if things increase that much this year, it'll actually mean a rather impressive swing and recovery's taken place.

NRF Chief Economist Rosalind Wells seems pretty confident that the figure will prove accurate, too.  She said in a statement, "While we still expect shoppers to continue to be frugal with their discretionary spending, retailers will soon be able to reap the benefits of leaner, smarter inventories and a year and a half of pent up consumer demand."

Meanwhile, the NRF thinks international trade and government spending are liable to pick up, as well.

There's something to keep in mind, then, regardless of (or perhaps because of) however many pessimistic forecasts are presented.