Sluggish growth seen for California

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

The California economy will probably experience sluggish growth in 2006 but should avoid a recession if, as expected, housing prices cool without crashing, according to a projection issued today by the UCLA Anderson Forecast.

The state forecast mirrors similar projections for the United States, though California has benefited disproportionately from the housing boom and thus may be more vulnerable to a slowdown, Anderson economists said.

Higher rates will not help.