Soros Is Grim on the Next Two Years

Reuters reports:

Billionaire financier George Soros told CNBC television on Friday U.S. consumer spending would slow sharply next year as a slowdown in housing hurts purchasing power.

"There's (a) problem that I think is brewing, and that is the end of the housing boom in the United States and the ability of households to spend more than they earn because the value of their house is rising," Soros said in the interview.

"So I expect that by '07 there will be a significant decline in U.S. consumer spending and I don't see what will take its place because it's so important as a motor of the world economy," he said.

Housing prices will be a key issue the next couple of years.