Why Economists See a Stronger Second Half for 2011

Farewell and good riddance to the first half of 2011—six months that are ending as sour for the economy as they began.

Most analysts say economic growth will perk up in the second half of the year. The reason is that the main causes of the slowdown—high oil prices and manufacturing delays because of the disaster in Japan—have started to fade.

"Some of the headwinds that caused us to slow are turning into tail winds," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.