The U.S. economy looks set to deliver a repeat performance in 2012: for the third straight year, it may suffer a swoon yet not slip into a recession.

"I don't think the slowdown will be any more consequential than the past two years," said John Ryding, a former Federal Reserve researcher who is chief economist at RDQ Economics LLC in New York. "There are positives out there in the economy. We'll avoid a recession."

The decline in financial failure has been one of the big themes of the U.S. economic recovery over the past few years. As a general rule, corporate bankruptcies, debt defaults, and bank failures have been decreasing steadily.

HAVE you been eating more at restaurants with waiters rather than fast-food joints?

If so, you are not alone, and that in fact is an indication that the American economy is improving.