MALVEAUX: All right. New York Stock Exchange closed to observe the new year. Giving us a moment to look back at the economy's thrills, spills in 2011. Alison Kosik in New York. So, what kind of year was this for Wall Street 2011? Do we want to see that gone?</s>ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, you think about how to describe 2011, Suzanne, it was certainly volatile and investors, they're probably really happy that 2011 is now history. You know, what's interesting is that last year it start out really strong, but with -- by the time the summertime came around, you know, there was a lot of drama going on. For one, the debt ceiling debacle was happening in Washington. It shook investors confidence to the core. And it's really the reason the ratings agency, Standard & Poor's, cut its rating on the U.S.'s debt. Then, of course, there was the ongoing debt crisis in Europe. That had investors pulling their money out of markets in Europe and here in the U.S. And through all of that, the economy was ever so slowly recovering. But in the end, the major market averages came away with mixed results, although it felt like we were on a treadmill for most of the year. We just ended up kind of in the same place. Kind of where we started, Suzanne.</s>MALVEAUX: That's kind of bizarre, actually. Crystal ball here, 2012. What are you expecting?</s>KOSIK: OK. So the crystal ball is that there is actually some optimism that stocks are going to have a better year in 2012, partly because, you know what, the economy is expected to perk up. Economists surveyed by CNN "Money," they expect growth this year to be at a 3.2 percent rate. That's about double what we had in the first nine months all together of 2011. So that's good news right there for you. Suzanne.</s>MALVEAUX: All right, Alison, love the good news. CNN NEWSROOM with Drew Griffin is going to start right after a quick break.
2011 Economy Thrills And Spills