The US economy is likely to grow by between 2.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent this year, avoiding a slide back into recession, US National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) president Mr Martin Feldstein said has said.

"The most likely thing is that we will have economic growth in the 2.5-3.5 per cent range," Mr Feldstein said on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the Mexican beach resort of Los Cabos.

The NBER is a private body but it is designated as the official arbiter of US business cycles, providing the final word on dating recessions and economic expansions.

Increased investment was the key to economic recovery, Mr Feldstein said. Business investment was picking up, despite sentiment among many corporate executives that it remained stagnant, he said.

Mr Sy Sternberg, chairman, president and chief executive of New York Life Insurance, disagreed. He said he expected no pick-up in business investment for about 12 months. "It's not happening anytime soon," he said.

The Commerce Department had reported that business investment excluding structures was already rising in the second quarter despite weak corporate profits, which improved in the third quarter. - (AFP)