The US economy continued to grow in December. That’s the message from the incoming numbers for last month, echoing the analysis from our previous update a month ago. Although several key reports for December are still missing, the numbers published so far suggest that the economy ended 2012 on an upbeat note. Anything’s possible, of course, when it comes to yet-to-be published and revised indicators. But the early analysis of the December economic profile tells us that the odds remain low that the end of last year will mark the start of a new recession.