Experts agree: The economy will remain in the garbage pail for the remainder of 2010. A poll conducted by Reuters shows that economists are ratcheting down their expectations for the rest of this year. They expect U.S. GDP to inch upward at an annualized rate of 1.8 percent in the third quarter and 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter.

That’s down from economists’ rosier predictions a month ago. Then, they predicted 2.4 percent annualized growth in the third quarter and a 2.5 percent growth rate in the fourth quarter. Factors influencing the gloomier outlook include persistent unemployment, a stagnant housing market and rattled consumers.

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