Economy & Recession Will Dominate Obama's Denver Visit

DENVER (CBS4) - President Obama will be in Denver next week to push his plan for creating jobs. He'll be at Lincoln High School on Tuesday as part of a Western state swing. He'll also spend some of his time in the West fundraising.

The economy and recession worries will dominate his visit.

The Federal Reserve has now signaled the economy could stay in a slump for years, and for many people it feels as if America is already in another recession.

The economic landscape is bleak, but some Coloradans still see a glass half full. Who opens a new business in this economy? Meet Daniel Louis, the owner of Revampt in Denver. Forty percent of people say they've cut back on spending in the last two months. Still, Louis, 26, decided to throw caution and all the economic indicators to the wind and open a store with products made entirely of recycled materials.

"We're staying afloat," Louis said.

It's a good sign -- and it's not the only one. Hannah Mullen is among a growing number of first-time home buyers. Sales in the metro Denver jumped to nearly 4,000 last month -- an increase of 3.5 percent over July and 29 percent over a year ago.

"I'm definitely seeing more confidence and excitement from home buyers right now," realtor Aaron Lebovic said.

Lebovic says home prices are finally stabilizing and interest rates are at a record low. For Mullen, owning costs less than renting, but her husband needed a little convincing.

"I told him it's just time; all signs were pointing to it," Mullen said.

It may be hard to find signs of hope with all the dark clouds building, but they're there.

"It's definitely hard times and I think if everyone does their part to get out of that, we can do it," Louis said.

Louis' store is one of three new ones to open in Cherry Creek in just the last six months.