Every new year begins with expressions of hope.
Some people embrace lofty hopes, such as world peace. Others hope they can make it through January without writing 2000 on their checks. The arrival of a new year is also a traditional time for predictions by pundits. The main reason pundits prognosticate at this time of year is that they know folks are so busy that it's a lot easier to get through to the Psychic Hot line. Also, pundits realize that because people are busy, they really won't remember what the predictions were.