Loitering universe

An expanding Friedmann cosmology that undergoes a recent phase of very slow expansion, or 'loitering', is examined. This scenario leads to an old universe in which large-amplitude inhomogeneities grow while producing little anisotropy in the microwave background radiation. Before loitering, the universe is expected to have gone through the usual radiation-dominated and matter-dominated phases. The loitering phase comes after this standard Einstein-de Sitter phase. It is proposed that the universe in its present state is in a late inflationary phase. It is shown that in such a cosmology the age of the universe can be significantly larger than H0 exp -1, thus eliminating any problem with globular cluster ages. Also, density inhomogeneities grow in such a way as to produce smaller microwave anisotropies in comparison with the present level of inhomogeneity.