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For Immediate Release August 12, 2008
Contact: Cristi Allen
callen@decisionanalyst.com
Phone: 817-640-6166
The Decision Analyst Economic Index
Remains At 10-Year Low
Arlington, Texas (July 8, 2008)—
Decision Analyst’s U.S. Economic Index remained at its lowest level in a decade (88) in July. This is the fourth month in a row that the Index has stood at 88, a unequivocal confirmation that the U.S. economy is mired in recession. The chart below shows the U.S. Economic Index for the past 13 months.
“The driving force that underlies the falling Economic Index is inflationary pressure, especially as reflected in rising food and energy prices. Since energy and food make up a larger part of family budgets in lower-income households, most lower-income households are suffering deprivations,” said Jerry W. Thomas, President/CEO of Decision Analyst. “The Bureau of Labor Statistics continues to understate the actual inflation rate, and the Federal Reserve Board is flooding the U.S. economy with credit and dollars. The Federal Reserve must move swiftly to raise interest rates and constrain the money supply to avert runaway inflation,” according to Thomas.
The largest negative factors in the July Economic Index were availability of jobs, job security for those who are employed, and concerns around inflation (rising costs of goods and services)
Methodology
The Decision Analyst Economic Index is based on a monthly Internet survey of several thousand households balanced by gender, age, and geography. The survey is typically conducted in the last 10 days of each month. The Index is calculated from nine different economic measurements, using a sophisticated econometric model. The result is a snapshot of current U.S. economic activity, as seen through the eyes of representative consumers. Decision Analyst also conducts concurrent economic surveys in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, and Venezuela. Whenever the Decision Analyst Economic Index is greater than 110, it tends to signal an expanding economy. An Index value of 100 to 110 suggests a slow-growth economy, and near or below 100 generally indicates economic contraction. These guidelines vary by country, however.
About Decision Analyst
Decision Analyst (www.decisionanalyst.com) is a leading marketing research
and marketing consulting firm specializing in advertising testing, strategy
research, new product development, and advanced modeling for marketing decision
optimization. The firm delivers competitive advantage to clients throughout
the world in the consumer packaged goods, telecommunications, retail, high technology,
medical and pharmaceutical, utilities, and e-commerce industries. Decision Analyst
operates American Consumer Opinion® online, one of the world's largest Internet-based
consumer-opinion panels, with more than seven million members.
For additional information contact:
Cristi Allen
Publicity
Email: callen@decisionanalyst.com
Phone: 1.800.ANALYSIS (262.5974)
Address: 604 Avenue H East
Arlington, TX 76011
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