Home | Press Room | Press Release Archives | Economic Index

---

For Immediate Release June 4, 2009
Contact: Cristi Allen
callen@decisionanalyst.com
Phone: 817-640-6166

Arlington, Texas—The Decision Analyst U.S. Economic Index increased to 93 in May. Canada has shown slight declines in the past couple of months, and the indices in China, Brazil, and India are comparatively higher than the indices in other countries. The major countries of the European Union have shown a little improvement but are still clearly in a recession and facing difficult times.

The Economic Index tends to be a leading indicator, usually anticipating changes in gross domestic product by 10 to 12 months. See below for the International Economic Index Graphs.

North America


“This upturn in several International Indices is signaling the beginning of a recovery by late 2009 or early 2010, although the economy might bump along the bottom for some time. Decision Analyst continues to forecast that the global recession is at or near the bottom, and it will begin to turn upward by the fourth quarter of 2009,” said Jerry W. Thomas, President/CEO of Decision Analyst. “Consumer confidence will grow slowly, month by month, and this will trigger increases in consumer spending later in 2009, despite rising unemployment for the balance of 2009 and into the first half of 2010. The growth of consumer spending will fuel a slow recovery.”

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 global marketing research and marketing consulting firm specializing in advertising testing, strategy research, new product development, and advanced modeling for marketing decision optimization. The 30-year-old firm delivers competitive advantage to clients throughout the world in the consumer packaged goods, telecommunications, retail, technology, medical, and pharmaceutical industries. In addition, Decision Analyst owns and operates the American Consumer Opinion® Online panel—one of the largest consumer opinion panels in the world—with more than seven million members.

For additional information contact:
Cristi Allen
Publicity
Email: callen@decisionanalyst.com
Phone: 1-800-ANALYSIS (262-5974) or 1-817-640-6166
Address: 604 Avenue H East
Arlington, TX 76011

Visit our Logos & Images page for photographs and logos, if needed.