Home | Press Room | Press Release Archives | February 2003 Economic Index

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For Immediate Release March 6, 2003
Contact: Cristi Allen
callen@decisionanalyst.com
Phone: 817-640-6166

Arlington, Texas (March 06, 2003)-Decision Analyst, Inc.'s U.S. Economic Index stabilized in February, halting a steady decline in confidence seen since November. The Index (calculated from a nationwide, online survey conducted during the last 10 days of February) remained at the low level of 105, unchanged from the January value.

"The stabilizing of confidence indicated by the February data is a welcome sign," said Jerry W. Thomas, President and CEO of Decision Analyst, an international marketing research and marketing consulting firm. "Employment trends don't appear to be weakening at the current time, providing a slight boost to consumer spending, and business activity is showing some signs of increasing."

Despite the positives, Thomas remains cautious about U.S. economic performance, noting that the Index remains at its lowest level since first launched by Decision Analyst in 1999. "The picture remains clouded by the threat of war, and the economy is really getting hit by continued turmoil on the stock markets and the rapidly rising fuel and gasoline prices," he says. "It looks far too early to even begin thinking about an economic breakout. Maintaining the confidence levels we have right now will likely prove challenging enough."

>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 conducted during the last 10 days of each month, and the Index is immediately 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 Canada, the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, and Australia. 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 stagnant economy, and below 100 generally indicates economic contraction. These guidelines vary by country, however.

Decision Analyst is a leading international marketing research and marketing consulting firm specializing in advertising testing, strategy research, new product development, and advanced modeling for marketing decision optimization.

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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