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For Immediate Release September 2, 2004
Contact: Cristi Allen
callen@decisionanalyst.com
Phone: 817-640-6166

Arlington, Texas – Pessimism on Wall Street has stalled Decision Analyst’s U.S. Economic Index according to the latest August data. The overall Index declined a single point to 113, with stocks worries the primary factor behind the fall.

“Once again the Index has taken a step back just when it looked on a solid upward trend,” said Jerry W. Thomas, President and CEO of Decision Analyst, a marketing research and marketing consulting firm. “The economy doesn’t seem able to make a decisive breakout into faster growth.”

The August Economic Index saw mostly unchanged levels in most categories except confidence in the stock markets, which slipped six percent from its July level. Corporate hiring edged up slightly, reaching a 2004 high, but that rise was offset by a fall in the business activity measure.

“The evidence points to an expanding job market,” Thomas says. “Unfortunately, the economy recovery is still being held back by uncertainty and instability, especially regarding gasoline prices and the global political situation, and that uncertainty appears to be reflected in stock market jitters.”

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, Netherlands, Mexico 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.

About Decision Analyst

Decision Analyst, Inc. 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 consumer opinion panels, with more than 3.5 million participants.

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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