For Immediate Release January 5, 2005
Contact: Cristi Allen
callen@decisionanalyst.com
Phone: 817-640-6166

Arlington, Texas – Prospects for faster economic growth in 2005 are indicated after Decision Analyst’s U.S. Economic Index ended the year on an upward trend. The overall Index rose for a second month, reaching 113 primarily due to increased confidence in business output.

“After a roller coaster of a year, it’s good to end 2004 on a positive note,” said Jerry W. Thomas, President and CEO of Decision Analyst, a marketing research and marketing consulting firm. “The Index may be no higher than it was twelve months ago, but given the turmoil of the war on terror and the presidential election, even standing still is an accomplishment. What’s important is that the Index is now moving in the right direction.”

The December Economic Index saw solid gains for two indicators: business activity and corporate hiring confidence. Business activity was up three percent (building on recent gains to reach a four-year high); corporate hiring stopped a two-month slide.

“While it’s too early to be sure, the outlook for the economy in 2005 looks promising at the present time,” Thomas said.

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 (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 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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