For Immediate Release January 31, 2006
Contact: Cristi Allen
callen@decisionanalyst.com
Phone: 817-640-6166

Arlington, Texas—Ending a three-month upward trend, the Decision Analyst Economic Index fell from 112 in December to 108 in January.

“The economic outlook is on shaky ground for the start of 2006,” said Jerry W. Thomas, President and CEO of Decision Analyst, a marketing research and marketing consulting firm. “In addition to consumer concerns over interest rates and energy prices, there is renewed concern over job security, resulting from the large layoffs from the automakers.”

Regarding components that make up the Economic Index, the decrease in the January indicators was due largely to “business activities” (down 34 points). Inflation expectation was another negative factor (down five points). The largest increase was for “consumer purchase intent” for large-ticket durable goods (up six points).

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 between the 20th and 27th of each month. For January 2006 data collection was between the 20th and 26th. Ford announced their layoffs on January 23rd, in the middle of the data collection. 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 Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Mexico, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, and India. 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 6 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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