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For Immediate Release August 3, 2007
Contact: Cristi Allen
callen@decisionanalyst.com
Phone: 817-640-6166

Arlington, Texas – Decision Analyst's U.S. Economic Index slid from 109 in June 2007 to 108 in late July 2007, as shown in the graph below. The Economic Index is based on survey data from the last 10 days of July, and indicates that the economy is still struggling.

"The persistent downtrend of the Economic Index over the past nine months signals a growing likelihood of recession in the U.S. economy, especially in light of the credit crunch brought on by the mortgage meltdown. The recent easing of gasoline prices might account for the uptick in the Economic Index in June. The ongoing declines in the housing market, the tightening of credit, and a volatile stock market seem to be dampening the consumer's outlook," said Jerry W. Thomas, President/CEO of Decision Analyst. "The risks of a general economic recession in the U.S. remain high."

Among the components that make up the Economic Index, the indicators that appear to be driving the Economic Index downward are: "future consumer purchase intent" (down 11 points), "employment status" (down 7 points), and "current business activity" (down 5 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. 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 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-based consumer-opinion panels, with more than seven million members.

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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