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Economic Indices May 2011
For Immediate Release
June 6, 2011
Contact: Cristi Allen
callen@decisionanalyst.com
Phone: 817-640-6166
Decision Analyst’s U.S. Economic Index Shows
Promise For May 2011;
The German Economic Index Declining
Arlington, Texas—The Decision Analyst U.S. Economic Index ticked up to
95 in May 2011, a 2-point increase from April. This May increase in the Economic
Index is welcome news, because the Index had declined for 5 straight months
before May. While Germany still has the highest Index scores in Europe, its
Index has been in decline for the past 6 months. The German Index has declined
from 111 in December 2010 to 103 in May 2011. Since the Decision Analyst Economic
Indices are leading indicators for their respective countries (tending to foreshadow
overall economic activity by 6 to 12 months in each respective country), the
Index is forecasting slow economic growth for the balance of 2011. Here is the
U.S. Economic Index for the past 3 years.
“The increase of the U.S. Economic Index for May is a bit of good news
in an otherwise dreary economic landscape. The U.S. economy remains sluggish
and vulnerable to a double-dip recession. The Index is predicting a no-growth
to slow-growth economy for the second half of 2011,” said Jerry W. Thomas,
President/CEO of Decision Analyst. “The economic recovery is delicate,
and rising prices for food and energy have reduced consumer buying power. If
gasoline and energy prices decline during the second half of 2011, that would
be a significant stimulus to the economy."
"Unemployment continues to be a terrible drain on the U.S. economy,"
said Thomas. "Many state, county, and city governments are cutting employees
to balance their budgets. Small businesses are doing slightly better, but are
still struggling to get access to credit, so they are not hiring many new employees
just yet.”
The Decision Analyst Economic Indices for the individual countries for the
past 10 years are below.
The Index numbers for Argentina, Australia, Chile, China, Colombia, Germany,
Mexico, Peru, and Spain are a three-month moving average to smooth out month-to-month
fluctuations. The reported Index number averages the current month with the
two previous months.
Methodology
The Decision Analyst Economic Index is based on a monthly Internet survey of
several thousand households balanced by gender, age, and geography. The online
survey is conducted the last 10 days of each month. The Economic Index is calculated
from nine different economic measurements using a sophisticated econometric
model. The result is a snapshot of current economic activity in each country
surveyed, as seen through the eyes of representative consumers living in the
respective countries. Decision Analyst conducts its concurrent economic surveys
each month in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia,
France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Russian Federation,
Spain, United Kingdom, United States, 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 near or below 100 generally indicates economic contraction. These
guidelines vary by country, however.
About Decision Analyst
Decision Analyst (www.decisionanalyst.com) is a global marketing research and
analytical consulting firm specializing in strategy research, new product research,
advertising testing, and advanced modeling for marketing decision optimization.
The 33-year-old firm delivers competitive advantage to clients throughout the
world in the consumer packaged goods, telecommunications, retail, technology,
medical, and automotive industries.
For additional information contact:
Cristi Allen
Publicity
Email: callen@decisionanalyst.com
Phone: 1-800-ANALYSIS (262-5974) or 1-817-640-6166
Address: 604 Avenue H East
Arlington, TX 76011
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