2004 Will Be the U.S.'S Best Year Economically in Last 20 Years, The Conference Board Reports in a Revised Forecast
Thursday December 11, 11:01 am ET

NEW YORK, Dec. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Revising its year-end economic forecast sharply upward, The Conference Board today projected that real GDP growth will hit 5.7% next year, making 2004 the best year economically in the last 20 years.
The forecast, by Conference Board Chief Economist Gail Fosler, expects worker productivity, which set a 20-year record in the third quarter, to rise at a healthy 3.6% next year. That would follow a gain of 4.3% this year.

The economic forecast is prepared for more than 2,500 corporate members of The Conference Board's global business network, based in 66 nations.

KEY BAROMETERS FLASHING GROWTH

"Growing business spending and continued strength in consumer spending are generating growth throughout the U.S. economy," says Fosler. "This burgeoning strength is reflected in The Conference Board's widely-watched Leading Economic Indicators, the Consumer Confidence Index and the Help-Wanted Advertising Index. While the labor market, a critical factor in sustaining growth, is growing slowly, a pick-up in hiring may already have begun."

Real consumer spending, which continues to fuel growth, will increase at a 4.7% pace next year, up from about 3.2% this year. Another gain of 4.3% is projected for 2005.

While the U.S. economy is expected to generate more than one million new jobs next year, the unemployment rate will edge down only slightly, averaging 5.6% in 2004.

The Conference Board forecast notes that as the U.S. economy bounces back, so is Europe, although growth will be subdued compared to most other major parts of the world. "For all the concern about a weak dollar," says Fosler, "the dollar will be worth more than the euro by the end of the year."

Real capital spending, which will rise by only 2.7% this year, will climb 11.7% next year and another 8.6% in 2005. Pre-tax corporate operating profits will top $1 trillion next year, up from a projected $928 billion this year. Another trillion-dollar-plus gain in profits is expected in 2005.

The continued recovery in business profits, which was a key ingredient in funding new investment (crucial in making 2004 a strong growth year), depends on price relief. Business profits will benefit from both improved volume and recovering profit margins in 2004, as inflation creeps back toward 3% by the end of the year.

              Source: Revised Conference Board Economic Forecast
                                December 2003

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/031211/nyth120_1.html



HA HA!

Then the war worked  

I thought we were going to war for Oil?

quote from SNL... Bush... We will go to a bigger war, to pay for the war in Afganistan... lol

Really though, it's about time we start seeing improvement. We had a good thing going, and then massive hits. I need a job, come economy, Marty needs some damn new shoes.

your dollaz are  drenched in blood

^ And your mentality is that it's the governments fault you dont' have new shoes.  This is why people like you will never be happy with what happens politically in america, unless you're winning in every way, the president isn't doing anything for you.  

WTF... man oh man. I wasn't even talking stuff on Bush, and you gonna diss me personally. Dogg, get you head out your ass and leave good enough alone

your dollaz are  drenched in blood

So very true, but at the sametime, this country has a history of soaking it's land and dollars in blood. It doesn't matter, because in the future, that's what will happen again.

Quote

your dollaz are  drenched in blood

So very true, but at the sametime, this country has a history of soaking it's land and dollars in blood. It doesn't matter, because in the future, that's what will happen again.

that's no excuse. just because you murdered indians (genocide) and raped and enslaved blacks etc.. you dont have and right to do this bullshit over and over again. or is germany authorized to burn jews just because they did it once? and it doesnt matter then? lol

Quote from: M Dogg on December 15, 2003, 07:30:04 PM

Quote

your dollaz are  drenched in blood

So very true, but at the sametime, this country has a history of soaking it's land and dollars in blood. It doesn't matter, because in the future, that's what will happen again.

that's no excuse. just because you murdered indians (genocide) and raped and enslaved blacks etc.. you dont have and right to do this bullshit over and over again. or is germany authorized to burn jews just because they did it once? and it doesnt matter then? lol

I am Native American, it was my people that got killed. It's just a fact of life, the most powerful nations get that way of the blood of others. Look through out history, from Ancient Greece when Athens had the greatest true democracy in human history, they got that way by colonizing other people around them, to Rome's great Empire, to England, France, Germany, Russia, Japan, all were great colonal powers. I personally do not agree, but the truth is, that is the way life is. It's a hard harsh world out there, and even though I don't agree with it, it will never change, because after 6000 years of "civilization" it is still the same way.

oh and bloody money spends just the same so oh well