PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH Message Board

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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

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To: MKTBUZZ who started this subject	4/3/2003 11:58:00 AM
From: Kenneth E. Phillipps	Read Replies (2) of 769670

Service industry takes a dip in March ISM reports that non-manufacturing activity fell to 47.9, the lowest reading since October 2001. April 3, 2003: 10:26 AM EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - The vast U.S. service sector unexpectedly shrank in March for the first time since January last year, a report said Thursday, the latest sign the economy was already faltering as the war in Iraq was launched. The Institute for Supply Management said its index of non-manufacturing activity fell to 47.9 -- the lowest reading since October 2001, just after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks -- from 53.9 in February. It was much worse than the 52.3 reading forecast by economists. Any figure below 50 signals contraction in the sector which includes everything from entertainment to tourism and banking. The pullback in services is the latest indicator of trouble for the economy, suffering from caution among businesses and consumers as the war approached. While most economists expect growth to take off on the completion of hostilities in Iraq, some are starting to wonder if the economy's problems go beyond the uncertainty caused by war. Earlier this week, ISM's gauge of manufacturing activity revealed a sharp slowdown, with growth in the sector contracting in March for the first time in five months. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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