To: Jill who wrote (32249 ) 3/2/2001 9:04:40 AM From: edamo Read Replies (1) | Respond to jill....both domestically and globally, with certain exceptions, most sectors and regions are not as strong as they appear.....tech, telecommunications have rapidly expanded, but core smokestack and construction have expanded at a much slower rate.....japan, the second largest consumer economy has been weak, even when the pundits claimed strong asian rebound....asean countries have cut back drastically on capital spending...mid east the same....europe has less then full employment.......even the much acclaimed oil industry and related services are no where near the peaks they reached in the eighties....numbers and balance sheets don't tell all.....you will read that the rig count is up, but relative to what? when was the last major project in the usa, be it utility, smokestack or petrochem? you read of lack of generating capacity, the need for more power plants, what you don't read is how many power plants have been decommissioned through consolidation and division of utility operating companies into marketing and generation camps.....why has there been no projects? closing down of facilities? purely economic...no incentives or viable return of investment....the higher the rates, the longer the roi....
