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Politics : WHO IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN 2004 -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (8276)	1/2/2004 4:59:05 PM
From: calgal	Respond to of 10965

US manufacturing surge offers hope for 2004 momentum Fri Jan 2,12:45 PM ET Add Business - AFP to My Yahoo! URL:http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=1203&e=4&u=/afp/20040102/bs_afp/us_economy&sid=96001027 WASHINGTON (AFP) - A survey showing that US manufacturing activity surged in December to its highest level since 1983 offered hope that the economy is keeping momentum from the strong gains in 2003, analysts said. AFP/File Photo Related Quotes DJIA NASDAQ ^SPC 10409.85 2006.68 1108.40 -44.07 +3.31 -3.52 delayed 20 mins - disclaimer Quote Data provided by Reuters Missed Tech Tuesday? Take an unscientific look at the biggest tech blunders ever, plus products before their time and potential flops of tomorrow. The survey by the Institute for Supply Management shot up to 66.2 from 62.8 a month earlier. The ISM survey, seen as a key measure of the US industrial economy, showed a much better result than the 61 points expected by Wall Street analysts. Any figure over 50 points indicates expansion. The report "is very strong, a positive sign for the industrial sector, which has been weak," said Dick Rippe, economist at Prudential Securities. It was the sixth consecutive month of growth, although the ISM said the pace of growth remained uneven. "The manufacturing sector enjoyed its best month since December 1983," said ISM survey chief Norbert Ore. "The month-over-month growth from November to December indicates a rapid recovery taking place in the sector, though there are still some businesses lagging and wondering when they will see the improvement that others are experiencing." Still, the ISM said its December report is consistent with a sizzling 8.6 percent growth rate for the overall economy, defying expectations of a cooling after the 8.2 percent growth in the third quarter. Significantly, the employment index component of the ISM report rose to 55.5 in December from 51.0 in November, suggesting jobs are growing again in US industry. The ISM's production index rose 4.7 points in December to 73, reflecting the eighth consecutive month of growth. And the new orders component of the index exploded to 77.6, up 3.9 points from November to the highest level since July 1950. "That the manufacturing sector had been doing very well in recent months was never in question," noted Anthony Karydakis at Bank One. "The key issue now is how strong the momentum in the rest of the economy will be in the next couple of quarters." "We think the survey has now more or less peaked, but the key point here is that there is no reason at all to expect it now to begin trending downwards," added High Frequency Economics' chief economist Ian Shepherdson. John Silvia, chief economist at Wachovia Securities, said the report shows that the economy remains resilient, but it also shows some signs pointing to inflation. "Despite conventional wisdom, the economy continues to grow above trend, and inflation, while modest, is rising and not declining," he said. "Today's ISM reading of 66.2 suggests a solid manufacturing sector, with improvement in the employment outlook an additional bonus."

To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (8276)	1/2/2004 6:17:42 PM
From: Dale Baker	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 10965

The New Math? LOL. I must have missed the memo on that. Now all the polls will seem 10% out of focus.... Only 1-in-4 (35%) are paying "very close" attention to the 2004 presidential election right now

To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (8276)	1/2/2004 6:41:48 PM
From: American Spirit	Respond to of 10965

Kerry has moved up into the #2 position, wow. These numbers are very fluid though and will be heavily influenced by who starts winning. Dean's 22% is down from his some 33% after the Gore endorsement. Kerry has surged about 8% and Clark has mysteriously faded. Hmm. Those Dean vs. Bush numbers are very atypical. Usually, dean fares the worst against Bush and has been 20% or more behind him in quite a few recent polls, even after the Gore endorsement. Dean is even 20% behind Bush in his home turf of NH.

To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (8276)	1/2/2004 7:41:35 PM
From: American Spirit	Respond to of 10965

If you combine the #2-#6 candidates they beat Dean more than 2-1 with 23% undecided. At some point Lieberman, Edwards and probably Gephardt have to drop out and endorse someone. That's where it could get really interesting. What if they all picked Kerry, for instance?