2008 U.S. Economic Calendar                      POWERED BY   ISM Non-Mfg Survey Released on 4/3/08 For Mar 2008 Composite Index - Level Consensus 49.0 Actual 52.2 2008 Release Schedule Released On: 1/4 2/5 3/5 4/3 5/5 6/4 7/3 8/5 9/4 10/3 11/5 12/3 Released For: Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Definition The non-manufacturing ISM surveys nearly 400 firms from 60 sectors across the United States, including agriculture, mining, construction, transportation, communications, wholesale trade and retail trade. Beginning with the January 2008 report, a new composite index was made public and is now the headline number. It is considered an indicator of the overall economic conditions for the non-manufacturing sector and consists of four equally weighted indexes: business activity, new orders, employment, and supplier deliveries. Why Do Investors Care? Investors need to keep their fingers on the pulse of the economy because it dictates how various types of investments will perform. By tracking economic data like the ISM non-manufacturing survey's business activity index, investors will know what the economic backdrop is for the various markets. The stock market likes to see healthy economic growth because that translates to higher corporate profits. The bond market prefers less rapid growth and is extremely sensitive to whether the economy is growing too quickly-and causing potential inflationary pressures. The ISM manufacturing index has a long history - dating to the 1940s. This new report (beginning in 1998) was originally not adjusted for seasonal variation, but the ISM has since established seasonally adjusted figures for several of the ISM non-manufacturing components (including the business activity index) since 2002 and a composite index starting in 2008. As a result, the ISM non-manufacturing survey has garnered more attention and is almost as widely followed by financial market participants as its manufacturing cousin. Legal Notices |© Copyright 2000 -2008 Econoday, Inc.