Latest Vantage National Leading Economic Index Shows Growth Nationally For Next Several Months

April 21, 2011 - PRLog -- The Vantage Economics National Leading Economic Index (LEI) rose for the fifth consecutive month in February, suggesting that the nation’s economy will continue to grow through late spring and early summer becoming stronger as key indicators like job gains increase. February’s Vantage National LEI stood at 1.17 versus the revised January estimate of 1.02.

“The weakening we saw in our national LEI late last year is now being reflected in some slowing of broader national economic indicators for the first quarter of 2011,” said Vantage founder and lead economist John Stewart. “However, it would appear that we are likely at or nearing the end of that slowing cycle and broader indicators should begin to improve once again. This is not likely to be a burst of growth quite yet, but a continued mild recovery in activity.”

Developed to help predict economic conditions, the Vantage LEI is calculated at a national level and for all 50 states. As a leading indicator, it projects expected economic activity for the next two to five months. A value above 0 indicates economic growth and a value below 0 indicates stabilization or contraction.
 
“Since the index is a leading indicator, we therefore see growth nationally continuing through the late spring or early summer, at which time growth should start becoming more robust and job gains will likely begin to pick up,” Stewart explained.  “Further, this indicates that businesses could begin taking on more risk as revenues begin growing and ROI’s begin trending upward.

“That is not to say there is an absence of risk,” Stewart continued. “In fact there are several risks still apparent in the economy, though the top issues of concern from our perspective are the stability of the financial system itself, inflation and its potential impact on both consumption and business spending, and finally the fiscal issues of all levels of government.”

Although the National LEI depicts conditions according to national average, much still depends on geographic location, with the Vantage State Leading Economic Indicators show significant growth differences across states. For more information, visit our website at www.vantageeconomics.com.

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Vantage Economics provides clients with useful information so they understand what economic shifts will occur in the next several months.This data helps clients make wise financial decisions that are beneficial to their bank accounts. Clients receive the full picture in regards to the economy, and they are able to see where their company stands against the competition. This helps clients be more competitive in the workplace. They can also integrate economic data into the decision making process, so there will be fewer missteps along the way. Listen to a recent national radio interview with John Stewart at: http://marketwrapwithmoe.com.