Economic & Political Confidence

John Wolz

Confidence in the North American economy dropped for the fourth consecutive year and now stands at 2.8.
At the end of 1998 the fastener industry�s confidence in the North American economy stood at 3.8, at the end of 1999 it was 3.5, a year ago 3.0.
Less than 1% rated their confidence as �very high,� and more than a quarter rated it as �low� or �very low.�
Confidence in the global economy also fell. At the end of 2001 the Index was 2.6, down from 2.9 a year before.
None rated their global confidence at �very high,� and more than 40% pegged it at �low� or �very low.�

Political Confidence
Despite record high public approval ratings in the post-September 11, 2001, period, confidence in the White House on business issues edged down to 3.4 from 3.5 at the end of 2000.
Congress also slipped, ending at 2.7 after reaching a four-year high of 3.0 at the end of 2000. \ �2002 FastenerNews.com
Please rate your level of confidence in the White House and the U.S. Congress on business issues: