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Signs Now Suggest that the Economy Is Stabilizing
KANSAS CITY, (kansascityfrontpage.com), June 21, 2009 - After 17 months in a recession in the U.S., some signs now suggest that the economy is stabilizing, according to a recent report by financial services firm Edward Jones. Alan Skrainka, chief market strategist at Edward Jones, says the rate of decline in the economy is slowing and that the recession is showing signs of coming to an end.

"The challenges we face are serious, but they're not insurmountable," said Skrainka. "The economy hasn't disappeared. It may be bruised but not broken. Over the past 50 years, our economy has continued to grow with only brief interruptions. Investors should be making decisions based on investment principles, not predictions, and focus on quality, diversification and holding for the long term."

Although the unemployment rate has reached 9.4 percent, Skrainka prefers to focus on the positive signs of the U.S. economy, which has been growing 86 percent of the time since 1957, and 95 percent since 1982.

In fact, according to Skrainka, the value of all goods and services produced in the United States last year, which was a recession year, was $14 trillion. Americans last year earned $10 trillion in disposable income. More than 87 percent of Americans are current on their mortgage. One-third of all American homeowners don't even have a mortgage. Unemployment is up, but more than 90 percent of all Americans in the labor force are still employed.

When the going gets tough, investors often panic. As the value of investments drops, the worst thing to do is sell those investments and give up any chance of recovery, says Skrainka. This has only been the third time in the past 20 years that more money has come out of U.S. stock mutual funds than has gone in.

This panic often pushes prices down to attractive levels, says Skrainka, and provides an opportunity for the rest of us. Much of the money coming out of the stock market has gone into money market accounts. In fact, the $8 trillion in short-term income investments today would be enough to liquidate the entire stock market.

"How people behave in bear markets can often determine whether they reach, or fall short of their financial goals," said Skrainka. "To avoid being caught flat-footed when the recession ends, it's important to stay fully invested and continue looking for opportunities."

Consumers Favor Internet Over Cell Phone & Cable TV
KANSAS CITY, MO, (kansascityfrontpage.com), June 21, 2009 - Americans value broadband more than ever with home broadband adoption rates up 15 percent in 2009 and consumers favoring Internet over cell phone and cable TV, according to new research from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The 29-page study was unveiled in Washington, DC at the Internet Innovation Alliance's Symposium "Developing a National Broadband Strategy: Deployment, Adoption and the Stimulus."

"We found that broadband is now in the 'must keep' category for Americans, even when economic times are tough," said Horrigan, principal author of the report. "Many consumers view their home broadband connection as a conduit for connecting to community and economic opportunities."

The new research shows 63 percent of adult Americans surveyed now have broadband Internet connections at home. The growth in broadband adoption indicates that the economic recession has had little effect on decisions about whether to buy or keep a home high-speed Internet connection. The survey found that people are twice as likely to say they have cut back or cancelled a cell phone plan or cable TV service than internet service.

Broadband users were also asked, for the first time in a Pew survey, how they view the importance of broadband to civic and community life. Some 55 percent of home broadband users said broadband was very important to at least one dimension of their lives and community, such as communicating with health care providers, government officials, sharing information about the community, or contributing to economic growth.

"The broadband stimulus package is intended to achieve targeted job creation," said Larry Irving, co-chairman of the IIA. "However, we need to look beyond the temporary effects of the stimulus and make sure that we are investing in projects that create sustainable infrastructure. Especially when invested in emerging technologies like smart grids and e-Health, stimulus dollars have an opportunity to make a significant, and more importantly a lasting, economic impact."

West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin III, a notable pioneer in the broadband space, will deliver a keynote address at the Symposium and will be awarded IIA's Broadband Innovator of the Year for his successful efforts to advance broadband deployment and adoption in West Virginia.

"I thank all of the members of the Internet Innovation Alliance for hosting this important biannual Symposium," said Manchin. "Broadband is a critical part of our infrastructure. The Internet has become a necessity not just for doing business, but for living in the 21st century. In West Virginia, I've placed a priority on expanding this infrastructure that we must have to be able to compete in the global marketplace. Our goal in West Virginia is to have our state wired for high-speed Internet, from border to border, by the year 2010."

Tech savvy NBA All-Star and six year veteran of the Toronto Raptors Chris Bosh will also be speaking at the Symposium. Bosh is the first athlete in the world to launch his own iPhone application and his website, www.chris-bosh.com, which includes multiple social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, all of which, he notes, are dependent on broadband technology.

Congressional approval of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan (ARRP) allocated $7.2 billion for broadband development and charged the FCC with creating a national broadband plan. According to the IIA, an effective National Broadband Strategy will enable the government to partner with the private sector to extend broadband service to every corner of the country, while at the same time raising awareness of its benefits.

"Flexibility in a national broadband plan is key as we learn more from broadband mapping and from the return on initial stimulus investments," said IIA Co-Chairman Bruce Mehlman. "The best strategy will start by examining where we stand today and then identify policies to get us where we want to be, which ultimately is achieving our goal of 100 percent broadband adoption across the U.S."

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