The Conference Board Leading Economic Index(TM) (LEI) for the Euro Area Continues...

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index(TM) (LEI) for the Euro Area
Continues to Recover

BRUSSELS, June 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic
Index(TM) (LEI) for the Euro Area increased 1.9 percent in May to 95.4 (2004 =
100), following a 1.6 percent increase in April and no change in March. All of
the components made positive contributions to the index this month.

Said Jean-Claude Manini, The Conference Board Senior Economist for Europe:
"With a second sharp rise in a row, the Euro Area LEI has moved out of
recessionary territory. This improvement is reinforced by the recent
first-time increases in the German, the French and the Spanish LEIs. The
likelihood of reaching a trough in the current business cycle before the end
of the year has clearly increased."

The Conference Board LEI for the Euro Area has increased by 3.9 percent in
2009 after falling more than 15.0 percent between June 2007 and December 2008.
Meanwhile, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index(TM) (CEI) for the
Euro Area, a measure of current economic activity, declined by 0.1 percent in
May, falling to 101.6 (2004 = 100), according to preliminary estimates*, after
falling 0.4 percent in both April and March. The Conference Board CEI for the
Euro Area has been trending downward since February 2008.

The Conference Board LEI for the Euro Area aggregates eight economic
indicators that measure activity in the Euro Area as a whole (rather than
indicators of individual member countries), each of which has proven accurate
on its own. Aggregating individual indicators into a composite index filters
out so-called "noise" to show underlying trends more clearly.

About The Conference Board Leading Economic Index(TM) (LEI) for the Euro Area

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index(TM) for the Euro Area was launched
in January 2009. Plotted back to 1987, this index has successfully signaled
turning points in the business cycle of the bloc of countries that now
constitute the Euro Area, defined by the common currency zone.

The Conference Board currently produces leading economic indexes for nine
other individual countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Germany, France,
Spain, Japan, Australia, Korea and Mexico.

The eight components of The Conference Board Leading Economic Index(TM) for
the Euro Area include:

Economic Sentiment Index (source: European Commission DG-ECFIN)
Index of Residential Building Permits Granted (source: Eurostat)
Index of Capital Goods New Orders (source: Eurostat)
Dow Jones EURO STOXX(R) Index (source: STOXX Limited)
Money Supply (M2) (source: European Central Bank)
Interest Rate Spread (source: ECB)
Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (source: Markit
Economics)
Eurozone Service Sector Future Business Activity Expectations Index
(source: Markit Economics)

To view The Conference Board calendar of 2009 indicator releases:
http://www.conference-board.org/economics/indicators.cfm

* Series in The Conference Board LEI for the Euro Area that are based on The
Conference Board estimates are real money supply, residential building permits
and new orders of capital goods. All series in The Conference Board CEI for
the Euro Area are based on The Conference Board estimates (employment,
industrial production, retail trade and manufacturing turnover).

About The Conference Board
The Conference Board is a global, independent business-membership and research
association working in the public interest. Our mission is unique: To provide
the world's leading organizations with the practical knowledge they need to
improve their performance AND better serve society. The Conference Board is a
non-advocacy, not-for-profit entity holding 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status in the
United States.

Summary Table of Composite Indexes

2009 6-month
Mar Apr May Nov to May
Leading Economic Index (LEI) 92.1 p 93.6 p 95.4 p
Percent Change 0.0 p 1.6 p 1.9 p 1.8 p
Diffusion 43.8 87.5 100.0 62.5

Coincident Economic Index (CEI) 102.1 p 101.7 p 101.6 p
Percent Change -0.4 p -0.4 p -0.1 p -2.7 p
Diffusion 0.0 25.0 62.5 0.0

n.a. Not available p Preliminary r Revised
Indexes equal 100 in 2004
Source: The Conference Board All Rights Reserved

THESE DATA ARE FOR NEWS ANALYSIS PURPOSES ONLY. NOT FOR REDISTRIBUTION,
PUBLISHING, DATABASING, OR PUBLIC POSTING WITHOUT EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION.

SOURCE The Conference Board

The Conference Board Europe, Brussels: +32-2-675-5405 (main line), or Rosa
Correia, +32-2-679-5059, rosa.correia@conference-board.org, or Derek Servais,
+32-2-679-5054, derek.servais@conference-board.org, both of The Conference
Board