Positive indications for market

摘要

The U.S. economy grew at a rate of more than 8 percent in the third quarter of 2003, fueling stone producers' hopes that the dramatic surge will mean more and better business for them. Although the employment picture nationally still is somewhat cloudy - economists continue to refer to the economic rebound as a "jobless recovery" - more and more people are finding work and many of them are loosening the purse strings: Online sales of merchandise in the days immediately after Thanksgiving, for example, increased 30 percent versus the same period of 2002. At the same time, retail sales in general are up and interest rates remain low, meaning that housing starts and residential construction should remain strong.