2A - Thursday, April 10, 2008
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
DhTAG ThANCE PARTY
Peeking at Americans' checkbooks
Have you ever wondered
who determines whether you're
more likely to buy a blender this
month compared to last month?
The answer may be closer
than you think.
For decades University
researchers have been the ones
behind the consumer confidence
reports, which gauge the health
of the economy by asking people
about their spending habits and
financial outlook.
Alongside the Reuters News
service, the University publishes
the Reuters/University of Michi-
gan Survey of Consumers twice a
month through the University's
Institute for Social Research.
Researchers at the Institute
interview about 500 people for
each survey.
The participants are asked
about 50 questions that hint at
five more general ones, which
are: Is your family economically
better off now? Will your fam-
ily be better off in a year? In the
next 12 months is the country
bound for good financial times
or bad ones? In the next five
years will there be lots of unem-
ployment and economic prob-
lems or lucrative gains? Is now
a good time to buy expensive
products for your home?
The information in the sur-
vey is meant to provide insight
into what average citizens are
thinking when it comes to the
economy and is used by all kinds
of business and public policy
organizations and publications
to gauge how households will
spend their money based on
their predictions of whether the
The modern dance group Cadence performs on the Diag yester-
day night as a part of the Sleep Out, an event sponsored by Habitat
Humanity to teach students about homelessness. Participants spent
the night camping on the Diag.
CRIME NOTES
Rolls of copper
wire stolen from
building
WHERE: Chemistry Building
WHEN: Tuesday at about 7:45
WHAT: Six 500-foot rolls of
copper wire were stolen from
iroom in the building some-
CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES
ping their lit cigarettes into a
trash can, DPS reported. The
cigarettes ignited newspaper
in the garbage, butthe fire was
quickly extinguished.
Unsuccessful
purse-snatcher
flees on foot
time between 3 p.m. on Friday WHERE: Taubman Parking
and 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, the Structure, E. Medical Center
Department of Public Safety Dr.
reported. The rolls are valued WHEN: Wednesday at about
at $150. 2:50 p.m.
WHAT: A man approached
Cigarettes left awoman from behind and
attempted to grab her purse,
i h DPS reported. The woman
in trash can resisted and the purse's
strap broke. The man, who
start fire walked away from the scene,
is described as a white man in
WHERE: Parking Lot SC-6, his mid-30s wearing ablue T-
1200 Kipke Dr. shirt with a white logo on the
WHEN: Tuesday at about 12:15 back. The man is 5'11" and has
a.m. ear-length black hair. Police are
WHAT: Several students asking anyone with information
accidently set a fire by drop- to call 763-1131.
Goodness Day
Diag event
WHAT: Students will be
passing out free food, cou-
pons and prizes to celebrate
the end of classes. Battle
of the Bands winner Cut
to Scene will also perform
at noon on the steps of the
Graduate Library.
WHO: Goodness Day
WHEN: Today from 11 a.m.
to 4 p.m.
WHERE: Diag
Traditional
Vietnamese
music
WHAT: A free concert of
traditional Vietnamese music
called "Rice Paddies and
Scent in Sounds: Traditional
Vietnamese Music"
WHO: National Heritage Fel-
low Phong Nguygen and the
University of Michigan Viet-
namese Ensemble
WHEN: Today at 8 p.m.
WHERE: Britton Recital
Hall, E.V. Moore Building
CORRECTIONS
* An sub-headline'in yes-
terday's edition of the Daily
(Findlay blasts pastRBI record
in victory), said senior Saman-
tha Findlay had 156 career-
RBIs. She has 186.
. An article in yesterday's
edition of the Daily (Tuition
allocations to shiftfor under-
grads) said the group lobbing
for an application check box
for prospective students who
identify as North African or
Middle Eastern. The groups'
name is Project: Check It, not
Project Check.
. An article in yesterday's
edition of the Daily (Wake up
and Smell the Testosterone), said
many of the double rooms
in Flecther Hall have been
converted to singles in recent
years. The rooms have been
converted to triples.
. Please report any error
in the Daily to correc-
tions@michigandaily.com.
economy is thriving or strug-
gling.
Recently, Forbes published a
story based on the Survey with
the headline that read "US early
March Reuters/Michigan survey
sees rise in short-term inflation"
reporting that consumers antici-
pated a comparatively high infla-
tion rate over the next year.
University Researcher and
Economist Richard Curtin has
headed the survey since 1976.
The University publishes and
archives the results of each sur-
vey over the past few years on its
website.
The Institute for Social
Research publishes a number of
other studies besides the survey
concerning the- economy, poli-
tics and health.
DANIEL STRAUSS
T'REET- '.GS YOU
More than 100 college presi-
dents and athletic directors
have signed a letter decrying
the prominence of beer adver-
tising during the NCAA men's
basketball tournament, The
Associated Press reported. The
letter, sent to NCAA President
Myles Brand yesterday, called
the commercials "embarrass-
ingly prominent"
Freshman softball pitcher
Jordan Taylor struck out
14 batters for the third
straight outing in Michigan's
4-0 win over Bowling Green at
Alumni Field last night.
>FOR MORE, SEESPORTS
A top Immigration and
Customs Enforcement
official has come under
fire for giving a man wearing
prison stripes, dreadlocks and
black face paint top prize at an
office Halloween party, CNN
reported.
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