If you throw all the products we buy and the services we use in one basket, then add up the price tag, that's the Gross Domestic Product, which is the primary metric economists use to assess the economic health of a country or region.

The easy part of calculating GDP is the calculation itself: C+I+G+(X-M)=GDP. Got it? No? Well, add Consumption, Investment by companies, Government purchases, and then take the product of eXports (calling it 'E' would lack sexiness) minus iMports ('I' was taken). Viola! GDP.

Still don't get it? Well, knowing the components helps. Consumption is the biggest component, and it's a tally of the cost of all the goods and services we buy. Investment is what companies spend on the real assets they own, plus the value of the inventory that we haven't gobbled up through consumption. Government purchases are what the Feds pay money for (whether it be highways or fighter jets, though big social programs, like welfare, aren't counted). And then we calculate the difference between the goods and services we¿re sending to other countries and the stuff we're bringing in.

Good. That explains it, except there's a catch. Inflation has a habit of distorting the numbers, so economists talk about either Nominal GDP or Real GDP. In fact, Real GDP isn't necessarily "real" for most folks, since it takes any inflation out. Nominal GDP includes the effects of inflation. (There's something called the implicit price deflator which is a calculation using the two, but we'll spare you the details.)

So, now that we know GDP, why do we want to? Well, it's good to compare different markets. And watching the trend shows whether a given economy is growing (good), stagnating (not so good), or shrinking (very not so good). When GDP goes down two quarters in a row, we're officially in a recession.

For the record, GDP is released at the end of each month, with most reporting ¿preliminary¿ data for the previous month. But you won't get final GDP numbers for the fourth quarter of a year until the very end of the first quarter of the next year. After all, it's not an easy number to calculate.

Home / Markets / Industries / Industrials

Thursday, July 17, 2008

UK Businesses Urged to Help Employees Deal With Stress More Positively

Email this Story | Respond to Editor | Print

Comtex

FRIMLEY, England, Jul 17, 2008 (PR Newswire Europe via COMTEX) ----New Report Highlights Dangerous Responses to Stress Among Employees

UK workers are most likely to turn to alcohol, smoking and comfort eating to help them deal with the stress of their occupations, according to a new 'Stroke in Business' report* from The Stroke Association, in association with Siemens. The report highlights the high levels of stress felt in many industries and the often unhealthy ways in which workers respond, potentially leading to serious health problems including increased risk of stroke. The 'Stroke in Business report' calls for UK employers to do more to encourage staff to use exercise to "de-stress".

The Stroke in Business report found that 73% of the UK workforce feels stress as a result of work, with the most common ways of dealing with stress being to get angry (47%); eat more (43%); cry (38%); drink more (34%) and smoke more (23%). Many of these responses are likely to lead to increased blood pressure, which in turn can increase the risk of serious health problems such as stroke, the third biggest killer in the UK. Exercise, one of best ways to combat and reduce stress, is used by just 13% of employees.

The publication of the Stroke in Business report coincides with the launch of Siemens Stroke for Stroke Week 2008, which challenges individuals to kick-start a regular exercise regime by signing up to rowing 10km, helping to raise vital funds for The Stroke Association.

Amongst those surveyed the recruitment sector was identified as the most stressful working environment, with 82% of recruitment consultants regularly feeling stressed, followed by the legal profession (78%), education (73%), marketing (71%), health (70%) and finance (68%). Housewives also made the top ten, with 64% regularly feeling the strain of their daily work in and around the home.

Responses to stress differ widely between professions, with the report showing marketing professionals being the most likely to drink more (59%) and eat more (59%), although this group is also among the most likely to exercise (18%) to reduce its stress levels. The healthiest profession according to the research is IT, with over a quarter (26%) choosing to exercise more when stressed.

The ways in which we choose to deal with stress can have a serious impact on our overall health, explains Joe Korner, Director of External Affairs for The Stroke Association, "Stress clearly affects a great deal of the working population and while stress in itself is undesirable, responding to it in the wrong ways, for instance by drinking excessive alcohol, over-eating or smoking, can all lead to high blood pressure, which is the single biggest risk factor for stroke. This is a major issue for people of all ages, especially those working in stressful occupations."

Siemens, the High Performance Partner of GB Rowing, hopes the Stroke in Business report and the Stroke for Stroke campaign will raise awareness of the importance of regular exercise. Andreas J. Goss, chief executive, Siemens in the UK, said: "Regular exercise is absolutely key for individuals and businesses in maintaining a healthy, happy and productive workforce so we fully endorse The Stroke Association's call for UK employers to become much more proactive in this area. Our support of The Stroke Association through Stroke for Stroke Week is one opportunity for people around the UK to kick-start a new exercise regime and I'd encourage everyone to sign up!"

Siemens Stroke for Stroke Week is taking place between 27th October - 2nd November and the company is encouraging people to sign up to row an individually sponsored 10km. The campaign is open to everyone across the UK and you can sign up by visiting www.siemens.co.uk/strokeforstroke. LA fitness, the official gym partner for this year's campaign is offering free access to their gyms for everyone taking part in the campaign.

Four-time Olympic gold medallist, Sir Matthew Pinsent CBE is backing the campaign. He commented, "Some people assume that strokes only affect older people, but over a quarter of all strokes happen to those under the age of 65. The Stroke Association has linked up with Siemens on Stroke for Stroke Week, which is a fantastic opportunity for people to realise the amazing stress busting health benefits that rowing can bring whilst raising vital money to help prevent the UK's 3rd biggest killer."

*Siemens and The Stroke Association surveyed 1,000 people working in a variety of occupations across the UK, in June 2008. For a full copy of the 'Stroke in Business Report' please contact Lindsey Evans, Threepipe (details below).

Notes to editors:

Siemens Stroke for Stroke Week is supported by The Stroke Association. Full details and a link to the justgiving website can be found at http://www.siemens.co.uk/strokeforstroke.

For more information,
   contact: Lindsey Evans or Georgie Simmons Threepipe T: +44(0)207-632-4800 E: lindsey.evans@threepipe.co.uk / georgie.simmons@threepipe.co.uk

For more information, contact: Lindsey Evans or Georgie Simmons, Threepipe, T: +44(0)207-632-4800, E: lindsey.evans@threepipe.co.uk
   / georgie.simmons@threepipe.co.uk

Copyright (C) 2008 PR Newswire Europe **********************************************************************
   As of Sunday, 07-13-2008 23:59, the latest Comtex SmarTrend� Alert, an automated pattern recognition system, indicated a DOWNTREND
   on 07-02-2008 for SI @ $108.85. For more information on SmarTrend, contact your market data provider or go to www.mysmartrend.com
   SmarTrend is a registered trademark of Comtex News Network, Inc. Copyright � 2004-2008 Comtex News Network, Inc. All rights
   reserved.