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.

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Wednesday, May 21, 2008

UQM Technologies to Hold Conference Call Thursday, May 22, 2008 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time

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Comtex

FREDERICK, Colo., May 21, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) ----UQM Technologies, Inc. (AMEX:UQM), a developer of alternative energy technologies, will hold a conference call with members of the investment community on Thursday, May 22, 2008, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. To participate in the call dial 1-866-322-2356 approximately 10 minutes before the conference is scheduled to begin and provide confirmation code 9135894 to access the call. International callers should dial 1-416-640-3405.

William G. Rankin, UQM Technologies' President and Chief Executive Officer and Donald A. French, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer, will be reviewing the Company's operating results for the quarter and fiscal year ended March 31, 2008.

For anyone who is unable to participate in the conference, access to a recording will be available for 48 hours following the call. Dial 1-888-203-1112 and give replay code 9135894 to access the playback. International callers should dial 1-647-436-0148. Please allow two hours from the time of the conference call for initial setup before access.

UQM Technologies, Inc. is a developer and manufacturer of power dense, high efficiency electric motors, generators and power electronic controllers for the automotive, aerospace, medical, military and industrial markets. A major emphasis of the Company is developing products for the alternative energy technologies sector including propulsion systems for electric, hybrid electric, plug-in hybrid electric and fuel cell electric vehicles, under-the-hood power accessories and other vehicle auxiliaries and distributed power generation applications. The Company's headquarters, engineering and product development center, and motor manufacturing operation are located in Frederick, Colorado. For more information on the Company, please visit its worldwide website at www.uqm.com.

SOURCE: UQM Technologies, Inc.

UQM Technologies, Inc. Donald
   A. French, 303-278-2002 or BPC Financial Marketing John Baldiserra, 800-368-1217

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