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, August 20, 2008

Disney Family.com Launches Social Networking Community for Parents

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NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Aug 20, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) ----Disney Family.com (www.family.com) today announced the launch of Disney Family.com Community (www.family.com/community), a new social networking site for parents. The site provides a customizable online destination for moms and dads to connect with other parents through shared interests such as hobbies, age of child(ren), family setup, parenting tips, geographic location and more. The site also allows guests to interact with each other by posting comments, questions and images about parenting experiences and challenges they have in common, as well as posting reactions to content on Disney Family.com.

"Parents are increasingly sharing experiences, offering support and telling insightful stories about their families online through message boards and social networking," said Emily Smith, Vice President of the Disney Family Group. "Disney Family.com Community creates a new online forum that combines social networking and insightful content to bring moms and dads together to make important connections while having fun."

-- Create A Profile Guests create a profile by customizing a family avatar, choosing the expression, body type, hair, outfits and props. They can further personalize their profiles by choosing a background, customizing their profile layout, writing something unique about themselves or their family and by posting family photos to their profile page.

-- Find Other Moms and Dads Parents can find other moms and dads with similar interests by searching their "stickers," or symbols depicting their hobbies. Some of the many stickers on the site include: crafts & hobbies, travel, toddlers, environment and specific holidays. Parents can also search for other parents by their geographical location, age of child(ren) or work status (stay-at-home, work part-time, student, etc.).

-- Join Groups Guests can join groups of parents with similar interests or use Disney Family.com Community as a trusted online meeting place for private groups. Cooking gurus can become part of the "Recipe Swap" group, those planning a birthday party can join the "Birthday Party Ideas" group or a local PTA can create a private group to post announcements, photos from events and more. New groups can also be started by Family.com community members at any time.

-- Profile Stickers Parents can further customize their profiles by choosing stickers that best describe who they are and then sharing their stickers with other users. There are currently hundreds of stickers readily available on Disney Family.com Community, and parents can also create custom stickers that represent a specific interest or hobby.

-- Share-It Widgets Widgets can be added to a profile to keep up-to-date on the latest information on a specific topic. Guests have the ability to view updated widgets daily. Sample widget categories include: "Kid Sayings," "Family Photo Journalism," "What's for Dinner?" and "Shiny, Sparkling Homes."

About Disney Family.com

Disney Family.com is designed to present information on a variety of topics important to today's families - ranging from education, food and parenting, to advice on traveling with children, entertainment and shopping - in a manner that is compelling, comprehensive, entertaining and, most importantly, objective. Disney Family.com is dedicated to providing parents with answers to pressing questions through practical, objective and reliable information.

About Disney Online

Disney Online (www.Disney.com), a unit of Disney Interactive Media Group, produces the No. 1 kids' entertainment and family community destination on the World Wide Web. Launched in 1996, Disney.com is the online gateway to all of the company's Disney-branded entertainment initiatives, providing comprehensive access to, and information about Disney movies, travel, television, games, mobile, music, shopping and live events.

In addition, Disney Online develops and publishes a range of online products and services including Disney Club Penguin, Disney Pirates of the Caribbean Online, Disney's Toontown Online, Playhouse Disney Preschool Time Online, Disney Game Downloads, Disney Game Kingdom Online and Disney Connection.

Disney Interactive Media Group (DIMG) is a unit of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS).

SOURCE: Disney Online

Disney Online Andrea
   Meyer, 818-623-2756 andrea.x.meyer.-ND@disney.com

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