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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Monday, June 16, 2008

Idearc to Report Earnings on July 29, 2008

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Comtex

DALLAS, Jun 16, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) ----Idearc Inc. (NYSE: IAR) will report second-quarter 2008 earnings on Tuesday, July 29, 2008.

Idearc welcomes investors, media and other interested parties to join Scott W. Klein, chief executive officer, and Samuel D. Jones, acting chief financial officer, in a discussion of the Company's results via a live webcast and teleconference beginning at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern). As newly appointed CEO, Klein will also address investors to share his initial views of the Company and discuss its future.

A live webcast can be accessed by visiting Idearc's Web site at http://ir.idearc.com/presentations.cfm and following the instructions provided. In addition, individuals within the United States can access the earnings call by dialing 888-603-6873. International participants should dial 973-582-2706. The pass code for the call is: 52261634. In order to ensure a prompt start time, please dial into the call by 9:50 a.m. (Eastern). A replay of the teleconference for individuals within the United States will be available at 800-642-1687, and international callers can access the replay by calling 706-645-9291. The replay pass code is 52261634 and will be available through August 12.

Idearc's earnings release will be available on the Company's Web site at http://ir.idearc.com by 8 a.m. (Eastern).

About Idearc Inc.

Idearc Inc. (NYSE: IAR) delivers products on multiple platforms to help consumers find the information they want, wherever they are. Idearc's multi-platform of advertising solutions includes Superpages.com(R), Superpages Mobile(SM), Superpages Mobile(SM) for BlackBerry(R), Switchboard.com, LocalSearch.com(SM), Verizon(R) Yellow Pages, Verizon(R) White Pages, smaller-sized portable Verizon(R) Yellow Pages Companion Directories, FairPoint(R) Yellow Pages, FairPoint(R) White Pages, FairPoint(R) Yellow Pages Companion Directories, reFresh reCharge reNew(TM) magazine, Solutions At Hand(TM) magazine, and Solutions on the Move(TM) and Solutions Direct(TM) direct mail packages. For more information, visit www.idearc.com.

(IAR-G)

SOURCE: Idearc Inc.

Idearc Inc. Media Relations: Ms. Mary De La Garza,
   972-453-7016 mary.delagarza@idearc.com or Ms. Jannie Nguyen, 972-453-3916 jannie.nguyen@idearc.com or Investor Relations:
   Mr. Samuel D. (Dee) Jones, 972-453-7364 dee.jones@idearc.com

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