Stuart Hoffman Favorable Quotations

I thought it was a very favorable number for both Wall Street and Main Street, particularly paired with the upward revisions to the previous two months.

We believe economic conditions in 2006 will be favorable for further growth in southwestern Pennsylvania's technology industries. Rising business confidence, healthy growth in business investment spending, and increasingly available venture capital will leave our region's technology industries on firmer footing in 2006. A highly diverse technology base and the presence of world-class research institutions mean that, over the longer-term, technology will continue to play an increasingly significant role in the economy of southwest Pennsylvania.