Santa Clara University

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – June 24, 2003 – Silicon Valley executives and managers are more optimistic about their business prospects than at any time in the previous 12 months, according to the latest Santa Clara University Business Index, released today.

The results from the monthly survey by the SCU Leavey School of Business showed that managers in Silicon Valley believe their businesses “are doing better today, and think they will be doing even better in six months,” said SCU economist Kris Mitchener.

“It’s a significant, positive trend, and it indicates that some of the uncertainties about the national economy are easing,” he said. However, he cautioned that “it’s too early to say whether this represents the upswing that everyone has been awaiting for more than a year.”

The latest SCU Business Index shows that “companies are positioning themselves for a takeoff, but are still waiting for that big lift from consumers,” said Mitchener.

Respondents told the SCU researchers last week that current business conditions for companies and their customers, and current job prospects in their companies have improved to levels of 12 months ago. Likewise, the respondents’ expectations of improvements in the next six months rose to their highest levels in 12 months.

In a separate question, the SCU Business Index found that 53 percent of respondents said that the weakening of the U.S. dollar in world financial markets had no effect on their Silicon Valley companies.

To schedule an interview with Kris Mitchener today, call 408-396-4491.

Complete SCU Business Index results and methodology for June and earlier months can be found at http://www.surveycompany.com/SCUBI/SVOutlook.html.

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About the Santa Clara University Business Index

This monthly business indicator, the only one of its kind for the Silicon Valley region, is a composite index that every month tracks business conditions in Silicon Valley companies and their markets, as well as trends in job availability in the region, by polling the region’s executives and managers.

The SCU Business Index since February 2002 has asked managers and executives in a wide range of businesses in Silicon Valley to assess their business prospects and the current and future availability of jobs in their companies. It is managed for the Leavey School of Business by The Survey Company.

The Santa Clara University Business Index survey polls several hundred MBA alumni, undergraduate business alumni, and several dozen members of its business advisory board who are employed in managerial and executive positions in Silicon Valley companies.

About The Leavey Schoolof Business
The Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University began in 1926, and was one of the first business schools in the country to receive national accreditation. It undergraduate business program has been recognized as one of the best in California, and it MBA program has been ranked in the nation’s top 20 part-time programs. More than 80 percent of its 1,043 MBA students are working professionals in Silicon Valley. For more information, see http://business.scu.edu.

About Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located in California's Silicon Valley, offers its 8,060 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, plus master's and law degrees. Distinguished nationally by the third-highest graduation rate among all U.S. master's universities, California's oldest higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. More information is on line at www.scu.edu.

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