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CONTACT: Jay S. Winuk
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

DATA DOWNLINK TO OFFER DRI/McGRAW HILL'S
U.S. REGIONAL ECONOMIC SERVICE

Web-based .xls Business Information Service Adds Leading Source of Regional Economic Data and Forecasts

 

Jersey City, NJ, September 8, 1997 . . . Broadening its on-line business information offerings to include quantitative regional economic data, Data Downlink Corporation announced today the addition of DRI/McGraw-Hill (DRI) as a content provider for its .xls web-based information service. DRI's U.S. Regional Economic database contains both historical and forecast data and is available immediately on either a pay-per-view or subscription basis at the .xls web site, www.xls.com.

DRI/McGraw Hill is the information industry's leading provider of regional economic data. The U.S. Regional Economic database includes forecasts of key demographic and economic concepts for all 50 states, 310 metropolitan areas and over 3,000 counties. Included in DRI's U.S. regional models are projections of interest rates, GDP, inflation and other economic indicators, based on factors such as wage rates, tax burdens, energy prices, home prices and a host of other indicators. Via .xls, DRI reports can be created based on geography, industry or economic/demographic concepts,

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such as employment, population, wages, CPI and many others.

Typical uses of DRI's data include: identifying expanding and contracting markets; determining relative market potential; anticipating the impact of regulations and tax changes; managing labor costs; quantifying the effects of unexpected economic events and more. Banks, for example, use DRI data to provide management with a realistic understanding of the market climate for acquisitions purposes and credit risk. Real estate professionals use it to analyze commercial and residential markets.

"The addition of DRI to our growing list of content providers will serve our customers well," said Steve Goldstein, founder and CEO of Data Downlink. "They are the best resource in the business for current, useful regional economic data, and Data Downlink is well positioned to help them make that information easily available to users throughout the U.S. and around the world."

DRI/McGraw-Hill, headquartered in Lexington, MA, provides data, analysis, forecasts and expert advice to more than 2,000 business, financial and government organizations worldwide.

Data Downlink Corporation, founded in 1996, provides a comprehensive library of premium financial and business information through its Web-based search service, called .xls (http://www.xls.com). Offering company financials and economic, demographic, industry, country and market-specific data, it is the only customizable such service on the market, allowing the subscribing or pay-per-view user to automatically download database information live directly into a Microsoft Excel or Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet. For more information about Data Downlink and its content providers, visit its web site or call customer service at 201-557-5850.

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