DALLAS, Jan. 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Comerica Bank's California Economic Activity Index fell 1.3 percentage points in November, declining to a level of 102.4. November's reading is 29 points, or 40 percent, above the index cyclical low of 73.2. The index has averaged 103 points the eleven months through November, four points above the average for all of 2011.
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"After reaching its most recent peak of 105.2 in July, our index has declined for each of the past four months ending in November. A declining drilling rig count has been a strong drag on the index, and residential construction indicators and Silicon Valley stock performance have recently been weaker, as well," said Robert Dye, Chief Economist at Comerica Bank. "State sale and income tax increases will help stabilize the state's fiscal condition in the near term, but they also contribute to a high cost environment which could end up being a drag on business formation down the road."
The California Economic Activity Index consists of eight variables, as follows: nonfarm payrolls, exports, sales tax revenues, hotel occupancy rates, continuing claims for unemployment insurance, building permits, Baker Hughes rotary rig count and the Silicon Valley 150 Index (SV150). All data are seasonally adjusted, as necessary, and indexed to a base year of 2008. Nominal values have been converted to constant dollar values. Index levels are expressed in terms of three-month moving averages.
Comerica Bank, with 105 banking centers in the key California markets of San Francisco and the East Bay, San Jose, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Fresno, Sacramento, Santa Cruz/Monterey, and the Inland Empire, is a subsidiary of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA). Comerica is a financial services company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and strategically aligned into three major business segments: the Business Bank, the Retail Bank, and Wealth Management. Comerica focuses on relationships and helping businesses and people be successful. To find Comerica on Facebook, please visit www.facebook.com/ComericaCares.
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SOURCE Comerica Bank