1. Log onto the S&P Market Insight Web site, www.mhhe.com/edumarketinsight. Click on “Commentary,” which is the third box below the Market Insight title. The second major heading on the left side is Trends and Projections. Click on the current “Trends and Projections.”

This is a quarterly economic summary for the U.S. economy and it is filled with charts and tables. Please find the graphs showing Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization. If you don’t find these graphs, cycle back through the archival files for preceding months until you do. Next find the graph for Capital Spending. Capital Spending measures the amount of money that U.S. corporations spend on plant and equipment. In other words, this graph sums up the capital budgeting decisions of corporate America. Find the graphs for corporate profits for the total economy and interest rates.

Examine all the graphs and discuss how economic activity has affected capital budgeting decisions during the periods on the graphs.