Reuters to distribute University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers on an exclusive basis

26 July 2006. New York – Reuters and the University of Michigan have signed an agreement giving Reuters the exclusive right to distribute the highly regarded Surveys of Consumers, monthly surveys of consumer attitudes and expectations about the U.S. economy. The survey will be renamed the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers.

Under the agreement, effective January 1, 2007, Reuters will, for six months after their release, have the exclusive right to distribute the headline survey index numbers through its news and media services, reaching an estimated 1 billion people a day. Additionally, Reuters will offer a more in-depth view of this important consumer opinion data exclusively to its customers, building on the strong base of current subscribers.

The Surveys of Consumers are influential both in public policy and business circles, providing a gauge of consumer anticipation of changes in the economic environment. One part of the surveys -- the Index of Consumer Expectations -- is an official component of the U.S. Index of Leading Economic Indicators, a key element in understanding and forecasting changes in the national economy.

The surveys will continue to be conducted by the U-M Institute for Social Research (ISR) and directed by U-M economist Richard Curtin, who has headed the project since 1976.

“Since they began in 1946, the surveys have provided a gauge of consumer anticipation of changes in the economic environment,” said Curtin. “I’m pleased that this agreement safeguards the independence and integrity of this valuable time-series.”

John Hervey, Global Head of Primary Research at Reuters, said, “We are very pleased to be partnering with the University of Michigan and the Institute for Social Research on such an influential and respected body of work. Having exclusive distribution rights to this content is another important milestone in the development of our high-value content offerings, a key aspect of Reuters Core Plus growth strategy.”

“We are delighted to partner with Reuters to increase access to the results of this survey,” said U-M President Mary Sue Coleman. “Reuters is a widely respected information company whose mission and reputation make it an excellent choice as a U-M partner. This collaboration emphasizes the power of the U-M research in attracting the interest of international information giants like Reuters.”

* * * *

Contacts:

About Reuters
Reuters (www.reuters.com), the global information company, provides indispensable information tailored for professionals in the financial services, media and corporate markets. Its trusted information drives decision making across the globe based on a reputation for speed, accuracy and independence. Reuters has 15,300 staff in 89 countries, including staff from the acquisition of Telerate in June 2005. It also includes 2,300 editorial staff in 189 bureaux serving 128 countries, making Reuters the world’s largest international multimedia news agency. In 2005, Reuters revenues were £2.4 billion.

About ISR
Established in 1948, the Institute for Social Research (ISR) is among the world’s oldest social science research organizations, and a world leader in the development and application of social science methodology. ISR (www.isr.umich.edu) conducts some of the most widely-cited surveys and studies in the nation, including the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers, the American National Election Studies, the Monitoring the Future Study, the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, the Health and Retirement Study, and the National Survey of Black Americans and the World Values Surveys. ISR is also home to the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), the world’s largest computerized social science data archive.

Contact Information

Johnny Weir

Reuters

Contact via E-mail