Industry Outlook

摘要

As growth decelerates and consumers tighten their belts, competition for increasingly scarce dollars will be hotter than ever. And while the economic expansion will continue, it's looking more vulnerable.rnBusiness executives will need to fight harder for growth in 2001. During the past five years, healthy financial markets and rapid increases in technology spending have propelled the U.S. economy forward. The growth cycle has proved surprisingly sturdy, even in the face of external shocks such as the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the Russian credit-market panic of 1998. In the aftermath of both crises, output continued to expand, despite fears of a slowdown.