>forwarded question from another list. doug haven't you written
>about the conference board on lbo? the article answers her in the
>basic, but i guess she's looking for more. btw, i sent your
>question about hardware/software to hacker list and i'll forward
>replies i get. some may have already posted you offlist.
The Conference Board is a business-sponsored think tank that goes way back. As they say on their website <http://www.conference-board.org>:
>The Conference Board was born out of a crisis in industry in 1916.
>Declining public confidence in business and rising labor unrest had
>become severe threats to economic growth and stability.
>
>A group of concerned business leaders, representing a variety of
>major industries, concluded that the time had arrived for an
>entirely new type of organization. Not another trade association.
>Not a propaganda machine. But a respected, not-for-profit,
>nonpartisan organization that would bring leaders together to find
>solutions to common problems and objectively examine major issues
>having an impact on business and society.
>
>The Conference Board's stature and credibility have grown far beyond
>what any of its founders imagined. But it has remained faithful to
>its original ideals and mission.
They're probably most famous for publishing the monthly consumer confidence figures. When the government privatized its set of leading, coincident, and lagging business cycle indicators back in the 1980s, the CB picked them up. They also do a lot of work on corporate governance and shareholder relations. They tend towards the more liberal end of the corporate spectrum.
You can download the report in question from their website for a mere $25.
Doug