*** With concerns of deflation now presumably safely behind us, developments ahead are likely to be dominated by the paths of productivity growth and profit margins - assuming, of course, the always latent danger of terrorism in the United States remains in check.
Profits of nonfinancial corporations as a share of sector output, after falling to 7 percent in the third quarter of 2001, rebounded to 12 percent in the first quarter of 2004, a pace of advance not experienced since 1983.