PRESS RELEASES

Silvia, in the first edition of “Broaden Your Horizons,” a forward-looking Wachovia white paper series, said the economy has shown signs it will avoid a double dip that characterized recoveries in three of the past four recessions. But he warned investors to be on guard in a recovery marked by expectations of slow growth through the remainder of the year.

“Jobless claims have peaked and orders are rising. These are signals consistent with a sustained economic recovery – if these gains persist,” he said in the white paper released today. “Now is not the time to be lulled to sleep. Investors counting on prosperity need to be mindful of the signs of these double dips.”

Historically, what investors and economists initially pegged as the first signs of recovery from the 1969-71, 1973-75 and 1980-82 recessions turned out to be brief periods of economic expansion cut short by financial shocks like the energy crisis of the mid-1970s or failed monetary policies to rein in inflation.

This time around, monetary policy appears focused on sustaining the expansion, although fallout from the Enron collapse, a policy shift in Washington toward balancing the federal budget or some unforeseen event looming on the horizon could, once again, stall an economic engine struggling to get out of first gear.

Text or electronic copies of the eight-page Wachovia Economic White Paper are available.

Prior to joining Wachovia in February, Silvia was the senior economist for the U.S. Senate Joint Economic Committee and chief economist of the Senate Banking Committee. From 1983 to 1999, Silvia was chief economist for the Kemper Funds and served as a managing director of Scudder Kemper Investments. During those years, he served on advisory committees for the Federal Reserve Banks of Cleveland and Chicago as well as for the Public Securities Association.

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