2001: Trouble and triumph
National outlook at a glance

Advertiser Staff

• Economy: A look back at rapidly fading 2001 will recall the downfall not only of dot-com companies and their cybergeek progenitors, but also the demise of many thousands of jobs related to the economic slowdown since Sept. 11.

Yet all is not lost in the job market. Overall demand for workers may in fact be picking up as job-seekers prepare for 2002. Analysts expect that next year should be the mirror image of this year, with improvement starting to show up in March.

• Retail: Stung by a slowdown in sales that only worsened after Sept. 11, retailers are nervous not just about getting through the holiday season and into the new year. They're worried about what comes next: an expected slew of consolidations and store closings.

Many of the country's big merchants already began to scale back on store expansions and focus on cost-cutting before the holiday. Yet, in the words of Therese Bryne, a partner at investment firm Pantheon Capital Management, "The worst may be yet to come."

• Tourism: Quiet. That's how managers and tourism officials describe the mood. But quiet may be good. Quiet is much, much better than comatose, which is what hotels, restaurants and parks were in the weeks just after Sept. 11.

U.S. hotel-room revenue fell 16 percent in November from a year earlier, according to Smith Travel Research said. Overall, occupancy for U.S. hotels fell 8.9 percent in November to 53.5 percent and average room rate fell 8.1 percent to $79.05, the firm said.

With corporations cutting travel budgets and some vacationers still reluctant to fly, demand for hotel rooms is not expected to rise much in the United States until 2003, Pricewaterhouse-Coopers' Hospitality & Leisure Group said earlier this month.

• Wall Street: Dismal corporate earnings, a recession and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks sent the market to its lowest level in nearly three years. But by December, a turnaround appeared to be under way, although it was unlikely the major indexes would break even for the year.

"We're ending the year on a more upbeat note. That's important because it sets the stage for a good year in 2002," said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer at First Albany Corp.