Bureau of Economic Analysis
	Survey of Current Business Table of Contents July 2002

Each year, the estimates in the U.S. international transactions accounts and the U.S. international investment position accounts are revised to incorporate statistical and methodological changes and regularly available source data. The year's annual revision featured the incorporation of results from the March 2000 U.S. Treasury Department's Benchmark Survey of Foreign Portfolio Investment in the United States. The incorporation of these results led to substantial downward revisions to the estimates of foreign holdings of U.S. securities for 1995-2000 in the U.S. international investment position accounts. It also led to substantial downward revisions to the related income payments and net financial inflows for foreign-owned assets in the United States for 1995-2001 in the U.S. international transactions accounts. In addition, receipts and payments for "other" private services are revised to incorporate results from BEA's Benchmark Survey of Selected Services for 2001.

Real GDP increased 6.1 percent in the first quarter of 2002, up from a 1.7-percent increase in the fourth quarter of 2001. The "preliminary" estimate for the first quarter issued last month had shown a 5.6-percent increase. A downward revision to imports (which are subtracted in the calculation of GDP) and an upward revision to nonresidential investment in equipment and software more than offset a downward revision to exports. Corporate profits increased $5.8 billion (0.7 percent at a quarterly rate) in the first quarter after increasing $125.0 billion (17.9 percent) in the fourth.

In 2001, the net international investment position of the United States became more negative, whether measured on a current-cost basis or on a market-value basis. The net position at current cost was -$1,948.1 billion at yearend 2001, compared with -$1,350.8 billion (revised) at yearend 2000. The net position for yearend 2000 was revised from the previously published estimate of -$1,842.7 billion, primarily reflecting the incorporation of results from the March 2000 U.S. Treasury Department's Benchmark Survey of Foreign Portfolio Investment in the United States as part of the annual revision of the U.S. international accounts.

In 2001, growth slowed in the historical-cost positions of U.S. direct investment abroad (USDIA) and of foreign direct investment in the United States (FDIUS), reflecting slowdowns in both U.S. and foreign economic growth. The USDIA position grew 7 percent, down from 10 percent in 2000; the FDIUS position grew 9 percent, down sharply from 27 percent in 2000. The economic slowdowns contributed to a worldwide drop in merger and acquisition activity, which included a slowdown in cross-border activity, and to depressed earnings, which reduced reinvested earnings, of both U.S. and foreign affiliates.

The U.S. current-account deficit increased $17.4 billion, to $112.5 billion, in the first quarter of 2002. The increase was primarily accounted for by an increase in the deficit on goods and by a shift in the balance on income from a surplus to a deficit. In the financial account, net recorded inflows decreased $51.3 billion, to $99.4 billion. Financial inflows for foreign-owned assets in the United States and financial outflows for U.S.-owned assets abroad both decreased substantially, but the decrease in financial inflows was larger.

8 Real Inventories, Sales, and Inventory-Sales Ratios for Manufacturing and Trade, 2002:I (PDF)

Note: Files listed above contain the text and the tables of the articles; many of the tables are also available in spreadsheet format.

D-1 BEA Current and Historical Data

National Data

D-2 Selected NIPA tables (PDF)
D-30 Other NIPA and NIPA-related tables (PDF)
D-39 Historical measures (PDF)
D-42 Domestic perspectives (PDF)
D-44 Charts (PDF)

International Data

D-52 International perspectives (PDF)

Regional Data

D-53 State and regional tables (PDF)
D-57 Local area table (PDF)
D-59 Charts (PDF)

Appendixes

D-61 Additional information about the NIPA estimates (PDF) 
D-63 Suggested reading (PDF)