11.   New jobs in the county come from the service, construction and professional sectors, said Adrian Sanchez, First Interstate Bancorp regional economist.

12.   One reason Gulf states are reluctant to ease their grip on their economies is a fear of provoking social unrest, according to regional economists.

13.   Rae Rosen, a senior regional economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, is, well, reserved.

14.   Texas may have bucked the national trend toward lower job creation, said Bill Luker, Dallas-based regional economist for the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

15.   Andrew Freris, regional chief economist for Salomon Brothers, predicted that the Indonesian government will move to reduce tariffs, liberalize trade and encourage competition.

16.   He added that perhaps non-governmental organisations and regional economists could sit down and help come up with a proposal.

17.   Song Seng Wun, regional economist at GK Goh Research Pte.

18.   There also seemed to be a recovery in consumer demand, JP Morgan regional economist David Fernandez told Dow Jones Newswires.

19.   Joseph Tan, a regional economist with Standard Chartered Bank, said there was a lot of excess capacity in the region.

20.   Neil Saker, regional economist with Crosby Securities, said he expected the government to push for further economic deregulation in the future.