NEW YORK--Sept. 25, 2001--The Business Information Network (BIN) Report for June continues to reflect the downward spiral of the economy for the first half in 2001, with ad pages down 15.3% vs. last year, and spending down 15.9% vs. 2000. AD PAGES The first half watched all 12 mega categories post declines. The greatest decliners were: Finance, Business & Advertising, down 24.9%; Computers, down 20.0%; Services, Direct Response, Classified, down 19.2%; Software, down 19.2%; and Telecommunications, down 14.7%. AD SPENDING For the first half, only one mega category posted an increase in ad spending, Horticulture & Farming, up 0.04%. The second quarter was marked by declines in 11 mega categories: Retail, down 1.7%; Travel, down 4.9%; Home & Building, down 4.9%; Computers, down 8.1%; Telecommunications, down 8.5%; Automotive, down 8.9%; Manufacturing & Electrical Equipment, Mat's & Components, down 9.5%; Drugs & Toiletries/PERQ, down 12.9%; Services, Direct Response, Classified, down 20.5%; Software, down 20.6%; and Finance, Business, & Advertising, down 26.7%. "There is no question that the recent events of September 11 will make the difficult economic situation even worse. Despite this, our member companies will continue to improve the quality of their products and will look for new ways to increase profitability. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, and our industry will continue to meet this challenge,'' said Gordon T. Hughes II, President & CEO, American Business Media. JUNE AD PAGES June BIN numbers reflected the ominous economic environment, with b2b ad pages down 22.1%, and ad spending down 23.3% vs. June 2000. Ad pages for all 12 mega categories declined vs. June 2000, with: Automotive, down 1.6%; Drugs & Toiletries/PERQ, down 9.4%; Travel, down 13.0%; Horticulture & Farming, down 15.9%; Retail, down 16.0%; Home & Building, down 16.0%; Manufacturing & Electrical Equipment, Mat's & Components, down 23.4%; Computers, down 25.0%; Services, Direct Response, Classified, down 25.1%; Software, down 27.2%; Telecommunications, down 34.2%; and Finance, Business & Advertising, down 35.9%. JUNE AD SPENDING Overall ad spending saw an increase in only one mega category, Automotive, up 4.2% vs. June 2000. Spending was down in: Computers, down 3.3%; Travel, down 7.6%; Horticulture & Farming, down 7.7%; Retail, down 10.2%; Home & Building, down 11.6%; Drugs & Toiletries/PERQ, down 12.4%; Manufacturing & Electrical Equipment, Mat's & Components, down 22.3%; Software, down 24.8%; Services, Direct Response, Classified, down 26.6%; Telecommunications, down 29.0%; and Finance, Business & Advertising, down 38.7%. The Business Information Network (BIN), is a joint venture between American Business Media (ABM) and Competitive Media Reporting (CMR).