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[TTHQ Staff]

MAY INVESTOR OPTIMISM HITS HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE JANUARY

Investors Plan to Cut Overall Spending in Response to Surging Energy Prices

Residential Real Estate Market Conditions Continue to Worry Investors

NEW YORK, May 29, 2007 – Investor optimism surged 21 points in May and now stands at 95
according to the UBS/Gallup Index of Investor Optimism. The Index is currently at its highest
level since January of this year when it reached 103. The Index is conducted monthly and had
a baseline score of 124 when it was established in October 1996.

One reason for the sharp improvement in May’s Index is that investors are much more
optimistic about their investments than they have been in the past five years. The Personal
Dimension of the Index, which measures optimism about investors’ own personal investment
portfolios, increased 13 points in May to 75, its highest level since March 2002 when it stood
at 80.

Investors are also more optimistic about the outlook for the US economy. The Economic
Dimension, which measures investors’ feelings about the direction of the overall US economy
over the next 12 months, increased eight points in May to 20. Although this increase
represents a substantial improvement in optimism about the direction of the economy over
last month, it remains below its reading in February of this year. In this regard, 41 percent of
investors now say the US economy is in a recovery or sustained expansion, up from 35 percent
who responded this way in April.

“Increased optimism is being fueled by the ongoing rally in the stock market. With solid
corporate earnings, a strong M&A market, and moderating inflation fears the equity markets
have posted impressive gains. However, even with the increased optimism in regard to the
market and overall economy, investors continue to be plagued by concerns over gas prices,”
said Mike Ryan, Head of UBS Wealth Management Research Americas.

Despite the improvement in overall investor optimism, investors remain concerned about the
recent surge in gas prices over the past few months. Three in four investors (76 percent) say
they believe energy prices are hurting the current investment climate “a lot,” up from 72
percent who voiced those concerns about energy prices in April. May’s results show the
highest level of investor concern about energy prices since August of last year when 78
percent said energy prices were hurting the investment climate “a lot.”



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[pdx5]

Would it be true that investors are the most optimistic on the way to a top? And that does not mean I am calling for a top HERE! Were investors very optimistic in 2000? I imagine that optimism is what carries the market to its high.