Over the long-run, lower deficits and debt support relatively higher growth estimates, however.

For European ad spending, the agency increased its 2004 growth estimate to 4.2 percent from 3.7 percent.

The growth estimates are preliminary, bank officials have stressed.

But some Fed officials have been raising their growth estimates.

A number of other Wall Street firms and banks sharply cut their growth estimates.

Merrill Lynch and several other firms also cut growth estimates.

The growth estimates do not include C corporations, for which comparable 1992 data are not available.

In the long run, lower deficits and debt would have led to relatively higher growth estimates.

But not all the analysts followed its lead by raising their growth estimates, which compare 1998 data with forecasts for 1999.

The original growth estimate released last month put the growth at 2.6 percent.