DETROIT, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Detroit Area Business Activity Index fell 4 points in December to 93, making a new low for the year. The index has declined for 4 consecutive months and is at its lowest reading since October 1995. For the year as a whole, our index has averaged 99.0, down 6.3 percent from the average of all of 2006.

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"With all but one component of our index down in December, weakness in the Detroit regional economy is looking increasingly broadly based," said Dana Johnson, Chief Economist at Comerica Bank. "The emerging softness in the national economy is now reinforcing the difficult structural adjustments centered in the Michigan auto industry. While I am not expecting a deep or prolonged national recession, the Detroit metro economy will be sorely tested in 2008."

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA) is a financial services company strategically aligned by three business segments: The Business Bank, The Retail Bank, and Wealth & Institutional Management. Comerica focuses on relationships and helping businesses and people to be successful.

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SOURCE: Comerica Bank

CONTACT: Dana Johnson, Senior Vice President & Chief Economist,
+1-214-828-5970, +1-800-895-7708

Web site: http://www.comerica.com/