A month ago, when an initial gauge of first-quarter economic growth came in surprisingly weak, many policy makers and economists expected the bad news to prove fleeting.
Still, the government's gauge of first-quarter G.D.P. growth is expected to be lowered to an annual pace of about 1.9 percent, from 2.2 percent, because of a smaller-than-expected rise in wholesale inventories in March that was reported on Wednesday.
The U.S.D.A.'s "prospective plantings" report, based on a survey of 86,000 growers, is the first gauge of farmers' intentions.
The first gauge of activity in the sector for 2014 suggested jobs growth continued in January but the rapid recovery in overall factory activity eased off.
In an interview this afternoon, Ms. Pelosi, who hopes to be the party's House leader some day, said she was aware that the vote would be the first gauge of her leadership skills.
The first gauge of activity in the sector for 2014 suggested commercial projects, as well as civil engineering, also experienced a resurgence, growing at the fastest pace since before the financial crisis.
The sabotage numbers, the first gauge of the scale of efforts by guerrilla fighters to bring the country to a standstill by striking at infrastructure, emerged on the day that Iraq's new prime minister, Iyad Allawi, gave an assessment of the impact of the attacks.
It is also worth noting that the British economy, which has done the most to copy America, has grown more slowly than either Germany or France over the past decade.The second gauge of economic performance is productivity, an area in which America, it is claimed, is enjoying a miracle.
The Philadelphia Fed index, a closely watched regional gauge of manufacturing, showed its sixth straight month of growth in the February survey released Thursday, and the gauge of new orders jumped substantially, indicating an uptick in demand.
Gauging the number of first-time visitors to eTown's house of worship by their applause, warmup announcer Ron Bostwick remarked, "I sense some new converts are in the audience".
Still, it was the first real gauge of public sentiment toward Thomas and the franchise.
