R&D spending forecast weak.

• Position: Business Briefs

If research and development spending on new product development is supposed to help companies pull out of the doldrums, things aren't looking good.

An annual survey by Battelle Memorial Institute and R&D magazine found that respondents were projecting an anemic 0.1 percent hike in R&D spending this year, the lowest in a decade. Last year, amid all the turmoil in corporate suites, the estimated growth was 0.3 percent. As recently as 2001, growth was a robust 5 percent.

Government R&D outlays are a different story, however. The survey finds that spending there is expected to jump 10.5 percent in 2003 after an 11 percent estimated hike last year. A big...