SPEAKERS TO ADDRESS AREA ECONOMIC OUTLOOK FOR 2001

"The Economy in 2001" will be the theme of the third annual Economic Outlook Conference on Friday in Glenn Auditorium in Dempster Hall.

National and regional economic forecasts will be presented by Gary Thayer, chief economist for A.G. Edwards & Sons, and Dr. Bruce Domazlicky, director of the Center for Economic and Business Research for Southeast Missouri State University, the host of the one-day session.

The Center for Economic and Business Research, the Department of Economics and the Donald L. Harrison College of Business will sponsor the conference.

The Economic Outlook Conference opens with registration from noon to 1:30 Friday. A lunch buffet is included with registration. The cost of the conference is $10.

Keynote speaker

Thayer, keynote speaker for the event, is the chief economist for A.G. Edwards, one of the nation's largest investment firms, with more than 6,900 financial consultants in 692 offices in the United States and London.

Thayer, who uses quantitative analysis to forecast economic growth, interest rates, ex-change rates and stock market activity, will present "The Economy in 2001."

He was one of 42 economists polled during a national economic survey last fall.

Sixty-one percent of the survey participants at that time felt that the Fed had pulled off a hoped-for "soft landing," in which the economy slows just enough to ward off inflation but not enough to flirt with a recession.

At that time, Thayer said, "we think the economic momentum is waning, and that by the early part of 2001, policy-makers will see that the economy doesn't need the same amount of restraint" from interest rates.

Thayer has been interviewed by CNBC, CNNFN, "Fox News," CBS and the "NBC Evening News" and he has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, among others.

Regional economy

Domazlicky will provide a look at the future for the regional economy during a presentation of "Southeast Missouri in 2001."

It was reported in a recent issue of "Southeast Missouri Business Indicators," an economic publication by the Center for Economic and Business Research at the university, that the area was continuing to participate in a strong economy, with low unemployment, strong personal income growth and brisk retail sales.

WANT TO GO?

WHAT: Economic Outlook Conference

WHERE: Southeast Missouri State University

WHEN: Friday afternoon

COST: $10

HOW TO REGISTER: Call Department of Economics (573) 651-2181