Economic Outlook Conference Examines Trends, Financial Health

Newswise — Dr. James Bullard, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, will serve as keynote speaker at Middle Tennessee State University's 16th annual Economic Outlook Conference, Friday, Sept. 26, with registration beginning at 8:15 a.m. Bullard will speak at 9 a.m.

This year the event will be held at the new Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center, 1200 Conference Center Boulevard, in Murfreesboro.

"The Economic Outlook Conference has become an MTSU tradition because it delivers what it promises—substance, expertise, and an opportunity for business and industry professionals to share common concerns," commented Dr. Jim Burton, dean of MTSU's Jennings A. Jones College of Business. The basic premise of the conference, Burton says, is to promote the idea of free enterprise and to promote events that proudly wave that banner.

Burton noted that the conference is targeted especially to bankers, business owners and managers, community officials and leaders, as well as business and economics faculty and students—"and to anyone interested in economic growth in the region and nation."

Bullard took office on April 1 of this year. He directs the activities of the bank's head office in St. Louis and its three branches in Little Rock, Ark., Louisville, Ky., and Memphis. He also represents the bank of the Federal Open Market Committee, the Federal Reserve's chief monetary policymaking body. He began his career in 1990, when he joined the research division of the bank in St. Louis. Before his recent appointment, he was deputy director of research for monetary analysis. Bullard is a native of St. Cloud, Minn. He holds a bachelor's degree in quantitative methods and information systems and economics from St. Cloud State University and a Ph.D. in economics from Indiana University.

Continuing its tradition of providing substantive information, the conference also will feature Dr. David Penn, director of MTSU's Business and Economic Research Center, who will, at 10:30 a.m., provide a mid-state/regional economic update. The BERC maintains significant databases of regional, national and international information and provides research resources and databases for the MTSU community.

Following the presentation of the Jennings A. Jones Champion of Free Enterprise Award at 11:30 a.m., another mainstay of the annual conference, Dr. Donald Ratajczak, Regent's Professor of Economics Emeritus at Georgia State University and nationally known economic forecaster, will address the luncheon audience. Ratajczak has become a staple of the annual event. The conference will dismiss at 1:15 p.m.

The conference draws national media interest, including Dow Jones, Bloomberg News and Reuters. Previous keynote speakers have included Dennis P. Lockhart, 14th president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta (2007); William Poole, president, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (2006); Mark W. Olson, member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve (2005); David M. Darst, managing director of Morgan Stanley (2004); and Dr. Susan S. Bies, member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve (2003).

The MTSU Economic Outlook Conference is co-sponsored by the Jones College, the Jones Chair of Excellence in Free Enterprise, the College's Business and Economic Research Center, and the Jack O. Weatherford Chair of Finance. Partial funding is provided by U.S. Bank.

For more information, call 615-898-2764. Visit the Jones College of Business Web site at http://business.web.mtsu.edu.