National experts brief area business leaders on economic outlook

Four leading economists will share their insights and predictions for local, regional, national and international economies and financial markets for the remainder of 2007 and beyond at the University of Wisconsin–Madison's Economic Outlook Conference on Friday, March 16, at the Fluno Center in Madison.

For more than 40 years, the semiannual event has helped business leaders and owners translate economic trends into competitive intelligence. The event will explore factors impacting the economy, such as oil prices, federal budget deficits, interest rates, the employment outlook and the war on terrorism. Business leaders from throughout Wisconsin, northern Illinois and eastern Iowa are expected to attend.

The briefing is scheduled from 8:30 a.m.-3:20 p.m. at the Fluno Center, 601 University Ave. Featured speakers are:

• Neil George, editor of Personal Finance, Neil George's Inner Circle and By George! He recently retired as a chief economist of a New York-based money management and affiliated brokerage company and helped found and build the International Markets Division of Mark Twain Bank. He has also been featured in The New York Times, International Herald Tribune, The Wall Street Journal and other leading business media.
• Anthony Chan, managing director and chief economist, JPMorgan Private Client Services. He is a member of the prestigious Blue Chip Monthly Forecasting panel and the National Association of Business Economists Quarterly Macro Panel, as well as Reuters, Bloomberg and Dow Jones Weekly Economic Indicator panels. Chan also served on the Economic Advisory Committee of the American Bankers Association, which briefed former Fed chair Alan Greenspan and his board in two off-the-record sessions per year.
• Jay N. Mueller, senior portfolio manager, Wells Capital Management Fixed Income Team. He spent 14 years at Strong Capital Management, including roles as the portfolio manager of the Strong Money Market and Strong Heritage Money Funds and director of fixed income. He served as Strong's economist from 2000-05. He managed equity derivatives, bond portfolios, money-market funds, international cash portfolios, municipal portfolios and index funds.
• Donald A. Nichols, UW–Madison professor emeritus of economics and public affairs, who serves on Gov. Jim Doyle's Economic Advisory Council. Nichols served on the staffs of the Council of Economic Advisers to the U.S. president (1963), the Senate Budget Committee (1975, 1976), and as deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor (1977-79). For more than 30 years he has focused his research, teaching and publications on factors affecting unemployment, inflation and regional economic growth, with a focus on macroeconomic theory and policy and regional economic policy.

A brief question-and-answer period will follow each presentation.

Economic Outlook is a signature event of the Executive Education program at the UW–Madison School of Business. For more information or to register for the event, call (800) 348-8964.