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‘Economic Outlook: 1998’ To Look at Balanced-Budget, Domestic Economy

August 15, 1997

The impact of the balanced-budget legislation on the domestic economy will be examined next month by a panel of economic and political authorities. The 24th semi-annual conference Economic Outlook: 1998 will take place Sept. 19 from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., on the UW–Madison campus.

Economic Outlook: 1998, presented by Management Institute, a continuing education unit of the School of Business, will feature four nationally recognized experts providing up-to-date, practical information and recommendations to guide business executives, owners and financial managers as they plan for next year and beyond. The speakers are:

  • Cynthia Latta, senior financial economist, DRI/McGraw-Hill, Lexington, Mass.
  • Melissa Brown, C.F.A., managing director and director of quantitative research for Prudential Securities Inc., New York
  • Cleta Deatherage Mitchell, director and general counsel of the Term Limits Legal Institute, Washington, D.C.
  • Donald Nichols, professor of economics and public policy, director of the La Follette Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy, UW–Madison

“Business decision makers have a unique opportunity to learn first-hand from experts who understand the dynamics of the external factors – from Wall Street to Capitol Hill – that ultimately affect their organizations’ stability and growth,” says Buck Joseph, program director and associate professor in the Management Institute.

Economic Forecast: 1998 and Beyond: With second quarter consumer spending at a lull, and the U.S. unemployment rate at its lowest level in more than 23 years, what’s in store for business in the months ahead? Latta will provide direction as she examines the ramifications of the balanced-budget law, and forecasts the overall economy for the nation and its major sectors.

A former economist for the Federal Reserve Banks of Chicago and New York, Latta will predict the course of the next four quarters for the GDP, market conditions, employment and consumer spending. She is a regular contributor to the Review of the U.S. Economy and author of the weekly U.S. Financial Notes.

Outlook for the Wisconsin and Midwest Economies: Nichols, a frequent speaker at Economic Outlook conferences and known for his consistent, accurate forecasts, will recap current economic conditions and makes short- and long-range projections for Wisconsin and Midwest economies. He’ll present the prospects for investments, exports, commercial construction, manufacturing and consumer spending.

A former advisor on the Council of Economics Advisors to the President, Nichols has also served as senior economist of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, economic advisor to the governor of Wisconsin, and deputy assistant secretary of labor for the U.S. Department of Labor.

Update from Washington, D.C.: Mitchell will take an insider’s look at “what’s happening inside-the-Beltway.” She will speculate on the next steps of the Republican-dominated Congress, the fate of the Clinton administration, post-Whitewater, and preview the presidential sweepstakes in 2000.

A fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University in 1981, she is a former Democrat member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and past chair of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee.

Outlook for Financial Markets: Will the stock market continue to boom? Brown will answer that question and others such as how and why portfolio managers are planning to allocate their clients’ assets. She will review current financial market conditions and the drivers behind the 1997 performance of the bond and stock markets as a prelude to an insightful forecast.

Brown, a well-respected financial analyst, will share her in-depth understanding of the equities market. She has appeared on Institutional Investor Magazine’s “All-Star” list each year since 1988, and is a frequent guest on “Wall Street Week” and “The Nightly Business Report.”

Cost for the conference is $225 per person or $200 per person when two or more from the same organization attend. It’ll take place in the Morgridge Auditorium, Grainger Hall, 975 University Ave., Madison, Wis. For more information, contact Carol Enseki at 1-800/292-8964; fax 608/262-4617; Web http://www.wisc.edu/mi.