EDITORS: Reporters who plan to cover the conference should contact Bernie DeGroat at (734) 647-1847 or (734) 764-7260.

ANN ARBOR—Forecasts for the U.S. and Michigan economies and the consumer outlook for 2001 will highlight the University of Michigan’s 48th annual Conference on the Economic Outlook, Nov. 16-17.

Saul H. Hymans, U-M professor of economics and statistics and director of the Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics (RSQE), will open the conference with a presentation of “The U.S. Economic Outlook” at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 16. Later that day at 1:45 p.m., Richard T. Curtin, director of the Surveys of Consumers at the U-M Institute for Social Research (ISR), will discuss “The Consumer Outlook for 2001.”

U-M economists Joan P. Crary and George A. Fulton will present “The 2001 Outlook for the Michigan Economy” at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 17.

All sessions will be held in the Rackham Amphitheater, except for an after-dinner address by Doug Andrey, director of information systems and finance for the Semiconductor Industry Association. He will speak on “The High-Tech Market Outlook” at 7:45 p.m. Nov. 16 at the Michigan League.

[Map of Central Campus, Rackham Building and Michigan League (#15) left center.]

Other topics in the two-day conference include:

• “The ‘Old’ and the ‘New’ in the U.S. Economic Expansion” by Victor Zarnowitz, the Conference Board (Nov. 16).

• “Does the High-Yield Bond Rate Predict Future Economic Growth?” by Cara S. Lown, Federal Reserve Bank of New York (Nov. 16).

• “National Economic Outlook” by Mark M. Zandi, Economy.com (Nov. 16).

• “Global Skill Shortages” by Malcolm S. Cohen, Employment Research Corporation, and Mahmood A. Zaidi, University of Minnesota (Nov. 16).

• “What’s Driving the New Economy?” by Lisa M. Lynch, Tufts University (Nov. 17).

• “Asset-Backed Securitization: An Alternative Source of Financing for Today’s Corporation” by Andrew A. Silver, Moody’s Investors Services (Nov. 17).

The conference is sponsored by the U-M Department of Economics in cooperation with the Institute for Social Research. For registration costs and other information, consult the RSQE Web page at rsqe.econ.lsa.umich.edu/ or call RSQE at (734) 764-2567.

professorGeorge A. FultonDoug AndreyMap of Central CampusVictor ZarnowitzFederal Reserve Bank of New YorkEconomy.com