Charting the Economic Future

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- The Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas will host a panel of nationally recognized economists for its 13th annual Business Forecast luncheon on Friday, Jan. 26, 2007. The event will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the John Q. Hammons Convention Center in Rogers.

• Moderator: Julia Peck Mobley, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Commercial National Bank of Texarkana;

• International Economy: J. Paul Horne, independent market economist, Alexandria, Va., and Paris, France;

• National Economy: John E. Silva, chief economist, Wachovia Corp., Charlotte, N.C.; and

• State and Local Economy: Timothy J. Yeager, Arkansas Bankers Association Chair, University of Arkansas. 

“Once again, the Walton College is fortunate to have an extraordinary panel of economists agree to share their forecast for the coming year,” said Walton College Dean Dan Worrell. “We believe the opportunity to hear the unique perspective offered by these accomplished individuals provides tremendous value to business and civic leaders from Northwest Arkansas and the state.”

Worrell added, “This event is part of the outreach activities of the Walton College through the Center for Business and Economic Research. We especially want to acknowledge the generous support of our sponsors who make this event possible. Last year’s luncheon was the most successful to date with more than 1,300 in attendance, a number we expect to surpass this year.”

The sponsors to date for the 2007 Business Forecast luncheon include: Arvest Bank Group; Cooper Communities Inc.; First Security Bank; the city of Fort Smith; Gaddy Investment Co.; Garrison Financial Advisors; George’s Inc.; Greenwood and Associates Inc.; Dan and Jodi Grubb; Legacy National Bank; McKee Foods Corp.; Regions Bank; Charles Schwab & Co. Inc.; Southwestern Electric Power Co.; Southwestern Energy Co.; Wal-Mart Stores Inc.; and Wright Lindsey & Jennings LLP.

Mobley is also president of Commercial Bancshares Inc., an Arkansas bank-holding company. She develops real estate projects and manages a timberland operation in southwest Arkansas. An alumna of the Walton College, she serves on its Dean’s Executive Advisory Board and the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame selection committee. In 2001, she established the John A. Dominick Endowed Scholarship for an exceptional Beta Gamma Sigma student. She served on the UA Campaign for the Twenty-First Century Steering Committee and Women in Philanthropy Committee. She also served on the 2010 Commission and is a founding member of the University of Arkansas Women’s Giving Circle. She received the 1999 Citation of Distinguished UA Alumni award. She was chosen by Arkansas Business Publishing Group to be recognized as one of the “Top 100 Women in Arkansas” in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999. Mobley also serves on the boards of the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation, Arkansas Children’s Hospital Foundation, Pioneer Washington Restoration Foundation and St. Michaels Hospital Foundation of Texarkana, Texas.

 Horne is an independent market economist with 45 years of experience in Europe analyzing international economics and financial markets for multinational investors. In July 2001, he retired as the London-based European equity market economist and a managing director of Smith Barney of Citigroup. He joined Smith Barney in 1975 in Paris as chief international economist and member of the Investment Policy Committee. A managing director from 1987, he remained in Paris until Smith Barney acquired Salomon Brothers in 1997. He wrote the annual analysis of the interaction of international monetary policy and equity markets in the Salomon Smith Barney Guide to World Equity Markets. Before joining Smith Barney, Horne was a specialized economic-financial journalist in Rome in the 1960s with Newsweek magazine and The Times (London). He subsequently worked with the Rockefeller-controlled IBEC financial services subsidiary in Rome and Brussels. Born in the United States, Horne earned a B.A. at Yale University.

 Silva joined Wachovia in February 2002 as chief economist for the bank. Previously, he worked on Capitol Hill as senior economist for the U.S. Senate Joint Economic Committee and chief economist for the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. Prior to that, he was chief economist of Kemper Funds and managing director of Scudder Kemper Investments Inc. Silva holds a bachelor’s degree and a doctoral degree in economics from Northeastern University in Boston and master’s degree in economics from Brown University. Silva serves as a member of the Blue Chip Panel of Economic Forecasters and also on an informal advisory group for the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. In the past, Silva has served on economic advisory committees to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and the Public Securities Association.

 As the Arkansas Bankers Association Chair and associate professor of finance, Yeager’s responsibilities include teaching, research and outreach to Arkansas community bankers. Prior to joining the Walton College in January 2006, he was an assistant vice president over the Supervisory Policy Analysis unit of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.  The unit conducted bank surveillance activities, regional economic and banking analysis, capital markets examiner training and banking research. Recently, his articles have been published in the Journal of Financial Services Review, the Journal of Banking and Finance, and the Journal of Economics and Business. Yeager received his doctorate in economics in 1993 from Washington University. 

The Walton College Center for Business and Economic Research is a public service/outreach organization whose mission is to serve its constituents with the highest quality research support; basic and applied business and economic analysis; timely, relevant business, economic and related public policy information; and other outreach activities. In addition to supporting research within the college, the center supports economic development by providing economic and demographic data and analysis to business, government and individuals. Recent studies have been conducted for the city of Fayetteville, Arvest Bank Group and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. The center also actively works with the economic development community of the state to build Arkansas’ capacity to create high-wage, high-skill employment. Currently, it is working with Accelerate Arkansas, a statewide group of volunteers working under the nonprofit Capital Resource Corp., to benchmark the state’s progress in building knowledge-based companies and employment.

Registration forms will be mailed at the end of December. For more information on sponsorships or reservations for Business Forecast 2007, contact the Center for Business and Economic Research, Sam M. Walton College of Business, Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, (479) 575-4151, fax (479) 575-7687, or e-mail: cber@walton.uark.edu. To register online, visit the Business Forecast Web site at: http://cber.uark.edu