Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Get the giant economy size.

C. Dowd Ritter, chair, president and CEO of Regions Financial Corporation, will be the keynote speaker at MTSU’s 17th annual Economic Outlook Conference, Thursday, Sept. 24 at the Embassy Suites Murfreesboro, with registration beginning at 8:15 a.m. Ritter will speak at 9 a.m. The head of one of the nation’s largest banks, Ritter began his banking career in 1969. “Mr. Ritter will speak from the unique vantage point of the head of a bank that survived the economic storms of the last 18 months,” says Dr. Jim Burton, dean of the Jennings A. Jones College of Business at MTSU. “He will likely have interesting thoughts about what the future of the banking industry may be. The program also will feature Dr. David Penn, director of MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center, with a midstate/regional economic update at 10:30 a.m. Dr. Donald Ratajczak, Regents Professor of Economics Emeritus at Georgia State University, will be the luncheon speaker.

Call 615-898-2764 for more information.

You can make it if you try.

According to the latest edition of Midstate Economic Indicators, job losses in construction and manufacturing in the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area should become less severe in the coming months for two reasons. “First,” the publication states, “… housing construction is showing improvement as more permits are being issued for construction of single-family homes. But a building permit essentially indicates an intention to build; the economic impact will not be felt until construction gets underway. Second, manufacturing in the United States is moving much closer to a neutral stance. The PMI (Purchasing Managers Index), a well-known indicator of manufacturing activity, moved very close to neutral following 18 months of negative territory. This means that manufacturing is closing in on the time when output is rising instead of declining.”

Contact the MTSU Business and Economic Research Center at 615-898-2610.

Cockeyed optimists or cockamamie optimists?

The latest Middle Tennessee Consumer Confidence Index finds that local consumers are still more optimistic about the economy in certain ways than the rest of the nation. The poll of 450 randomly selected adult residents of Davidson, Williamson and Rutherford counties was conducted the evenings of Monday, Sept. 14, and Wednesday, Sept. 16. Forty-nine percent said business conditions in the U.S. will be better six months from now compared to 22 percent of the country as a whole. Forty-one percent said there will be more job openings six months from now. Only 18 percent of Americans believe that is true. Forty-six percent believe that their personal financial situation will be better 12 months from now. Only 11 percent of their fellow Americans feel similarly.

Contact Dr. Tim Graeff, director of MTSU’s Office of Consumer Research, at 615-898-5124.
tgraeff@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

GET THE PICTURE?--“Relics,” an exhibit by Brad Temkin, is on display at the Baldwin Photographic Gallery in MTSU’s Learning Resources Center (LRC) through Oct. 22. Temkin says of his work, “My approach builds on the sculptural foundation that integrates the object and the landscape. Remnants of humanity are abandoned amidst vast, empty and anonymous landscapes. These forms exude an energy that transcends originating intention, becoming beautiful and monumental ‘earth works’ in their own right.” Exhibitions are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Tom Jimison at 615-898-2085 or tjimison@mtsu.edu.

CROP ROTATION--Officials in the MTSU School of Agribusiness and Agriscience today postponed their second Field Day until Thursday, Sept. 24, because of the rain that has covered the Middle Tennessee region all week. Ag school director Dr. Warren Gill says the event will move to 4 p.m. Sept. 24 at the Agricultural Laboratory Farm, 3301 Guy James Rd. More than 80 people had registered to attend as of Sept. 16, Gill says, adding that others can register to attend by calling Dr. Jessica Carter at 615-898-2419, the University of Tennessee Extension office at 615-898-7710 or Gill at 615-898-2404.

PRESSING ON--The legacy of MTSU’s working replica of an 18th century printing press will be explained through photos and prints as part of an exhibit at the main branch of the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St., through Sunday, Sept. 27. The exhibit is titled “Telling the Story: Letterpress Printing and Community.” The university’s segment will include the story of letterpress printing at MTSU. The works of current MTSU art students; alumni; visiting artists; faculty; elementary, middle- and high-school teachers and students who printed on the James E. Walker Library’s unique device will be highlighted. A reproduction of the English common press used by Benjamin Franklin in the early 1700s, the printing press was handcrafted in 2004 and 2005 out of chestnut and white oak wood from a 100-year-old house in Virginia. Contact Kristen Keene at 615-898-5376 or kkeene@mtsu.edu.