Ready for San Francisco:  Annual Meeting To Focus on Theme  Of “Global Integration, Competition, and Innovation”

Headliner speakers and other prominent economists are polishing their forecasts and analyses for presentation at NABE’s 49th annual meeting, set for San Francisco, Sept. 9-11.  Key topics linked to the theme of  “Global Integration, Competition, and Innovation” will be center stage as the meeting gets underway at the Grand Hyatt, centrally located downtown.

Confirmed speakers include: Janet Yellen, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and Edward Lazear, chairman of President Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers.   Recently on the record with her views about prospects for inflation, Yellen will be the first speaker the morning of Monday, Sept. 10.  Lazear is scheduled to follow her with his perspective as one of President Bush’s closest economic advisers. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is among the invited speakers.

Other prominent speakers who are confirmed include: Hal Varian, Google’s new (and first) chief economist; and John K.Veroneau, deputy U.S. Trade Representative.

Taylor Will Discuss “Surprising Predictions”

Stanford University economist John B. Taylor has been named the recipient of the Adam Smith Award, NABE’s highest honor. The working title of his Adam Smith lecture, which he will deliver at the luncheon on Monday, Sept. 10, is “Surprising Predictions of Monetary Policy Rules.” See a profile of Taylor in this issue.

Arthur B. Kennickell, senior economist and head of the Federal Reserve Board’s Microeconomic Surveys Unit, will receive the Julius Shiskin Award for Economic Statistics during the meeting. Taylor and Carl Tannenbaum , current NABE president and chief economist, LaSalle Bank, have been named Fellows by the Board of Directors and will also be honored at the meeting. 

As outgoing president, Tannenbaum will give the 49th annual presidential address.  His title is:  “The Incredible Shrinking Bank Industry” and he will discuss profound changes in the industry and their impact on asset markets. At the end of the annual meeting, newly elected President Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, Ford Motor Company chief economist, other officers and members of the Board of Directors elected in July will take office. See report on the new board here.

Catherine Mann, Brandeis University and the Peterson Institute for International Economics, is the chair of the annual meeting’s planning committee. Assisting her are Lynn Reaser, Bank of America; Gene Huang, FedEx Corp., and Chris Varvares, Macroeconomic Advisers.

“Everyone is talking competitiveness and innovation in the global context: the business community, unions, Congress, the media, even monetary policymakers,” Mann said. “Program sessions will span a number of issues, ranging from port infrastructure and health care issues, to labor and financial markets, to intellectual property and venture capital—all with the global backdrop.” 

Others confirmed speakers include: Jason Benderly, Benderly Economics; James Bianco, Bianco Research LLC; Martin Fleming, IBM Corporation; Robert Kleinhenz, California Association of Realtors; Rakesh Kochhar, Pew Hispanic Center; Jurgen Kroger, the European Commission; Wesley Phoa, Capital Guardian Trust; Joachim Scheide, the Kiel Institute for the World Economy; and Paul Thomas, Intel Corporation.

Annual meeting sessions will focus on:

• Transportation infrastructure: what is needed and how to pay for it
• Immigration:  distinguishing facts from fault lines
• Economic challenges of global warming
• Housing trends in California and implications for nation
• Protecting intellectual property rights in digital, global economy
• Interplay of asset prices and consumer spending
• Economic issues facing U.S. defense industry
• Information technology and health care
• Military/security/political issues including large stock of U.S. treasury securities

Small Group Dinners, Receptions for Networking

Come early and attend the NABE President’s reception at the hotel on Saturday night.

Register for a skills session, set for late morning on Sunday, Sept. 9, on “Communicate More Effectively—Inside and Outside Your Company.”  The instructor will video tape and replay interviews with three volunteers and give tips for presentations to the media as well as to general audiences.

On Sunday night, join fellow NABE members and guests on the 52nd floor of the Bank of America building for a reception as you take in the view of the San Francisco skyline.

Immediately after the reception, back by popular demand, the small dinner events offer an opportunity for dinner and stimulating conversation on a variety of topics at an impressive list of local restaurants.  

The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco will host NABE members and guests on Monday night for a reception at the 12th District’s impressive headquarters. With a staff of more than 1,800 employees, the San Francisco Fed District covers nine states that account for 20 percent of the U.S. population.

Stay around after the last session on Tuesday and join an afternoon tour of Napa Valley Wine Country and dinner.  

Find details of the annual meeting at: http://nabe.com/am2007/index.html. The hotel only has a limited number of rooms available on Monday and Tuesday night. An alternative list of hotels is here.

Register online at https://secure.icglink.com/nabe/am07reg.html