Forecast Luncheon at TAMIU Features Economic Experts

Register now for the 2010 Border Economic Forecast Luncheon sponsored by the Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) A. R. Sanchez, Jr. School of Business Texas Center for Border Economic and Enterprise Development (TCBEED) and the San Antonio Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. The Luncheon will be held at the TAMIU Western Hemispheric Trade Center Fernando A. Salinas Lecture Room (WHTC 111) Wednesday, Feb. 3 from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Fee is $30.

Seating is limited. Call 956.326.2545 or e-mail jbenavides@tamiu.edu to register.

The Luncheon features Dr. Keith Phillips, senior economist and policy advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas—San Antonio Branch and Dr. Agustín Del Río, senior economist, Banco de México.

Dr. Phillips has been with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas for more than 25 years and has written many papers which have appeared in numerous periodicals and journals.

His achievements include the Western Blue Chip Economic Forecast’s most accurate job growth forecaster for Texas for seven years and co-created a two-step seasonal adjustment process that subsequently was used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to seasonally adjust the employment data for all 50 states. Phillips is also often quoted in national and regional media.

He earned his Ph.D. in economics from Southern Methodist University and his M.A., B.A. and Bachelor of Journalism from University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo.

Dr. Del Río began his professional career as a full-time professor of economics at Monterrey Tech and later worked as an economist at Grupo Industrial ALFA in Monterrey, México, and in the Western Hemisphere Department of the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. He was also director of research at the Centro de Análisis y Difusión Económia (CADE), a think tank engaged in economic policy analysis in Monterrey.

He earned his undergraduate degree in economics from Monterrey Tech and his master’s and doctoral degrees in economics from the University of Missouri, specializing in economics and monetary theory and policy.

For more information, contact Jacqueline O. Benavides, data and information specialist, TCBEED, at 326.2545 or e-mail jbenavides@tamiu.edu

University hours are 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday – Friday.

Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at prmis@tamiu.edu