Highlights from an Economic Luncheon

There are so many economic opinions circulating today that you have to wonder who to believe, who's right, and who's way, way off. I attended a luncheon this week hosted by the Strategic Trusted Advisors Roundtable, and the key note speaker was none other than Dr. Lynn Reaser.

Dr. Lynn Reaser

Dr. Lynn Reaser was formerly the chief economist of Bank of America's Investment Strategies Group, and she is currently the president of the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) and has just joined the Fermanian Business Center with Point Loma Nazarene University.

Economic Comments

I made some notes from Dr. Lynn Reaser's comments and thought I would share them with you in bullet point format:

• We definitely out of the recession - our GDP numbers have been up since June 2009.
• Third Quarter GDP was up about 3%
• Fourth Quarter GDP concensus is 4%
• Recovery will absolutely continue
• Inflation will be tame in 2010 - no signs to indicate otherwise
• Employment is already improving with increase in number of hours worked, etc.
• However, full employment will not be back until 2012 or 2013
• We should experience an increase in new jobs during the first quarter 2009
• Interest rates should begin to increase in late spring or early summer

Her Recommendations

1. Refinance and lock in the historically low interest rates if you have not already done so.
2. Buy real estate now if you have not already done so.
3. Take care of your employees if you are an employer to make sure that you keep them later when jobs are more abundant.
4. Integrity is king today. We have seen too many sleezy things, many of which led to this downturn.

So, there you have it. We have certainly seen many signs that lead me to believe Dr. Reaser. I hope these comments help you get a handle on what you might want to consider doing.