Conference covers Montana economy

The Federal Reserve is raising rates with gusto, making it more difficult for people to buy houses and finance automobiles, according to the Montana Bureau of Economic Research at the University of Montana.

The value of the dollar is moving up strongly, resulting in negative implications for companies doing international business, the bureau says, and financial markets are bracing for an uncertain future.

The economy contracted in the first quarter of 2022, and the data will probably show another contraction for the quarter that ended last month, the bureau said. So, is a recession imminent?

The BBER will help answer some of those questions at its midyear Economic Update coming to seven Montana cities Aug. 2-4. Cost is $35. Register here. 

Speakers are:

Patrick Barkey, Director, Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research

Barkey has served as Director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research since 2008. He has been involved with economic forecasting and policy research for more than 30 years, in both the private and public sectors. Before coming to Montana he served as Director of the Bureau of Business Research at Ball State University in Indiana for fourteen years. His recent research has been on the economic impact of energy development, the property tax treatment of the telecommunications industry and the economic impact of trade with Canada. He holds a B.A. and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan.

Simona Stan, Professor, UM College of Business

Simona Stan has served as a professor of marketing at the University of Montana College of Business for the past 15 years. Since last year, she is also the Wilson Logistics Faculty Fellow. She has a Ph.D. in Marketing from the University of Missouri and a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Sibiu, Romania.

She taught for five years at the University of Oregon. Prior to her academic life, she was a production engineer and manager in Romania. At UM, she teaches Logistics and Transportation and Global Supply Chain Management along with a selection of marketing courses at undergraduate and master level. Her current research interests are in global logistics and supply chains, sales, and services marketing.

William A. Fitzgerald, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager, First Interstate Bank

Fitzgerald is a Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager with investment responsibility for individual and institutional portfolios. He has 30 years of experience in investment management, including securities analysis, portfolio management, economic analysis, and alternative investment strategies research.

Fitzgerald is the First Interstate Bank's Chairman of the Investment Policy and Strategy Committee and serves on the First Interstate BancSystem Economic Committee and the bank’s retirement Investment Policy Committee. Fitzgerald received a B.A. in Management from Lynchburg College and an M.B.A., with a concentration in finance from the Carey Business School at Johns Hopkins University.

SCHEDULE FOR MONTANA ECONOMIC UPDATE