Top national and state economists will discuss economic forecasts for 2017 during the 6th Annual Economic Outlook Conference on Thursday, Feb. 16, at the Las Cruces Convention Center, 680 E. University Ave.
New Mexico State University Regents Professor Jim Peach and Senior Economist Eugenio Alemán will look at state and national economic trends and how they play a part in New Mexico’s future.
Peach, a Regents Professor of economics, applied statistics and international business at NMSU, will focus on the oil and gas industry, employment and the state budget, and like last year’s forecast, there was little improvement in two out of the three areas.
“Oil prices are better and natural gas prices are up, and those are improvements,” Peach said, noting that the forecast on the state budget and employment will not show such an improvement.
Peach has been a member of the faculty since 1980. His research interests include economic policy, energy, economic development, income distribution, demography and the economics of sports. In December 2016, he was selected for the Chevron Endowed Professorship, in part due to his extensive economic research.
Alemán is a director and senior economist at Wells Fargo. With recent administrative changes, Alemán will discuss national, regional and international economic trends in the United States as well as the economies of Texas, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. Within that area, his focus will include the economies of border towns that trade with Mexico and the Maquiladora manufacturing sector along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Alemán joined Wells Fargo in his current position in 2005. He has been an adjunct professor of economics at Drexel University in Philadelphia since 1999 and teaches online economics courses for the university. From 1998 until 2005, he worked at Global Insight, one of the leading economic forecasting and consulting firms in the U.S., as managing director for its Latin America Service.
The Economic Outlook Conference began in 2012 to help area residents and business professionals gain a better understanding of the region’s economic climate. The NMSU College of Business hosts the conference in partnership with Wells Fargo Bank.
“We’re proud of our affiliation with NMSU and this event, and honored to collaborate with the New Mexico business community,” said Wells Fargo Southern Border Business Banking Manager Ryan McGrath. “We want to do all we can to help create a thriving business climate in our state.”
The free conference kicks off with a reception at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 16, followed by the economists’ presentations from 10 a.m. to noon, all at the Las Cruces Convention Center. Register by Feb. 10 online at http://business.nmsu.edu/cob-events or by phone at 575-646-5817.
Information from NMSU