The 2012 Central Oregon Forecast and Business Conference featuring financial journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin, economist Bill Watkins and Columbia Sportswear Co. CEO Tim Boyle will be held from 7-11:30am Wednesday, Jan. 18.
The California Lutheran University Center for Economic Research and Forecasting will present the forecast at the Riverhouse Hotel and Convention Center in Bend. Executive Director Bill Watkins will give the annual economic outlook for Central Oregon, the state and the nation. He will also discuss why banks won’t loan people money and the steps people can take to get a loan. Watkins has provided unflinching forecasts for more than a decade and has been widely published and quoted in academic journals and the media.
Sorkin will discuss the subject of his 2009 bestseller, Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System – and Themselves. He co-produced the 2011 HBO film based on the book. Described by New York magazine as “the most famous financial journalist of his generation,” he is an assistant editor of business and finance news for The New York Times and the editor and founder of The Times’ DealBook, an online financial report.
Boyle, who is also the president of Columbia Sportswear, will cover doing business in Oregon and an Oregon company doing business globally. He began working for Columbia during his senior year in high school in 1970 and now oversees operations of the global company from its Portland headquarters. He serves on many boards including Widmer Brothers Brewing Co. and NW Natural.
Martin Regalia, chief economist and senior vice president for economic and tax policy for the United States Chamber of Commerce, will discuss the U.S. economic forecast and Washington policies via satellite. He helps develop the national chamber’s policy on tax and economic issues and oversees the organization’s Council on Small Business and Corporate Leadership Advisory Council.
Attendees will receive access to the full forecast online.
Registration and breakfast begin at 7 a.m. and the seminar starts at 8am. The Riverhouse Convention Center is located at 2850 NW Rippling River Court.
Early bird registration, which has been extended to Jan. 13, is $75. The cost is $95 after that date and $110 on the morning of the seminar. To register, go to http://oregon.clucerf.org/events/. For more information, call 541-322-6130.
