US economic outlook in today’s Chamber meeting

An economist who is currently engaged by First Hawaiian Bank is set to discuss the economic outlook for the U.S. mainland and Hawaii in today’s general membership meeting of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce.

In particular, Dr. Leroy Laney will speak about how the Guam and CNMI economies will be impacted by current uncertainties in the U.S. economy.

The Chamber’s general membership meeting will take place today, March 28, at Saipan Grand Hotel’s Seaside Hall.

Chamber executive director Kyle Calabrese said the monthly meeting has been altered slightly from the usual first-Wednesday-of-the-month schedule in order to accommodate Laney’s schedule, who is on-island for a brief visit.

Registration and buffet lunch begins at 11:30am and the meeting will begin at noon. Members will be charged $15 per person; guests of members, $20; and general public, $25.

Laney, a professor of Economics and Finance at the Hawaii Pacific University, joined the HPU faculty as a Full Professor in 1998, after broad ranging experience in banking, government, and other academic positions.

He has served as a Staff Economist on the U.S. President’s Council of Economic Advisers in Washington, D.C., as an International Economist with the U.S. Treasury in Washington, and as a Senior Economist in the Federal Reserve System.

His academic experience includes adjunct teaching positions at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Southern Methodist University, the University of Texas (Arlington and Dallas campuses), and the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He also held a joint appointment in the Economics and Finance Departments at Butler University in Indianapolis during the 1989-1990 academic year, and served there as Chairman of the Economics Department.

From 1990 through 1998, his position was Senior Vice President and Chief Economist for First Hawaiian Bank in Honolulu. There, he held a highly visible position as the Bank’s spokesman on all international, national, and local economic matters. He has served as Chairman of the Council on Revenues of the State of Hawaii, and as a member of the Market Research Committee of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau.

Professor Laney has published widely in academic journals, Federal Reserve and other bank publications, and in edited volumes and conference proceedings.

He remains a Consultant to First Hawaiian Bank, and has also consulted with—among others—the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization, Alexander & Baldwin, Inc., Matson Navigation Company, Colliers Monroe and Friedlander, The Estate of James Campbell, the Waikiki Improvement Association, Kohala Coast Resort Association, Kobayashi, Sugita & Goda law firm, the U.S. Department of Justice, the State of Hawaii, and the County of Hawaii.

His Ph.D. in Economics is from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He also holds a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech, and an MBA in accounting and finance from Emory University.

From 1967 to 1971, he served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Supply Corps. Dr. Laney is married to the former Sandra Prescott of Atlanta, and has two adult sons. [B][I](Saipan Tribune)[/I][/B]