COLUMBUS, Ohio, Aug. 16, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The veteran economist who oversees research for the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland will deliver the keynote address at the second INVESTOhio Equity Conference, to be held September 22 at the Hilton Columbus at Easton hotel.
Dr. Mark Schweitzer, the Cleveland Fed's senior vice president and director of research, will discuss state and regional economies and the continuing challenges they face, including anemic job growth, the sovereign debt crises and pressure from foreign competition.
The financial and investment community as well as the public can email questions to Dr. Schweitzer, who will address those topics in his speech. Emails can be sent to Conference Chairman Terry McWilliams at terrym@mozaicir.com; contact information (name, organization, phone number) is required.
Dr. Schweitzer's address is part of a biennial investment conference that features equity presentations from executives of publicly traded companies headquartered in Ohio. The 15 participating companies represent all of Ohio's largest economic regions, some of its largest and smallest public companies, and industries that include insurance, banking, specialty chemicals, transportation, energy, healthcare, food service and environmental products.
The Honorable Michael B. Coleman, who has served as the mayor of Columbus since 2000, will formally welcome attendees and provide his perspective about the city's economy and development. Under his leadership, Columbus has been recognized as one of the nation's 10 best large cities and one of the country's most affordable metro areas.
"The professional investors and analysts who attend INVESTOhio should gain valuable investment and economic insight from our featured speakers, as well as from the senior executives who lead some of Ohio's most dynamic public companies," said McWilliams, who is also president of Mozaic Investor Relations.
The companies currently scheduled to provide 35-minute group presentations and meet one-on-one with professional investors are:
- AdCare Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE/AMEX:ADK), Springfield, healthcare
- Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATSG), Wilmington, transportation
- American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NYSE:AEP), Columbus, energy/utility
- American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG), Cincinnati, financial/insurance
- CECO Environmental Corp. (Nasdaq:CECE), Cincinnati, manufacturing/environmental
- Cincinnati Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:CINF), Cincinnati, financial/insurance
- First Financial Bancorp (Nasdaq:FFBC), Cincinnati, financial/banking
- Huntington Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:HBAN), Columbus, financial/banking
- Lancaster Colony Corp. (Nasdaq:LANC), Columbus, consumer products/specialty foods
- National Interstate Corp. (Nasdaq:NATL), Richfield, financial/insurance
- OMNOVA Solutions Inc. (NYSE:OMN), Fairlawn, manufacturing/specialty chemicals
- Oxford Resource Partners, LP (NYSE:OXF), Columbus, energy/mining
- Park National Corp. (NYSE/AMEX:PRK), Newark, financial/banking
- RPM International Inc. (NYSE:RPM), Medina, manufacturing/coatings and specialty chemicals
- State Auto Financial Corporation (Nasdaq:STFC), Columbus, financial/insurance
Attendance is on a limited, invitation-only basis, with conference costs (admission, continental breakfast, lunch, and keynote speakers) for qualified investors and analysts underwritten by the conference sponsors and presenting companies. Investment professionals not invited may call the conference organizer at 614-364-4224 to discuss qualifications to attend. Registration is available through www.invest-oh.com; a registration code is required. The public can listen to live webcasts of conference presentations via the INVESTOhio website.
The keynote speaker is an economics graduate of the University of Chicago with advanced degrees from UCLA. Dr. Schweitzer joined the Fed in 1992 and was named to his current position in 2008. In leading the Cleveland Fed's Research Department, he sets the direction for economic research, selecting and developing staff, and providing executive briefings. He has written and co-authored dozens of working papers and economic commentaries, examining issues such as falling home prices, poverty, small business borrowing, inflation and economic prosperity.
In addition to title sponsors Crowe Horwath LLP and Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP, support comes from gold sponsors NASDAQ OMX, Hilliard Lyons, the Wall Street Transcript, Columbus CEO Magazine, Curran & Connors, Optimum Printing, O'Neil Arnold Photography, Fahlgren Mortine and Mozaic Investor Relations.
The one-day event is also supported by the CFA Institute chapters in Ohio and the Columbus chapters of Financial Executives International and the National Investor Relations Institute.
The INVESTOhio Equity Conference has no connection with a similarly named State of Ohio tax incentive program.
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For more information about the event (www.invest-oh.com):
Media:
Terry McWilliams, Chairman, INVESTOhio; President, Mozaic Investor Relations, Inc., 614.364.4224 or 502.727.5696 (mobile), terrym@mozaicir.com; Janelle Huelsman, Fahlgren Mortine, 614.383.1627.
Analysts, fund managers, institutional investors:
R. Travis Upton, CFA, FRM, CAIA, CFA Society of Columbus, 614.228.4300, travis.upton@josephgroup.com
John Grega, Financial Executives International – Columbus chapter, 614.850.1460, john.grega@cscww.com
Mark Baer, Partner, Crowe Horwath LLP, 614.365.2228, mark.baer@crowehorwath.com.
Jay Vorys, Partner, Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP, 614.464.6211, jcvorys@vorys.com