Series on economic indicators to reflect on Sept. 11 market implications

LAWRENCE -- In the aftermath of Sept. 11, many unsettled investors are even more interested than usual in tracking economic trends and indicators. University of Kansas Continuing Education offers help in the form of a new KU for Lawrence series, "Economic Indicators: An Investor's Guide."

The sessions will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. Nov. 12, 19 and 26 and Dec. 3 at the Continuing Education building, 1515 St. Andrews Drive. The instructor will be Jane Tedder, vice president and senior economist with the Security Benefit Group of Companies in Topeka.

Interested people may register online at www.kuce.org/kufor or call (785) 864-5823. The series costs $40.

The most recent issue of Tedder's newsletter focuses on the current economic landscape and reassures investors, indicating that markets tend to recover fairly rapidly after even major tragedies, including Pearl Harbor and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

"The stock and bond markets no doubt will remain unsettled for several months, until the action taken to combat terrorism is more clearly defined and well under way," Tedder says.

The series will help anyone who wants to better understand the relationship between financial markets and the economy. Tedder will explain in simple terms how such everyday economic data as employment reports, inflation indexes and housing markets can influence the value of stocks and bonds. She will reveal who issues the reports, how the data are compiled, the reports' importance to the overall economy and market reactions to the reports.

The first session will cover the major stock market indexes and bond market measures, including the producer price index, consumer installment debt and nonfarm productivity, and explain the role of the Federal Reserve Bank. The second session will explore short-term and long-term implications for the financial markets of such indicators as retail sales, the consumer price index, industrial production and housing starts. The third session will delve into leading economic indicators, the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index, mortgage applications and existing home sales. The last session's indexes will be consumer confidence, the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, new home sales, durable goods orders, gross domestic product, the national purchasing managers index, and personal income and spending.

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