Providence Business News Economic Trends Summit

TALKING IT OUT: R.I. Commerce Secretary Elizabeth M. Tanner, second from left, discusses the state’s economic picture at Providence Business News’ Economic Trends Summit on Jan. 24 at the Providence Marriott. Also participating in the panel discussion is, from left, William C. Tsonos, Bank Rhode Island CEO and president; Thomas Sweeney, owner and principal of Sweeney Real Estate & Appraisal; Marianne Raimondo, dean of the Rhode Island College School of Business; and Kristen Adamo, president of the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau. The discussion was moderated by PBN Editor Michael Mello, far right.  PBN PHOTO/MIKE SKORSKI

Panel: ‘The hard part is figuring out what’s next’

Economy 02/02/2024

A benefit of living in a state with the population of a large American city is its accessibility. What in New York or Los...

ECONOMIC STIMULUS: Thomas Tzitzouris, head of fixed income research at Strategas Research Partners, tells attendees of Providence Business News’ Economic Trends Summit that the U.S. Treasury has been performing CPR lately – “consumer purchase resuscitation.”  PBN PHOTO/MIKE SKORSKI

Influence of election cycle on economic policy is questioned

Economy 02/02/2024

The 2024 race for the White House is already influencing federal economic policy and market behavior and will continue to do so until voters...

MORE EFFORT NEEDED: Rhode Island needs better infrastructure, more housing and more effort to foster emerging industries, according to panelists at Providence Business News’ Economic Trends Summit on Jan. 26, which included from left: keynote speaker Thomas Tzitzouris, head of fixed income research at New York City-based Strategas Research Partners; Karl Wadensten, CEO and president of VIBCO Inc.; Peter Phillips, chief investment officer at Washington Trust Wealth Management; Julietta Georgakis, chief of staff for the R.I. Executive Office of Commerce; and Kevin Casey, vice president of sales at Sweeney Real Estate & Appraisal. PBN PHOTO/MIKE SKORSKI

PBN summit: With recession looming, R.I. economy faces big test

Economic Activity 02/03/2023

The predicted downturn in 2023 will test Rhode Island’s business owners in a state that has yet to adequately prepare its labor force with...

JOB MARKET SHIFTS: The ratio of job openings to unemployed people stood at nearly 2 to 1 near the end of 2022, a big difference from the ratio two years earlier at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.  COURTESY STRATEGAS RESEARCH PARTNERS

Economist at PBN summit: Job market remains crucial question mark

Economic Activity 02/03/2023

Thomas Tzitzouris sees jobs as the big economic “wild card” in 2023. A labor market characterized by low unemployment can have a downside for businesses...

KARL WADENSTEN, second from left, CEO and president of VIBCO Inc., makes a point during the panel discussion at Providence Business News' 2023 Economic Trends Summit in Providence on Thursday. Also on the panel is, from left, Thomas Tzitouris, head of fixed income research at Stratgas; Peter R. Phillips, senior vice president and chief investment officer at Washington Trust Wealth Management; Julietta Georgakis, chief of staff for the R.I. Executive Office of Commerce; and Kevin Casey, vice president of sales at Sweeney Real Estate & Appraisal. At far right is PBN Editor Michael Mello, the moderator. / PBN PHOTO/MIKE SKORSKI

PBN summit panel: Economic indicators say recession coming in 2023

Economy 01/26/2023

PROVIDENCE – In many ways, the party is over. At least that's the way the panelists at Providence Business News’ Economic Trends Summit on Thursday...

PBN Economic Summit: Inflation, labor woes will endure

Business Services 02/10/2022

PROVIDENCE – Like any good business owner, Craig Pickell documents every cost increase incurred by his Lincoln manufacturing company, Bullard Abrasives Inc. But the year-end...

INTO THE FUTURE: Mark K. W. Gim, bottom left, The Washington Trust Co. president and chief operating officer, provides his outlook for the Rhode Island economy at PBN’s Economic Trends Summit on Feb. 18. Also participating in the virtual event were, clockwise from top left, Thomas Tzitzouris, director at Strategas Research Partners; PBN Editor Michael Mello; Alden Anderson Jr., CBRE/New England senior vice president and partner; and Kristen Adamo, Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau CEO and president.

The recipe for recovery? Depends on whom you ask

Coronavirus 03/05/2021

Point of view matters, perhaps now more than ever. Indeed, panelists at Providence Business News’ Economic Trends Summit on Feb. 18 painted very different pictures...

GOING UP? Thomas Tzitouris, director at Strategas Research Partners, forecasts that 30-year mortgage rates may hit 3.5% by the end of the year, which he said would end the wave of refinancing activity and slow home purchases in 2022.

Economist: ‘This is one of those key moment of the decade’

Coronavirus 03/05/2021

While many Americans see the COVID-19 vaccine as the barometer of their year, Thomas Tzitzouris is watching a very different event to determine how...

MARK W. GIM, bottom left, The Washington Trust Co. president and chief operating officer, provides his outlook for the Rhode Island economy at PBN's Economic Trends Summit on Thursday morning. Also participating in the event was, clockwise from top left, Thomas Tzitzouris, director at Strategas Research Partners; PBN Editor Michael Mello; Alden Anderson Jr., CBRE/New England senior vice president and partner; and Kristen Adamo, Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau CEO and president.

PBN Economic Summit: Long-term crisis looms after stimulus runs out

Coronavirus 02/18/2021

PROVIDENCE – Fiscal stimulus and mass vaccinations should bring short-term economic relief, but a long-term crisis marked by structural unemployment, inflation and a bond...