EDITORS: A schedule of the panel's appearances is below. Media with questions about any of the presentations are advised to contact George Vlahakis, IU Media Relations, at 812-855-0846 or gvlahaki@indiana.edu. Arrangements have been made for electronic media covering the Indianapolis presentation. The Bloomington presentation will be recorded and available online at http://broadcast.iu.edu beginning at 2:30 p.m. on Nov. 4.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- What's going to happen to oil prices, and what impact will they have on the economy? Will inflation pick up in the year ahead? Can last year's booming growth in productivity be sustained? Will interest rates keep rising? How will all these factors translate to employment?

Those and other questions will be answered by a panel of economists from Indiana University and its Kelley School of Business as they offer their economic forecast for 2005 beginning Nov. 4. This year's event features discussions of the economic outlook for the world, the nation, Indiana and its major cities, as well as commentary on how the financial markets are likely to fare in the year ahead.

IU's Business Outlook Panel again will tour the state, visiting 11 cities. The tour will begin in Indianapolis on Nov. 4 with a 7:30 a.m. presentation at a new location, the Westin Indianapolis Hotel, 50 S. Capitol Ave., in the Capitol Ballroom. It will be followed by a similar presentation at noon in Bloomington.

For more than 30 years, the panel has traveled the state offering insights and useful guidance to citizens, policy makers and business people. It will feature faculty members from the Kelley School and local panelists from other IU campuses and other universities in Indiana, with varying perspectives on the national and state economies.

The starting point for the forecast is the Indiana Econometric Model, which combines state statistics and a national forecast to develop projections for the coming year. Regular panel presenters will be joined in most cities by an economist from that area who has prepared a forecast for the local economy.

Appearing on the panel will be John Boquist, the Edward E. Edwards professor of finance; Jerry Conover, director of the Indiana Business Research Center; R. Jeffery Green, professor of business economics and public policy; Andreas Hauskrecht, assistant professor of business economics and public policy; Morton Marcus, director emeritus of IBRC; Robert Neal, associate professor of finance; Philip T. Powell, clinical associate professor of business economics and public policy; William Sartoris, professor of finance and director of the Investment Banking Academy; James Smith, IU senior lecturer in finance; and Willard Witte, associate professor of economics.

Joining the visiting panel for local presentations will be Pat Barkey of Ball State University, Gale Blalock of the University of Evansville, Don Coffin of IU Northwest, Dagney Faulk of IU Southeast, John Stafford of Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, Paul Joray of IU South Bend, Kathy Parkinson of IU Kokomo, Thayr Richey of Strategic Development Group Inc., and Ashton Veramallay of IU East.

Moderating many of the panel presentations will be Daniel Smith, interim dean of the Kelley School of Business; Sandra R. Patterson-Randles, chancellor of IU Southeast; Anna S. Rominger, associate professor of business adminstration and dean of the School of Business and Economics at IU Northwest; and John Wellington, professor of management and dean of the School of Business and Management Sciences at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.

This year's tour is sponsored by IU's Kelley School of Business, the IU Alumni Association, IU campuses and community organizations.

To register for the Indianapolis presentation, contact the Kelley School of Business Alumni Programs Office at 812-855-6340 or go to its Web site at http://kelley.iu.edu/alumni/events/calendar.cfm. The cost is $30 for IU Alumni Association members and $35 for everyone else. A table for 10 people can be reserved for $250. Registrations should be received by Oct. 29.

For questions about other panel presentations, contact the sponsoring organization or the Indiana Business Research Center at 812-855-5507 or go on the Web to http://www.ibrc.indiana.edu/outlookschedule05.html.

Business Outlook Panel tour schedule

(Host organizations and contact information are listed in parentheses)

Nov. 4 - Indianapolis: 7:30 a.m., Westin Indianapolis Hotel (Kelley Alumni Club of Indianapolis and IU Alumni Club of Indianapolis, 812-855-6340, http://kelley.iu.edu/alumni/events/event.cfm'key=IN041104); Bloomington: noon, Terry's Banquet and Catering (Bloomington Rotary Club, Bloomington North Rotary Club and Bloomington Sunshine Rotary Club, 812-334-2837)

Nov. 5 - Columbus: 7:30 a.m., Holiday Inn (Columbus Chamber of Commerce, 812-379-4457, klatham@columbusareachamber.com)

Nov. 9 - Richmond: 7:30 a.m., Forest Hills Country Club (IU East and the Center for Economic Education, 765-973-8221); Anderson: 11:30 a.m., Anderson Country Club (Anderson Chamber of Commerce, 765-642-0264, andersonchamber@ameritech.net)

Nov. 10 - Kokomo: 7:30 a.m., Kelley Center, IU Kokomo (IU Kokomo School of Business, 765-455-9465 or 765-455-9275); Fort Wayne: 11:30 a.m., Memorial Coliseum (Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce, IU Alumni Association of Northeast Indiana and Tower Banks, 219-424-1435, thartman@fwchamber.org)

Nov. 12 - Schererville: 7:30 a.m. and noon, Teibles Restaurant (Lake County Community Development Committee, 219-755-3240, hkowalsk@purdue.edu)

Nov. 16 - Evansville: 11:30 a.m., Executive Inn-Downtown (Evansville Rotary Club, 812-962-4687)

Nov. 18 - New Albany: 7:30 a.m., Hoosier Room, IU Southeast (IU Southeast School of Business and First Harrison Bank, 812-941-2325, defuche@ius.edu.com)

Nov. 23 - South Bend: 7:30 a.m., IU South Bend (Northern Indiana Workforce Investment Board, 574-239-2380, ext. 234, barbaraw@niwib.com)