The Committee of 100 | Meeting Notes

Stuart G. Hoffman, Senior Vice President & Chief Economist, PNC Financial Services Group

Stuart Hoffman (right) with Brian Bailey & Beverley Baxter

Gas prices were already high before Katrina shut refineries, housing prices in Delaware have continued their rapid appreciation, three new office buildings and a hotel are underway in Wilmington, and Bank of American is buying MBNA and will cut 6,000 jobs–somewhere.

Delaware's economy continues with above-average job growth, our economic expansion is broad-based, we continue with high residential and commercial building activity, income from individual and corporate income taxes have continued to rise, and Delaware remains a great place for business because of our business-friendly environment, Chancery Court, skilled workforce, low costs of living and doing business, and positive demographic trends.

However, those 6,000 job cuts from Bank of America loom large, and over 16% of Delaware's wage and salary income is generated in financial services. Manufacturing is now less than 10% of the State's total earnings, and in an economy that is increasingly global, Delaware's export base remains narrow. Delaware hasn't decided how it will respond to the loss of slots revenue from Maryland and Pennsylvania even though lottery and slots trails only personal income tax, franchise tax/corporate fees, and abandoned property as a revenue source for the State.

Is Delaware's economy solid, or are there warning signs? What do you need to know about the state of the economy to protect your business and your portfolio?

Stuart G. Hoffman, PNC Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, will share his economic expertise with us. And what expertise. In addition to being quoted frequently in all major economic media, BusinessWeek named Stu the most accurate economic and interest rate forecaster of 2004 and the National Association for Business Economics and the Wall Street Journal's economic survey covering 1988-2002 recognized him as the second most accurate forecaster.