RFA CHIEF ECONOMIST AND CO-FOUNDER TO SPEAK AT LUNCHEON TODAY

Mark Zandi, chief economist and co-founder of RFA (formerly known as Regional Financial Associates Inc.), will speak to the Economics Club of Hampton Roads at a luncheon Tuesday, April 17.

Co-sponsored by Old Dominion University's College of Business and Public Administration, the luncheon will begin at noon at the Sheraton Waterside Hotel in downtown Norfolk. Due to limited space, reservations are required. The cost of the luncheon is $30 for nonmembers.

As chief economist of the Pennsylvania-based economic consulting firm RFA, Zandi directs research and consulting activities, and contributes to the analysis of national and regional economic events and trends. RFA's clients have included commercial and investment banks, finance companies, insurance companies, pension funds, government and utilities.

Zandi's research interests are in macroeconomics, as well as financial, industrial and regional economics. His recent work includes studies of the determinants of personal bankruptcy and the impact of globalization and technological changes on real estate markets. His articles have been published in journals such as The RREEF Funds Strategic Outlook, The Journal of Lending and Credit Risk Management and the Regional Financial Review.

Zandi earned his doctorate in economics, with an emphasis on econometrics and industrial organization, from the University of Pennsylvania.

Old Dominion University President James V. Koch will be the final speaker for the series. His talk, "An Economist Looks at the Internet," is scheduled for May 1.

For more information or to make reservations, call Martha Anderson at 683-4058.