Watts Witit

Miscellaneous

Greater Emmanuel Gospel Tabernacle, 1546 Third Ave., will have a spaghetti and lasagna dinner from 11 am to 4 pm Feb. 4 at the church. The cost is $5 and will consist of spaghetti with meatballs or lasagna, tossed salad with your choice of dressing (Ranch, French, Thousand Island or Italian), green beans, roll and dessert. To phone ahead for orders, call 304-389-0934 or 304-346-2511. Delivery is available for orders of $15 or more.

King of Glory International Ministries,: 513 Patrick St., will sponsor Free N One Workshops — Free from drugs and alcohol and one in Christ. A pre-service for the workshops will be held at 5:30 pm Sunday. Speaker will be Elder Ron Simmons from West Angeles COGIC, Los Angeles, Calif. Training will be held from 6 to 9 pm nightly, this Monday through Friday. This is an intensive training course for anyone interested in working with people affected by the disease of addiction. Tuition with pre-registration is $50 and $65 after classes begin. Certificates will be presented to facilitate a Free N One Meeting or Support group. For more information, contact Joy E. Martin at 304-610- 2247 or Pastor Tina Beatty at 304-720-5994.

Metropolitan Baptist Church: will have a Super Bowl Party at 6 pm Feb. 5 at the church, 205 Donnally St. For information, call 304-342-4766.

Dawes Methodist Church: will have a Souper Bowl Sunday from 12:30 to 2:30 pm Feb. 5 at the church, located on the right just above Sharon-Dawes School on Cabin Creek Road. Homemade soup, sandwiches, desserts and drinks will be free of charge. Donations will be accepted and 100 percent of the donations will be sent to the YWCA Womens Sojourners Shelter.

Elizabeth Memorial Preschool: will have its 2012-203 Fall Preschool Registration Roundup at noon Wednesday in the church worship center. Classes are offered for children ages 2-, 3- and 4-years-olds. A nonrefundable registration fee of $50 is due at the time of registration. First priority goes to church members and families already enrolled in the preschool. For more information, call Darlene Castelli, Preschool Director, at 304-342-5620.

Music

The Hoy Family: will sing at 7 pm Monday at Lucy Wilson Baptist Church, Wills Creek, Elkview.

Marvin Estep-Living Word: will sing at 6 pm Sunday at Parsons Chapel, Sixth Avenue.

The Doug Humphreys Family: will sing at 7 pm Saturday at Red Oak Christian Community Church, Red Oak Drive, Nitro. Pastors are Victor Keathley and Roy Jarrell.

Fisher Memorial Church: will have a gospel sing at 7 pm Saturday at the church, located 1/2 mile on Dudden Road off the Goldtown Exit of Interstate 77. The Choraliers, Freeman Newhouse, Jordan River Boys, Lathey Family, Saving Grace, The New Life Singers, Young Adult Singers, Fisher Memorial Quartet and Choir will sing. Refreshments will be served in the Family Center following the sing.

Singing Cookes and Cooke Brothers: will sing at 6 pm Saturday at Grace Baptist Temple, 1901 MacCorkle Ave., St. Albans. Admission is free. Doors open at 5 pm For more information, call 304-722-4631.

Special services

Good Shepherd Freewill Baptist Church,: 5470 West Pea Ridge Road, Huntington, will have a worship service at 11 am Sunday with preaching by Pastor Jason Black. Services continue at 6 pm Sunday with singing by the church choir/congregational members. The Rev. Don Davis will preach. Sunday School begins at 10 am Prayer Meeting and Youth Group meetings continue at 7 pm on Wednesday.

The Fathers House Missionary Baptist Church,: 500 29th St., will host Prayer Gathering Services this weekend beginning at 6 pm Saturday with Pastor Wanda Shelton of the New Jerusalem Church and concluding at 6 pm Sunday with Pastor Lloyd A. Hill. The Fathers House also will receive Lakeisha Barron-Brown as a guest speaker at the 11 am morning service on Sunday.

Items for Church Activities may be submitted by mail to The Charleston Gazette, 1001 Virginia St. E., Charleston, WV 25301, or faxed to 304-348-1233. Notices will be run one time free. Please include a contact persons name and a daytime telephone number. Information will not be taken by phone. The deadline is noon Thursday.

WINTER HAVEN | CenterState Bank has announced its sixth Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) deal and eighth acquisition since 2009.

/PRNewswire/ — Dana Holding Corporation (NYSE: DAN) will release its 2011 fourth-quarter and year-end financial results on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012. #xA0;A press release will be issued at approximately 7 am EST, followed by a conference call and webcast at 2 pm EST.#xA0; Members of the companys senior management team will be available at that time to discuss the quarterly results and answer related questions.

(Logo:#xA0; http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/19990903/DANA#xA0;)

Participants may listen to the audio portion of the conference call either through audio streaming online or by telephone. Slide viewing is available online via a link provided on the Dana investor website: www.dana.com/investors.

National Catholic Schools Week kicks off this weekend, and the parochial schools from the Diocese of Des Moines have a variety of activities planned.

St. Theresa School will hold its annual social justice week and students will focus on being aware of the many needs around them. The week begins with a day of retreat and a variety of speakers. The school will hold a cultural fair on Wednesday for the school and parish community; booths will feature a variety of heritages, allowing people to learn about the world and other cultures.

Other activities that will be held during the week include charity drives to help those in need, parent/grandparent luncheons, reading programs, entertainment, Mass with Bishop Richard Pates and more.

Open houses will be held at nearly all of the schools within the diocese to allow families to tour schools and meet staff.

In the metro area, open houses will be at the following locations:

Assumption School, Granger: 9 am to noon Sunday.

Holy Family, 1265 E. Ninth. St.: 6 to 8 pm Feb. 3.

Holy Trinity, 2922 Beaver Ave.: 11:30 am to 1 pm Sunday.

Sacred Heart, 1601 Grand Ave., West Des Moines: 2:45 to 5 pm Tuesday.

St. Anthony, 16 Columbus Ave.: 11 am to 1 pm Sunday.

St. Augustin, 4320 Grand Ave.: 3 to 4:30 pm Saturday.

St. Francis of Assisi, 7075 Ashworth Road, West Des Moines: 12:15 to 2 pm Sunday.

St. Joseph, 2107 E. 33rd St.: 11:30 am to 1:30 pm Sunday.

St. Pius, 3601 66th St., Urbandale: 10 to 11:30 am Sunday.

St. Theresa, 5810 Cara Carpenter Ave.: 8 am to 1 pm Sunday.

Dowling Catholic and Christ the King schools are not planning open houses. To learn more about schools in the diocese, visit www.dmdiocese.org/catholic-schools.cfm.

Young children learned to make Chinese lanterns at a class Wednesday at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.

Bellevue, Wash., Jan 27, 2012 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) –
Clearwire Corporation

/quotes/zigman/112837/quotes/nls/clwr CLWR
+0.84%

today announced the completion of the offering by its operating subsidiary, Clearwire Communications LLC (“Clearwire Communications”), of $300.0 million aggregate principal amount of 14.75% first-priority senior secured notes due 2016 at an issue price of 100% (the “Notes”).

As previously announced, the company intends to use the net proceeds of the offering for the deployment of mobile 4G LTE technology alongside the mobile 4G WiMAX technology currently on its network and for the operation and maintenance of its networks and for general corporate purposes.

The Notes were issued in a private offering that is exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A and to persons outside the U.S. pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act. The Notes have not been registered under the Securities Act or any state or other securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

About Clearwire

Clearwire Corporation

/quotes/zigman/112837/quotes/nls/clwr CLWR
+0.84%

, through its operating subsidiaries, is a provider of mobile broadband services. Clearwire is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This release, and other written and oral statements made by Clearwire from time to time, contain forward-looking statements which are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs, as well as on a number of assumptions concerning future events made with information that is currently available. Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, management’s expectations regarding proposed transactions, including the proposed public offering of Clearwire’s common stock, and strategic plans and objectives. The words “will,” “would,” “may,” “should,” “estimate,” “project,” “forecast,” “intend,” “expect,” “believe,” “target,” “designed,” “plan” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside of Clearwire’s control, and which could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from such statements. For a more detailed description of the factors that could cause such a difference, please refer to Clearwire’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the information under the heading “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on February 22, 2011 and subsequent Form 10-Q filings. Clearwire assumes no obligation to update or supplement such forward-looking statements.

This news release was distributed by GlobeNewswire,
www.globenewswire.com

SOURCE: Clearwire Corporation

CONTACT: Investor Relations:Alice Ryder, 425-636-5828alice.ryder@clearwire.comMedia Relations:Susan Johnston, 425-216-7913susan.johnston@clearwire.comJLM Partners for ClearwireMike DiGioia or Jeremy Pemble, 206-381-3600mike@jlmpartners.com or jeremy@jlmpartners.com

(C) Copyright 2010 GlobeNewswire, Inc. All rights reserved.

/quotes/zigman/112837/quotes/nls/clwr

Add CLWR to portfolio

CLWR

Clearwire Corp. Cl A

$
1.80

+0.02
+0.84%

Volume: 3.85M
Jan. 27, 2012 3:59p

/quotes/zigman/112837/quotes/nls/clwr

Add CLWR to portfolio

CLWR

Clearwire Corp. Cl A

$
1.80

+0.02
+0.84%

Volume: 3.85M
Jan. 27, 2012 3:59p

IRVINE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Local
Corporation (NASDAQ: LOCM), a leading online local media company,
today announced an updated and optimized, mobile-enabled version of its
flagship local search site, Local.com.

Consumers are accessing local information from their mobile devices
more than ever before. Mobile visits represent nine percent of the total
visits to Local.com, which is up nearly tenfold from a year ago

The new mobile site enables users to quickly and easily search for local
products and services from their mobile phone or device. The site
features geo-tracking technology to provide users with businesses near
them based on their current physical location.

The new optimized site also features:

• Easy click-to-call functionality
• Simplified user interface and “app-like” navigation
• Maps and directions that enable users to find business locations
  quickly
• Relevant local business information including ratings, reviews,
  photos, logos and more.

“Consumers are accessing local information from their mobile devices
more than ever before. Mobile visits represent nine percent of the total
visits to Local.com, which is up nearly tenfold from a year ago,” said
Mark Wallin, vice president, product, Local Corporation. “The optimized
version of our mobile site provides our users with a superior local
search experience that they can use anytime, wherever they are.”

Overall, more than 88 million mobile subscribers accessed local content
on mobile devices in September 2011, which was up 28 percent from a year
ago.¹

About Local Corporation

Local Corporation (NASDAQ:LOCM) is a local media company that
specializes in connecting brick-and-mortar businesses with online
customers using a variety of innovative digital marketing products
including local rich media, local business and product search, mobile,
SEO, web hosting, social media and daily deals. The company serves a
million consumers a day on the flagship Local.com website, Spreebird.com
and a network of over 1,000 regional media sites. To advertise, or for
more information, visit: http://www.local.com/
or http://www.localcorporation.com.

Local Corporation is a registered trade name of Local.com Corporation.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties concerning Local.com Corporation’s expected
financial performance, as well as Local.com’s strategic and operational
plans. Actual results may differ materially from the results predicted,
and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future
performance. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among
others, our advertising partners paying less RPC and revenues to us for
our search results; our ability to adapt our business following the
shifts in our monetization partners; our ability to monetize the
Local.com domain, including at a profit; our ability to retain
monetization partners for the Local.com domain and other web properties
under our management that allows us to operate profitably; our ability
to develop, market and operate our local-search technologies; our
ability to market the Local.com domain as a destination for consumers
seeking local-search results; our ability to grow our business by
enhancing our local-search services, including through businesses we
acquire; the future performance of our OCTANE360 business; the
integration and future performance of our Spreebird daily deals
business, including the recently acquired Screamin Daily Deals business,
our Krillion business and our Rovion business, as well as any other
businesses we may acquire; our ability to successfully expand our
Spreebird business into new markets, including through acquisitions; the
possibility that the information and estimates used to predict
anticipated revenues and expenses associated with the businesses we
acquire are not accurate; difficulties executing integration strategies
or achieving planned synergies; the possibility that integration costs
and go-forward costs associated with the businesses we acquire will be
higher than anticipated; our ability to successfully expand our sales
channels for new and existing products and services; our ability to
increase the number of businesses that purchase our advertising
products; our ability to expand our advertiser and distribution
networks; our ability to integrate and effectively utilize our
acquisitions technologies; our ability to develop our products and
sales, marketing, finance and administrative functions and successfully
integrate our expanded infrastructure; as well as our dependence on
major advertisers, competitive factors and pricing pressures; changes in
legal and regulatory requirements; and general economic conditions. Any
forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to
future events and are subject to these and other risks, uncertainties
and assumptions relating to our operations, results of operations,
growth strategy and liquidity. All subsequent written and oral
forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our
behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this paragraph.
Unless otherwise stated, all site traffic and usage statistics are from
third-party service providers engaged by the company.

Our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K/A, subsequent Quarterly
Reports on Form 10-Q and Form 10-Q/A, recent Current Reports on Form 8-K
and Form 8-K/A, and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings
discuss the foregoing risks as well as other important risk factors that
could contribute to such differences or otherwise affect our business,
results of operations and financial condition. The forward-looking
statements in this release speak only as of the date they are made. We
undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking
statement for any reason.

1 comScore

The Burlington Downtown Corporation is one of 21 participants in the NC Main Street Program to win 2011 awards for downtown revitalization efforts in multiple categories.

According to a news release, the BDC a nationally accredited Main Street Community won the Best Public-Private Partnership in Downtown Revitalization award under the Organization category of 2011 NC Main Street Awards, in conjunction with the Company Shops Market Co-op.

Other categories included Economic Restructuring, Promotion and Design, and awards were presented by NC Department of Commerce Secretary J. Keith Crisco. He said in the release, Our successful Main Street programs have proven that revitalizing our downtown areas can help grow local small businesses, attract new investments and create jobs.

The Company Shops Market Board of Directors was also named one of the 31 Main Street Champions of last year, which are nominated by their local NC Main Street Programs for contributing to their areas downtown revitalization, according to the release.

Whether volunteers, business or property owners, corporate citizens, civic leaders, municipal employees or public officials, Main Street Champions are the stewards of downtown, who go the extra mile to restore vibrancy and vitality to the hearts of the communities they love, said Director of Urban Development Division Liz Parham in the release.

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Brewers annual winter fan festival,
Brewers On Deck, presented by Time Warner Cable, will be held
Sunday, January 29 at the Frontier Airlines Center in downtown
Milwaukee. Doors to the facility open at 7am and the exhibit hall
is open from 10am to 5pm.

Brewers On Deck will feature a number of activities for the
entire family, including autographs and photos from Brewers players
and coaches, baseball clinics and the always popular Game Shows
with players, prospects, staff and even appearances from surprise
Hollywood guests this year. The days activities also include
interactive games in the Kids Area, Game Flashbacks with players,
Qamp;A sessions, vendor booths with baseball memorabilia, the
Brewers Community Foundation Treasure Hunt and more.

The same system for autographs will be used for Brewers On Deck
that was introduced last year. Recipients of autographs for Rollie
Fingers, Zack Greinke and Robin Yount will be chosen through a
random selection process. Numbered coupons to be entered into the
random selection process will be available the day of the event
only and will be distributed beginning at 8am at the Frontier
Airlines Center. Coupon distribution will be available up to an
hour before each designated autograph session. A schedule is listed
below:

Player Signing Time Stage Coupon Distribution Winner
Announcement Fan Report Time

Rollie Fingers 11:30-12:15 5 8:00 – 10:30 11:00 11:15

Zack Greinke 1:30-2:15 3 8:00-12:30 1:00 1:15

Robin Yount 2:00-2:45 1 8:00-1:00 1:30 1:45

Fans can receive one coupon per event admission ticket and can use
that coupon to enter the random selection process for any one of
the select Brewers players. There is no cost for coupons to enter
the random selection process; however, those holding coupons that
are chosen must pay $25 at the respective autograph stage to
collect their player signature. There will be 250 winners for each
of the identified autograph sessions.

Players and staff not included in the above autograph list will not
use the random selection process. Each of those players will sign
250 autographs at prices ranging from free to $25. The autograph
opportunities are for signatures on photo cards provided by the
team; the Brewers cannot guarantee that any player will sign other
memorabilia, and personalization of items is solely up to the
discretion of each player.

All autograph proceeds benefit Brewers Community Foundation. Please
note that cash is the only acceptable form of payment for
autographs.

Four stages will be set up throughout the convention hall,
featuring programming and other activities throughout the day. The
Brewers Main Stage will include various question and answer
sessions with top Brewers baseball executives, game shows featuring
players, and a roundtable discussion with members of the Milwaukee
media who cover the team on a regular basis.

The Brewers Interactive Stage will feature the Kids Only
Question and Answer session, where youngsters interview players,
and Game Flashbacks with fans watching great moments in Brewers
history and talking to players that experienced those moments on
the field. The Newsradio 620 WTMJ Stage will broadcast live from
11am until 4pm and will include interviews with Brewers players and
coaches.

Fans of all ages can visit the FOX Sports Wisconsin Stage to
record their own sportscast tape. FOX Sports Wisconsin
personalities will visit the Stage throughout the day for autograph
opportunities.

Brewers Community Foundation will host a Treasure Hunt,
featuring some hard to find Brewers items on sale as well as a live
auction at 11:30am on the Interactive Stage. Additionally, Brewers
Community Foundation will run two 50/50 Raffles throughout the
day.

Fans using social media are invited to use the hashtag #OnDeck
when tweeting about Brewers On Deck.

Tickets for the event are $15 in advance and $20 at the door for
adults, and $9 in advance and $15 at the door for children 14 and
under. NOTE: Tickets purchased at the door of the event on Sunday
will be cash only.

There are a variety of parking structures and street lots
surrounding the Frontier Airlines Center. For more parking
information, please visit www.parkmilwaukee.com.

Details on the autograph and programming schedules are listed
below. The schedule is subject to change, with the latest version
and more information always available at brewers.com/ondeck.

Autograph Schedule

Stage 1 Stage 4

11:00 – 11:45 Bob Uecker ($25)/Mark Attanasio 11:00 – 11:45 Mat
Gamel ($10)/Logan Schafer (Free)

12:30 – 1:15 Jonathan Lucroy ($10) 12:30 – 1:15 Randy Wolf
($10)

2:00 – 2:45 Robin Yount ($25) 2:00 – 2:45 Alex Gonzalez
($10)/M.Maldonado (Free)

3:30 – 4:15 Eric Farris (Free)/Brock Kjeldgaard (Free) 3:30 – 4:15
Chris Narveson ($10)

Stage 2 Stage 5

11:30 – 12:15 Marco Estrada ($10)/Mike Fiers (Free) 11:30 – 12:15
Rollie Fingers ($25)

1:00 – 1:45 Yovani Gallardo ($25) 1:00 – 1:45 George Kottaras
($10)

2:30 – 3:15 Shaun Marcum ($10) 2:30 – 3:15 Rickie Weeks ($25)

3:45 – 4:30 Corey Hart ($25) 3:45 – 4:30 Taylor Green (Free)/B.
Kintzler (Free)

Stage 3 Stage 6

10:30 – 11:15 Aramis Ramirez ($25) 10:30 – 11:15 Manny Parra
($10)

12:00 – 12:45 Tim Dillard ($10)/Zelous Wheeler (Free) 12:00 – 12:45
Nyjer Morgan ($10)

1:30 – 2:15 Zack Greinke ($25) 1:30 – 2:15 John Axford ($10)

3:00 – 3:45 Caleb Gindl (Free)/Mike McClendon (Free) 3:00 – 3:45
Hollywood Guests (Free)

Names in Bold require a winning coupon through random selection
process. Additionally the following Rising Stars players will
sign FREE autographs throughout the day in the Clinic Field area:
Jed Bradley, Kentrail Davis, Khris Davis, Scooter Gennett, Taylor
Jungmann, Hunter Morris, Michael Reed, Yadiel Rivera, Tyler
Thornburg and Mike Walker.

Main Stage Schedule

10:15 am – 11:00 am – Meet the Coaching Staff – Brewers
manager Ron Roenicke along with his coaching staff will participate
in a Qamp;A session hosted by Brian Anderson.

11:00 am – 12:00 pm – Who Wants to be a Brewer? – Several
Brewers players will participate in this trivia-style game show to
see who has what it takes to win it all. NewsRadio 620 WTMJ/Brewers
play-by-play announcer Joe Block will host the show.

12:15 pm – 1:15 pm – Meet Mark Attanasio, Doug Melvin, Gord
Ash, Craig Counsell and the Newest Brewers – Brewers Chairman and
Principal Owner Mark Attanasio, Executive Vice President – General
Manager Doug Melvin, Vice President – Assistant General Manager
Gord Ash, and Special Assistant to the GM Craig Counsell will join
free agent acquisitions – Alex Gonzalez and Aramis Ramirez – in a
question and answer session with Brewers fans. The session will be
hosted by Brewers Hall of Fame Radio Announcer Bob Uecker.

1:15 pm – 2:15 pm – Milwacky Squares – A spin-off of
Hollywood Squares, the newest game show to hit Brewers On Deck,
features Brewers Hall of Fame Radio Announcer Bob Uecker as the
center square along with Brewers players and several surprise
Hollywood guests.

2:15 pm – 3:00 pm – Rising Stars Qamp;A – Brewers prospects
Jed Bradley, Kentrail Davis, Khris Davis, Scooter Gennett, Taylor
Jungmann, Hunter Morris, Michael Reed, Yadiel Rivera, Tyler
Thornburg and Mike Walker will take questions from fans regarding
the future of the organization on the field.

3:00 pm – 4:00 pm – Brewers Face Off – Its the Brewers
family of current Brewers against the Brewers family of future
stars in what will certainly turn out to be a feud. Brewers
television voice Brian Anderson will host this classic game
show.

4:15 pm – 4:45 pm – Media Roundtable – Join host Craig
Coshun in a discussion about the Brewers with members of the local
media including Tom Haudricourt of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,
Adam McCalvy of Brewers.com and Andrew Wagner of
FoxSportsWisconsin.com.

FOMC: Why The Recent Past Seldom Predicts the Future

Monetary policy will retain its easing stance with the federal funds rate expected to stay low through 2014. A lower inflation rate expectation could open the door to more asset purchases – possibly agency debt.

Past Performance is No Guarantee of Future Anything?

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) retained its outlook for moderate growth and subdued inflation and, thereby, a path of the federal funds rate consistent with those expectations – this is not a forecast. The interest rate path in the future is conditional upon the outcomes for growth and inflation. The Committee extended its timeline for exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate at least through late 2014. The FOMC is going with easier policy for a longer period. However, there are risks for decision makers here. The FOMC has opened the door to QE3 – see our Weekly Economic Commentary on January 13, 2012.

Expectations Change – Often

Modest economic growth remains the FOMCs expectation (and ours) over coming quarters and we both agree that consequently the unemployment rate will decline only gradually. The FOMC again lowered its growth outlook 2012 estimates, this time from 2.5-2.9 percent to 2.2-2.7 percent. Unemployment rate projections were actually lowered to 8.2-8.5 percent.

This increases the importance for decision makers to recognize that the outlook for interest rates is dependent on many factors and those factors do change over time. The FOMC projected core inflation at 1.5-1.8 percent for 2012 – a touch lower than previous estimates. The long run projection is 2 percent. Our outlook for 2012 is for moderation in the pace of core inflation (bottom graph). At present, the FOMC has decided not to pursue further policy options as many, including us, had expected. Additional security purchases (none dare call it QE3), focusing this time on mortgage-backed securities, remain an option that is aimed at helping the housing market.

The Recency Bias and the Danger for Decision Makers

In the early years of the past decade, many policymakers, including Chairman Bernanke, were talking about the Great Moderation in macroeconomic volatility of growth and inflation. Various explanations were advanced for this, including structural change (less manufacturing, more services), better economic policy and good luck. In 2007, the good luck ran out. This is, again, the problem when we tend to extrapolate the latest trend into the future (recency bias) and fail to recognize that the actual path for growth, inflation and interest rates is always in flux and that short-run changes in growth and inflation can lead to sharp movements in equity, bond and commodity prices. Despite the fancy graphs that have been produced, the likely path for interest rates going forward is very likely to be far more volatile than the smooth patterns in those graphs. Therefore, this creates both greater risks and opportunities for investors if market expectations become concentrated on the Feds numbers when the next surprise comes along, as it always does.