UNC Asheville's 25th annual Economic Crystal Ball Seminar will be held on Thursday, April 23, at UNC Asheville's Lipinsky Auditorium. Noted economists David W. Berson and James F. Smith will speak. The seminar, sponsored by the UNC Asheville Economics Department and Parsec Financial, begins with a 6:15 p.m. reception, followed by the speakers at 7 p.m., and a question-and-answer period at 8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

The economic outlook portion of the program will focus on inflation, employment, interest rates and the strength of the dollar and housing market. The financial outlook presentation will explore the implications of Federal Reserve policy for financial markets. Various investments will be addressed, with an emphasis on interest rates and the bond market.

Berson, chief economist and strategist for The PMI Group, is responsible for forecasting interest rates and the housing market. He is a past vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae, and was the president of the National Association of Business Economists, and has been chief financial economist at Wharton Econometrics Forecasting Associates and a visiting scholar with the Federal Reserve.

Smith, twice named the best economic forecaster by the Wall Street Journal, is the chief economist at Parsec Financial. He has more than 25 years of experience as an economics forecaster and his career spans private industry, government and academic institutions including tenures with Wharton Economics, Union Carbide and the Federal Reserve.

Admission is free, but seating is limited. To register, call UNC Asheville's Economics Department at 828/251-6550 or email Kimberly Moore at kmoore@unca.edu.