SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The California economy should continue to grow at a healthy pace in 2006, despite a likely slowdown in the housing market, Comerica Bank's chief economist, Dana Johnson, told business leaders today.

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"Housing prices have got to slow down," Johnson told an audience of 300 Bay Area business leaders at the 2006 Economic Forecast and Policy Conference presented by Comerica Bank and the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy and Research. Johnson's presentation coincided with the release of his first quarterly California Brief, a report on the California economy.

"It looks like another good year for California," said Johnson, who has spoken at four economic forecast events for Comerica Bank in California in the past month. "I expect California to grow at a healthy pace in 2006, closely shadowing the national growth rate of about 3 1/4 percent," Johnson said in his quarterly report on the California economy.

Also at today's conference at the San Mateo Marriott Hotel, the director of the Stanford institute, John B. Shoven, warned that rising Social Security and Medicare costs are threatening to overwhelm the federal budget. For 2006, however, he agreed with Johnson that the overall economic outlook is good.

"Unemployment is low, corporate profits are up, and investors have a great deal of confidence that inflation is under control," said Shoven, a Ph.D former chair of the Stanford University Economics Department and dean of Humanities and Sciences.

A video of the entire economic conference will be available online at http://siepr.stanford.edu/ on Friday, Jan. 20, and at http://www.comerica.com/ the week of January 23.

For more information or to obtain a complete copy of Dana Johnson's California Brief, contact Barry Holtzclaw, Comerica Corporate Communications, 408-556-5111, or bholtzclaw@comerica.com.

About Comerica Bank

The Western Market of Comerica Bank includes 61 banking centers in key California markets, including San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Fresno, Sacramento and Santa Cruz /Monterey, as well as in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Ariz. The bank's Western market generated 35 percent of the income for Comerica Incorporated, on $14.2 billion in assets at September 30, 2005. Comerica Bank is a subsidiary of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA), a financial services company headquarter in Detroit, strategically aligned into the Business Bank, Small Business & Personal Financial Services, and Wealth & Institutional Management. Comerica focuses on relationships, and helping businesses and people be successful. Comerica Inc. reported total assets of $54.3 billion at September 30, 2005. To receive e-mail alerts of breaking Comerica news, go to http://www.comerica.com/newsalerts.

About the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research

The Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research is a non-partisan economic policy research organization. SIEPR scholars conduct studies on important economic policy issues in the United States and other countries. SIEPR's goal is to inform and advise policy makers and the public and to guide their decisions with sound policy analysis. In the course of their research, SIEPR faculty train, educate, and support Ph.D students as future economic policy analysts.

SOURCE: Comerica Bank

CONTACT: Barry Holtzclaw of Comerica Bank, bholtzclaw@comerica.com,
+1-408-556-5111 or +1-408-315-6554

Web site: http://www.comerica.com/
http://www.comerica.com/newsalerts
http://siepr.stanford.edu/