SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Two hot topics in the San Francisco Bay Area, especially in Silicon Valley and the South Bay -- the economic outlook for 2008, and the economic impact of professional sports franchises on a local economy -- will be front and center in Santa Clara on Thursday, Jan. 24 at the 2008 Comerica Bank Economic Forecast Conference.

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"As a bank whose continued success depends on the economic growth and vitality of the communities that we serve, we understand how important economic data is to our customers," said J. Michael Fulton, president and CEO of Comerica Bank's Western Market. "We are proud to present two distinguished economists -- our own Dana Johnson, and Peter Blair Henry of Stanford University -- at our third annual economic forecast event in Silicon Valley."

"This year's conference also has a bonus: a panel of senior executives from three of our favorite teams -- the San Francisco 49ers, the San Jose Sharks, and the Oakland Athletics -- discussing the impact of a sports franchise on the local economy," said Fulton. "There certainly is a lot of excitement in the South Bay about these teams."

Business and community leaders from across the Bay Area have been invited to attend this year's event, at 8:30 - 10:45 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 24, at the Santa Clara Convention Center Theater, 5001 Great American Parkway, in Santa Clara. For information about attending the event, go to http://www.comerica.com/econ08, or call 408-556-5931 before 4 p.m. Friday, Jan.18.

Mark Purdy, sports columnist for the San Jose Mercury News, will be moderator of the 10 a.m. sports panel, comprised of: Jed York, director of strategic planning for the San Francisco 49ers; Greg Jamison, president and CEO of the San Jose Sharks; and Mike Crowley, president of the Oakland Athletics. The economic conference site is near the Great America amusement park, whose parking lot is the proposed site of a new 49ers stadium (for which Santa Clara city officials this week took the first steps in a lengthy approval process.) And it is across the bay from the proposed site of a new A's ballpark in Fremont.

Johnson, senior vice president and chief economist for Comerica Bank, joins Henry, the associate director of the Center for Global Business and the Economy at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, in a joint presentation and question-and-answer session at 8:30 a.m., preceded by a continental breakfast. The forecast panel will be moderated by Stan Bunger, KCBS morning news anchor. The Mercury News and KCBS are co-sponsors of the event.

Johnson, who is interviewed frequently in national media, publishes quarterly economic reports on California, Texas, and Michigan, as well as the national economy and the auto industry. He is a former economist with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Board.

Henry, the John and Cynthia Fry Gunn Faculty Scholar at Stanford, is an external economic adviser to the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama.

Quotes this week from Dana Johnson:

"Even if we don't have a recession, we are going to have a bumpy ride for a while," said Dana Johnson, chief economist for Dallas-based Comerica Bank. "If you can get through one more challenging year, there will be light at the end of the tunnel." Detroit Free Press. Jan. 17

Comerica Bank Chief Economist Dana Johnson says he doesn't believe the U.S. is in recession yet. "I'm not persuaded at all that we are actually already in recession. But I certainly see that growth is slowing a lot and we could dive into recession," Johnson said. Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Australia, Jan. 16

About Comerica Bank

Comerica Bank is a subsidiary of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA), a Fortune 500 financial services company headquartered in Dallas strategically aligned into three major business segments: the Business Bank, the Retail Bank, and Wealth & Institutional Management. Comerica focuses on relationships and helping businesses and people be successful. Comerica bank locations can be found in Michigan, California, Texas, Florida and Arizona, with select businesses operating in several other states, Canada and Mexico. Comerica reported total assets of $62.3 billion at Dec. 31, 2007. For more information, go to http://www.comerica.com/.

SOURCE: Comerica Bank

CONTACT: Barry Holtzclaw of Comerica Bank, +1-408-556-5111, +1-831-246-
0648 or bholtzclaw@comerica.com

Web site: http://www.comerica.com/
http://www.comerica.com/econ08