APSU professor Thompson researching history of World War II POWs in Tennessee
August 12, 2015
Clarksville, TN – As thousands of American men traveled overseas to fight for the Allied forces during World War II, a surprising number of captured Axis prisoners of war (POWs) were making the opposite intercontinental journey.
A total of 425,000 Axis (Germany, Italy and Japan) POWs were held all across the United States in nearly every state. This marked the first time since the Civil War that large numbers of POWs were held on American soil.
APSU professor Dr. Antonio Thompson
Grammy winner Rhonda Larson to visit APSU as final Acuff Chair of Excellence of 2014-15
April 21, 2015
Clarksville, TN – The final Roy Acuff Chair of Excellence recipient of 2014-15, Grammy Award winning flutist Rhonda Larson, will bring her talents to campus for a series of lectures and master classes at Austin Peay State University the week of April 21st-28th.
During her residency, Larson will share her experiences as a performing artist, as well as offering insight and lessons to APSU and area students. Her visit to campus will conclude on Tuesday, April 28th, with a concert with the APSU Wind Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Gregory Wolynec. The event will take place at 7:30pm at the Mabry Concert Hall, on the campus of APSU.
Grammy winner Rhonda Larson
Clarksville’s First Thursday Art Walk to take place April 2nd, 2015
March 27, 2015
Clarksville, TN – Produced by The Downtown Clarksville Association, First Thursday Art Walk is a free, self-guided tour spanning a 5-block radius that combines visual art, live music, engaging events and more in the heart of Downtown Clarksville.
With 10+ venues, bars and businesses participating each month, the First Thursday Art Walk in Clarksville is the ultimate opportunity to savor and support local creative talent.
First Thursday Art Walk in downtown Clarksville scheduled for July 3rd.
Clarksville Weekly Market Snapshot from Frazier Allen for the week of March 11th, 2015
March 11, 2015
Clarksville, TN – The economic data were mixed, but the February Employment Report was stronger than expected. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 295,000 (±105,000), with a revision to January of -18,000. The BLS indicated that the payroll survey missed most of the bad weather that hit last month.
The household survey showed that 328,000 could not make it to work due to bad weather, which is about average (it was 601,000 in February 2014). Average weekly hours held steady (no weather impact).
Frazier Allen
Clarksville Weekly Market Snapshot from Frazier Allen for the week of March 1st, 2015
March 1, 2015
Clarksville, TN – Greece’s reform proposals were accepted by European finance ministers, effectively kicking the can down the road for another four months.
In her monetary policy testimony, Fed Chair Janet Yellen signaled that the Fed will begin to consider raising short-term interest rates on a meeting-by-meeting basis. Before then, the Fed will change its forward guidance (currently, the language suggests that the Fed can be “patient” in deciding when to raise rates).
Frazier Allen
Clarksville Weekly Market Snapshot from Frazier Allen for the week of February 22nd, 2015
February 22, 2015
Clarksville, TN – The minutes of the January 27th-28th Federal Open Market Committee meeting showed officials continuing to make preparations for policy normalization.
There was some debate about the risks of moving either too late or too soon. “Several” Fed officials feared that waiting too long to raise rates would risk higher inflation, but “many” (which in Fedspeak, is more than “several”) worried that a premature increase in rates could dampen the economic recovery and leave the Fed with limited options to correct course.
Frazier Allen
Clarksville Weekly Market Snapshot from Frazier Allen for the week of February 15th, 2015
February 15, 2015
Clarksville, TN – As expected, U.S. financial market participants kept a close eye on developments in Europe. A fragile ceasefire agreement was reached in Ukraine (but we’ve seen that before). Negotiations to reduce austerity in Greece and restructure the country’s debt broke down without making much progress, but the two sides agreed to try again next week.
Retails sales were softer than expected in January and consumer sentiment fell unexpectedly in the mid-February assessment, leading to some concerns about the strength of consumer spending, but also fueling expectations that the Fed will delay its initial increase in short-term interest rates. Unadjusted core retail sales fell 24.9%, the same decline as in January 2014.
Frazier Allen
Clarksville Weekly Market Snapshot from Frazier Allen for the week of February 8th, 2015
February 8, 2015
Clarksville, TN – The January Employment Report was strong. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 257,000 (median forecast: +235,000), with a net upward revision of +147,000 to the two previous months (three month average at +336,000). Payrolls fell by 2.76 million before seasonal adjustment, but were up 3.21 million from a year earlier.
The unemployment rate edged up to 5.7% (from 5.6%) reflecting noise in the labor force participation figure (down in December, up in January). The employment/population ratio edged higher. Average hourly earnings jumped 0.5%, following a 0.2% decline in December (up 2.2% y/y, still a relatively lackluster trend).
Frazier Allen
Clarksville Weekly Market Snapshot from Frazier Allen for the week of February 1st, 2015
February 1, 2015
Clarksville, TN – As expected, Greece’s election resulted in a turn to the left. The new leadership indicated that it intends to remain in the euro, but will seek a reduction in austerity and some restructuring of the country’s debt.
That sets up a conflict with other European countries that oppose such moves. This will likely take some time to resolve, with headlines expected to add to global financial market volatility in the weeks to come. Meanwhile, euro area inflation fell to -0.6% y/y.
Real GDP rose at a 2.6% annual rate in the advance estimate for 4Q14 (vs. a median forecast of +3.1%), but it was still a good report. As expected, it was a strong quarter for consumer spending (+4.3%), but a relatively soft quarter for business fixed investment (+1.9%).
Frazier Allen
Clarksville Weekly Market Snapshot from Frazier Allen for the week of January 26th, 2015
January 26, 2015
Clarksville, TN – As expected, the European Central Bank (ECB) signaled that it would begin a quantitative easing program, purchasing €60 billion per month in public and private securities through September 2016.
The amount of monthly purchases was a bit higher than anticipated, but that included the ECB’s already-existing program to purchase asset-backed securities and covered bonds. The ECB’s announcement sent the euro sharply lower.
Frazier Allen
