Hartford Business Journal

September 21, 2015 — Lifetime Achievement Awards

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www.HartfordBusiness.com September 21, 2015 • Hartford Business Journal 5 REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK CT's 2016 economic outlook bright With the 2015 Connecticut economy in its final stretch, the preview for the state's econ- omy next year is bright with nothing on the horizon that could derail it, observers say. "The good news is we're in positive ter- ritory,'' said New Haven economist Donald Klepper-Smith. "The bad news is we're lag- ging the pace of the previous recovery.'' According to Klepper-Smith, the state's economy was projected to grow between 0.5 percent and 2 percent this year. The projected growth rate for 2016 is about 1 percent, he said. He joined state Labor Department econ- omist Patrick Flaherty and University of Hartford finance professor Susan Coleman for an economics panel discussion at the Connecticut Business & Industry Associa- tion's annual economic forecast conference Sept. 11 at the Hartford Marriott Downtown. All three agreed that Connecticut's economy is, according to Flaherty, "on the mend.'' However, Coleman said the roller- coaster stock market of late reflects con- sumers' ongoing concerns about the pace and direction of the national and global economies. "Consumer confidence is relatively frag- ile right now,'' she said. Flaherty said that as of July, Connecti- cut had recovered 102,000, or 86 percent, of the 119,000 jobs the state's economy shed from the start of the Great Recession in late 2007 through the recovery's start around March of 2010. The insurance sector remains the hard- est hit, recouping just over one of every 10 of its jobs that were shed during the recession, Flaherty said. — Gregory Seay Survey: Millennials crave apps for savings rates Millennials' aversion to setting foot inside banks, thrifts or credit unions is the reason Webster Bank, Bank of America and other deposit-takers are cutting back their Connecticut branch fleets and updating the ones that are left. Now, Millennials are flexing their con- sumer muscles in ways likely to drive banks and credit unions bonkers. According to Virginia industry-data har- vester SNL Financial, its latest Mobile Money consumer survey found that Millennials are more likely to indicate that certain features are missing from their bank app when com- pared to the older generations. Also, there are a few features that Millennials are more likely to use, the SNL survey found. Across the board, Millennials (age 18-35) are more likely than other respon- dents (age 36-plus) to indicate that fea- tures are missing from their mobile bank app, the survey said. The feature most often considered missing by Millennial bank app users is savings account rates (19 percent for Millennials compared to 12 percent for all other age groups). A close second was a mortgage calculator, a feature in which older respondents were far less interested. Differences were also fairly large for paying bills and automated teller machine locators. Millennial bank app users, especially older Millennials, indicated that they would use a feature that allowed them to view checking account rates, SNL said. This interest in account rates may be tied to the interest in branchless bank accounts that offer higher interest rates or even interest- earning checking accounts. Not only do Millennials have an increased desire to see more features available in their mobile bank apps, they also say they are more willing to switch banks in order to get those features. When asked about switching banks in order to receive desired features, Millenni- als, were more likely than other respondents to consider the switch. — Gregory Seay (From left) New Haven economist Donald Klepper-Smith, state Labor Department economist Patrick Flaherty and University of Hartford finance professor Susan Coleman headlined the CBIA's economic forecast session Sept. 11. P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D TICKETS

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