INVESTOR NEWSLETTER - MARCH 2009

Fidelity Real Estate President Recognizes Economic Diversity
Sarah Abrams, president of Fidelity Real Estate Company, a division of Fidelity Investments, spoke at the 13th Annual First Coast Real Estate Economic Outlook Conference a few weeks ago. The point Abrams kept making was long-term, "Northeast Florida has the right stuff." Northeast Florida's long-term future remains positive for several reasons:

• The region's projected in-migration for 25-44 year olds is a growth rate of more than 10 percent. Only a handful of other states fall into this category.
• The region's positive gap between projected income and cost of living is significant.
• The availability of talent and education continues to grow significantly in Northeast Florida.

Abrams closed her presentation by noting that labor availability and cost are now the number one drivers for corporate location decisions and Jacksonville is well positioned for this shift. We have a committed, cohesive business-friendly community with a good quality of life and business leaders focused on the development of high-level talent.

European Executives Tour Region on Second International Showcase
Cornerstone hosted European executives during its second international showcase last week. The international executives, from Belgium, Ireland, the U.K., Italy, the Netherlands and France, came to visit our region and evaluate the business opportunities available in Northeast Florida. During their three-day visit, they toured Pilot Pen, the U.S. Proton Beam Therapy Center, Rulon, Merrill Lynch, Vistakon, Biomet, NAS JAX and JAXPORT and heard from these companies about doing business in Jacksonville. Jacksonville has been selected by many international companies for new investments, including Deutsche Bank, Pilot Pen, Bridgestone Firestone, Mitsui, Hanjin and Alenia.

We also had the opportunity to hear from our international guests. At the working session, each executive talked about their visit and views of our region. They were very impressed with the public/private partnership we have and how seamlessly we work together to advance our region. Several executives are hoping to place operations in Jacksonville in the near future.

CEO of CSX to Speak at Second Cornerstone Lunch
We are excited to announce Michael Ward, president and CEO of CSX, as the featured speaker for the second Cornerstone luncheon on Friday, June 5. Sustaining Business the CSX Way: The Keys to Their Success will be the topic for Michael's presentation. He will discuss what CSX is doing to invest in its network for future growth and will offer his perspective on Jacksonville and its potential, including the developments at JAXPORT and what they mean for our region.

Be sure to mark you calendars so you don't miss this opportunity to hear how CSX is meeting the challenges of our ever-changing economy. The luncheon will be held at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront, from noon to 1:30 p.m.

Company Growth
So far this year, five local companies have announced projects totaling more than 800 new jobs including:

• Jacksonville-based Tax Defense Network, a tax resolution firm, is hiring 150 financial professionals by the end of the year.
• EverBank Financial Corp. is adding 200 workers in Jacksonville for growth in the company’s mortgage operations. Lower interest rates have led particularly to interest in mortgage refinancing, creating a need to increase staff.
• Birmingham-based Liberty National Life Insurance has opened a new branch office here and will add as many as 200 positions.
• Meridian Technologies, a local provider of software and data management services for financial and health care companies, announced the opening of the Meridian Development Center. The development center will add 27 programmers and managers and the company hopes to replicate this model in other U.S. locations.

We continue to work with another 44 active prospects and look forward to more signs of positive economic recovery.

Aviation and Aerospace - A Cornerstone Target Industry
In our last newsletter, we took a closer look at the Logistics and Distribution industry. This month we will focus on the aviation and aerospace industry and the growth and expansion we are experiencing.

The aviation industry is fast becoming a major economic cluster in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida. The expansive network of airports and available specialized talent pool are just some of the reasons this industry continues to see success.

Through the redevelopment of Cecil Commerce Center, a former U.S. Navy Air Station, to a modern aviation and industrial park, the JAA, JEDC, Enterprise Florida and Cornerstone were successful in recruiting Alenia North America to build a $104 million aircraft assembly plant at Cecil Commerce Center, which will bring 300 new jobs to our region. The formal groundbreaking is scheduled for late April. Northrop Grumman continues to expand its aircraft assembly and maintenance operations in St. Augustine and Boeing and Kaman Aerospace add to our area's diverse aviation industry sector.

For more information on our aviation and aerospace industry, contact John Haley, vice president of business recruitment, at (904) 366-6671 or john.haley@jacksonvillechamber.org.





Economist's Corner
Tim McGee, managing director, Marco Strategies with U.S. Trust, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of America, provided us with his insights into the current state of our economy and what we can expect for the future. We asked McGee several questions about the future of our economy, when we can expect to see it recover and how the stimulus package will affect the economy.

McGee began by pointing out that some areas are still hitting bottom, some have hit bottom and some areas are beginning to recover. In the Q4 2008 and Q1 2009 our economy "fell off the cliff," but we are starting to see signs that at the end of the Q1 2009 our economy will begin to turn around.

By April, when the stimulus takes effect, we should begin to see its effect on the economy.

• Americans will receive a tax cut and will have a $65 per month increase in income.
• Retail sales will finally stabilize and we should begin to see an increase in sales.
• The Federal Reserve is starting the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) program, designed to help stabilize the car and credit card loan industries. This will help get credit back to the American consumer.
• Interest rates on mortgages will fall to an unprecedented 4.5 percent or less.

The overall message McGee provided was that we have seen the worst and by the third to fourth quarter we should begin to see a positive GDP growth and a stabilizing economy.

 

Sincerely,
Greg Smith

Cornerstone Chair
Jacksonville and Northeast Flordia President, Bank of America

Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns Counties
3 Independent Drive • Jacksonville Fl 32202 • 904.366.6639
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