Top 5 business/economy story — No. 5: The Compass report

Editor’s note: With the days, weeks and months seemingly passing faster than ever, it can be difficult to remember what happened yesterday much less the past six months. To that end, The City Wire will during the next three weeks highlight the top 5 stories of the first half of 2009 in the following categories: Business/economy, political, and cultural. The top 5 business/economy stories will be counted down between July 20 and July 24; the political top 5 between July 27 and July 31; and the top 5 cultural between Aug. 3 and Aug. 7.

The first ever comprehensive economic analysis of the Fort Smith metropolitan area was launched May 12 by The City Wire, with Benefit Bank signed on as the Presenting Sponsor.

The initial report of The Compass found that the Fort Smith regional economy is struggling and the near-term outlook is mixed at best. The Compass overall grade for the first quarter of 2009, based on eight sets of data and Jeff Collins’ analysis of the information, is a D+. The grade means that relative to the region’s historic economic performance, the first quarter of 2009 saw economic decline.

Collins, a nationally respected economist based in Springdale, served as director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas’ Sam Walton College of Business between August 1999 and Dec. 31, 2006. After leaving the UA, he co-founded Streetsmart Data, a Springdale-based company that provides economic analysis to businesses and governments around the country.

John Taylor, senior vice president of John Taylor Financial-Sterne Agee and a member of the board of directors at Fort Smith-based Benefit Bank and Sparks Health System, said the Fort Smith region has long needed quality economic analysis.

“The Compass will be valuable to those of us who live here as well as those outside our area making decisions that impact us. Even if I were not in the business of putting myself out there and giving people advice on how to plan for the future I could find multiple uses for this data,” Taylor said. “I love that there are current indicators as well as leading indicators. Why shouldn’t an area as vibrant and important as ours have our own economic measure instead of being cast in with Little Rock and NWA?”