Mayor Engen to nation: Missoula, Montana economy is rosier than Moody’s rating and definitely open for business

Missoula Mayor John Engen http://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/directory.aspx?EID=36 made an noontime appearance on CNBC Wednesday and told the nation that Missoula’s economy is far healthier than the one Moody’s credit rating agency is portraying.

Engen was invited to speak on CNBC’s "Street Signs with Erin Burnett" to refute Moody’s prediction that Missoula is one of 22 cities at risk of a double-dip recession.

"We’re pretty lucky here," Engen said during the live broadcast, explaining both Missoula http://www.missoulacvb.org/ and Montana don’t experience the economic high-highs or low-lows that other parts of the country do.

Missoula Area Economic Development Corporation http://www.maedc.org

By BETSY COHEN of the Missoulian

Full Story: http://missoulian.com/news/local/article_f6a3f59e-aaf9-11df-ae84-001cc4c03286.html

***

Missoulian Editorial: Missoula still open for business

Different numbers from different sources may tell different stories about the local economy, but Mayor John Engen sent a clear message Wednesday that whatever the narrative du jour, Missoula remains a place worthy of investment.

On Wednesday at noon, Engen made an appearance on CNBC to counter recent information that shows Missoula’s economy is at risk of sliding back into the national recession. The appearance was prompted by numbers from Moody’s Analytics that put Missoula with 21 other metro areas in the nation at risk of falling into a second recession, flavorfully termed a "double-dip."

CNBC’s Street Signs host Erin Burnett began the segment by noting that, overall, Missoula’s economy appears to be doing better than Montana’s, and that Montana’s is doing better than the rest of the nation; however, the Garden City’s standing as "a western city with a timber industry highly exposed to domestic housing market" leaves it vulnerable to recession.

Full Editorial: http://missoulian.com/news/opinion/editorial/article_a7ec76f8-ab97-11df-a50c-001cc4c03286.html