Bloomberg Economist Richard Yamarone Named Keynote Speaker at Midwest Investment Conference 2014

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The Midwest Investment Conference 2014 committee today announced Bloomberg Economist Richard Yamarone as the event's keynote speaker. The conference, which is hosted by CFA Society Cleveland, provides an opportunity for publicly traded companies to engage with institutional investors. Midwest Investment Conference 2014 is Tuesday, Nov. 18 at the Cleveland Convention Center, in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.

Mr. Yamarone is an economist with nearly three decades of experience. He writes on monetary and fiscal policy, economic indicators, fixed income, commodities and general macroeconomic conditions for Bloomberg Brief Economics, a daily newsletter offering analysis, data and news on the forces shaping the global economy. Mr. Yamarone and the Bloomberg Brief Economics team provide in-depth analysis of macroeconomic data, policy and trends and how they will impact financial markets. Bloomberg Brief Economics is one of several specialized newsletters that combine Bloomberg data and news with industry-specific original content and commentary. Bloomberg Briefs are a product of the Bloomberg Professional® service. Bloomberg Briefs are available to customers of the Bloomberg Professional service at no additional cost at BRIEF <Go>. Non-Bloomberg users can subscribe to the newsletters at http://bloombergbriefs.com.

The conference committee also announced the $199 attendance fee will be waived for CFA Institute members who register by Friday, Nov. 14. The attendance fee covers access to all general presentation sessions, complimentary valet parking, breakfast, lunch, snacks and the opportunity to request breakout meetings with participating management teams during the event.

General company presentation sessions will be conducted concurrently in three separate auditoriums. A schedule of general presentations has been posted at: http://midwestinvestmentconference.org/schedule2.html. Pre-arranged breakout meetings will take place in private salons throughout the venue. Companies registered to present at this year's event include:

Confirmed Presenting Companies:

• Allegheny Technologies Inc. ATI
• AmTrust Financial Services, Inc. AFSI
• Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. AIT
• Black Ridge Oil & Gas, Inc. ANFC
• BofI Holding, Inc. BOFI
• DDR Corp. DDR
• EQT Corporation EQT
• Farmer's National Banc Corp. FMNB
• Flowers Foods, Inc. FLO*
• Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc. HY*
• Lancaster Colony Corporation LANC
• Mace Security International, Inc. MACE
• Materion Corporation MTRN
• Middlefield Banc Corp. MBCN
• National Interstate Corporation NATL
• Nordson Corporation NDSN
• Olympic Steel, Inc. ZEUS
• Owens-Illinois, Inc. OI*
• Peoples Bancorp Inc. PEBO
• RPM International Inc. RPM
• SB Financial Group, Inc. SBFG
• Stepan Company SCL
• Universal Stainless & Alloy Products, Inc. USAP
• Viggle Inc. VGGL

*Denotes companies not making auditorium presentations and instead available for breakout meetings only. Attendees may request meetings with these companies after completing registration.

Early Registration Encouraged

The conference is open to institutional portfolio managers, equity analysts and other qualified financial and investment professionals. Additional registration information and links to the registration portal are available online at: http://midwestinvestmentconference.org/registration.html. The Cleveland Convention Center is located at 300 Lakeside Avenue, in the heart of downtown Cleveland.

Financial Supporters & Sponsors

Conference sponsorships are still available and offer a valuable touch-point with decision-makers at public companies and with investment and asset-management firms. Sponsorship helps defray costs associated with hosting the event, and showcases a public commitment to corporate transparency and the capital markets.

Additional Information on Mr. Yamarone

He is also the creator of the Bloomberg Orange Book − a compilation of macroeconomic anecdotes gleaned from comments CEOs and CFOs made on quarterly earnings conference calls. He travels extensively and talks to clients and corporate executives on the economic outlook, public speaking and career and management coaching.

Mr. Yamarone was director of economic research at Argus Research and a member of the firm's investment policy committee. In addition, he has taught courses on macroeconomics and economic indicators at colleges and institutions, and has served as president of the prestigious Downtown Economists Club of New York City.

He is the author of Trader's Guide to Key Economic Indicators (Bloomberg Press, 2007) and Mr. Yamarone is a member of the Global Interdependence Center, National Association for Business Economics, the American Economic Association, the National Economics Club, the New York State Economics Association and the Money Marketeers of New York University. He has won accolades for his work, and was featured as one of the “Top 10 Economists in the U.S.” by USA Today in 2007 and named “Nostradamus of the Financial Industry” by Bank Advisor in 2008 for his prediction of the financial crises.

Conference Sponsors Include:

• Platinum Level: Business Wire, a global market leader in commercial press release distribution
• Silver Level: FactSet Research Systems, provider of workflow solutions and productive tools for the global investment community
• Nasdaq OMX, a global provider of trading, exchange technology, information and public company services
• Silver Level: RR Donnelley, a global provider of integrated communications
• Contributing: Clear Perspective Group, LLC, an independent investor relations consulting firm, planned, organized and managed logistics for the conference on behalf of host CFA Society Cleveland
• Contributing: Morningstar Inc., an investment research and investment management firm
• Contributing: The NIRI Cleveland/Northern Ohio Chapter, a non-profit organization promoting common interests of individuals engaged in the investor relations profession

Interested companies can learn more about the benefits of sponsorship by visiting http://midwestinvestmentconference.org or http://go2mic.org or by contacting conference administration at 216-255-6290.

About Midwest Investment Conference

The Midwest Investment Conference model was created in 2011 to spearhead institutional investment conferences mutually addressing the needs of both publicly-held companies and professional investors. The unique model provides a conflict-free and cost effective means of enhancing corporate transparency. Visit the event online at http://midwestinvestmentconference.org, follow conference updates on Twitter @MWInvConference and by searching the hashtag #MWIC14.