London 2012 Event

Financial Times - Credit Suisse Lex Forum
Charting the New Economic and Financial Landscape

Global Economic Outlook: The Debt Crisis and Its Fallout
12 January 2012 - Financial Times Building, London

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Fears over the consequences of the sovereign debt crisis in Europe have caused substantial unease in financial markets, a massive drop in investor, consumer and business confidence across developed and emerging economies, and lower growth forecasts worldwide.

Whether the US and Europe are facing double-dip recessions, or remain stuck in the same recession that followed the 2008 financial crisis, as some economists have argued, government bond markets in the eurozone are betting on serious financial distress and possible insolvency among the most at-risk economies despite new governments and tough austerity plans.

Concerns over a possible eurozone breakup are being fueled by a lack of political cohesion among and within member states. Similar political bickering is threatening US economic stability, with divisiveness in Congress over plans to cut the country's very large fiscal defecit setting the scene for another major re-evaluation of US-related economic and market risk.

The need to reduce large fiscal deficits mean that most developed economies, including the UK, are having to deal with recession without much room to reflate, while Japan and the big emerging markets are still seeing growth but amid rising anxiety about their strong currencies and the fallout from another sharp slowdown in the West and North.

What lies ahead in the next 12 months and what should policy-makers do to avoid the worst? What can or should be done to fix the eurozone? What will the impact be on other economies, such as the UK and US, if the eurozone begins to split? Should governments be adopting a looser fiscal policy to get economies moving again or be even tougher on deficits than they already are? What should the central banks be doing? Should the ECB be intervening more forcefully to stabilize European markets? Is it time for the Fed to launch QE3?

In the latest in a global series of strategic forums, the Financial Times and Credit Suisse will gather senior economists and financial sector executives to discuss the outlook for the global economy and government policy in 2012. This high-level, invitation-only event will feature contributions from leading economists and strategists, including Jonathan Wilmot, Chief Global Strategist, Investment Banking at Credit Suisse; Andrew Balls, Head of European Investment, PIMCO; Jonathan Portes, Director, National Institute of Economic and Social Research; and Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator for the Financial Times.