European Investment Conference 16-17 November 2020 | Virtual Event | #EIC20Virtual

Charles Dumas, chairman of Lombard Street Research and presenter at the Fourth Annual CFA Institute European Investment Conference, recently spoke with Bloomberg’s Tom Keene on Bloomberg Radio’s “Bloomberg Surveillance.” During the interview, he discussed a number of topics including economic conditions in Europe, the global financial outlook for the coming year, and what China and Germany need to do in order to reduce their vulnerability to inflation.

During the interview, Mr. Dumas was credited for his previous forecast that the second round of U.S. quantitative easing would cause deflation in the United States and hurt the economy. In advance of U.S. President Barack Obama’s speech on Thursday, Mr. Dumas predicted that political rhetoric will not make much of a difference for the U.S. employment economy:

At the Fourth Annual CFA Institute European Investment Conference, Mr. Dumas will be discussing The American Phoenix: Why China and Europe Will Struggle after the Coming Slump.

Nader Mousavizadeh is CEO of Oxford Analytica, a global analysis and strategic advisory firm, and a consulting senior fellow at the International Institute of Strategic Studies. During his career, he has cultivated a global perspective and served at the United Nations as special assistant to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. At the Fourth Annual CFA Institute European Investment Conference, he will be discussing geopolitical risks and investment opportunities.

Mr. Mousavizadeh has published his work in a number of media outlets. His latest column for Reuters, “A smaller America could be a stronger America,” has gained attention for its calls to end “the American Empire,” even as an answering Reuters blog post by Michael Ignatieff questioned how its ideas could be implemented.

Mr. Mousavizadeh’s presentation at the conference in Paris will examine how the fragmentation of power, capital, and ideas is changing global politics and economics, and he will discuss what kind of macro diligence that will be needed by investors looking to adjust to redefined national interests and a more diverse global economy.

Stephen G. Cecchetti, head of the monetary and economic Department at the Bank for International Settlements and speaker at the upcoming Fourth Annual CFA Institute European Investment Conference, recently presented a research paper at the U.S. Federal Reserve symposium in Jackson Hole. While he was there, Professor Cecchetti had a chance to speak to news outlets and answer questions regarding his work and the earlier speech given by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Professor Cecchetti’s research examines the acceptable levels of debt that countries can maintain without damaging their potential for growth, focusing on the amount of public debt a country holds in relation to its GDP. While he feels that debt plays an important role for developing countries, he also thinks that it can become a drag on long-term growth for developed economies with high debt and no plans for fiscal consolidation.

In this interview with The Wall Street Journal, Professor Cecchetti discusses whether high debt in European countries is killing growth and comments on worldwide rates of inflation, growth, and interest:

Professor Cecchetti’s presentation at the Fourth Annual CFA Institute European Investment Conference will be on Reducing Systemic Risk: The Private Sector Must Be a Partner. He will discuss how systemic risk can reduce the frequency and severity of financial crises and look at ways that individual financial institutions can reinforce their risk control while encouraging the responsible behaviors of others.

Andrew Balls, managing director at PIMCO’s London office and speaker at the Fourth Annual CFA Institute European Investment Conference in Paris this November, is one of the experts regularly providing insights into market conditions through PIMCO’s website.

In his most recent insights column, Mr. Balls discusses whether it’s a good idea to buy Italian and Spanish government bonds, and how the European Central Bank has affected the market.

At the European Investment Conference in November, Mr. Balls will discuss Building Global Bond Portfolios in an Evolving World.

Richard Koo, chief economist of Nomura Research Institute and presenter at the upcoming Fourth Annual CFA Institute European Investment Conference, made headlines recently with his claim that “ratings agencies may destroy the global economy.”

In Nomura’s latest research note, Mr. Koo stated that if the U.S. pursued a defecit reduction to the full extent of ratings agency Standard & Poor’s recommendations, it “would plunge the economy into another Great Depression.” Business Insider examines the note in greater detail.

Mr. Koo has been an outspoken critic of Standard & Poor’s, and accused them of “missing the point” in an earlier interview with Bloomberg television:

Mr. Koo’s presentation at the Fourth Annual CFA Institute European Investment Conference, The World in a Balance Sheet Recession: Gaining Insight from the Japanese Experience, will examine the distinction between a financial crisis and a balance sheet recession, looking at the unique characteristics of these types of recessions and the special challenges posed by ratings agencies and democracies in general.

Professor Christian de Boissieu is chairman of the French Council of Economic Analysis and director of the master’s degree in banking and finance program at the Pantheon-Sorbonne University in Paris. During his career he has also advised the World Bank, European Commission, and European Parliament. At the Fourth Annual CFA Institute European Investment Conference in Paris, he’ll discuss financial issues facing the European Union.

Professor de Boissieu was interviewed by Bloomberg news to hear his thoughts in advance of the Group of 20 Finance ministers’ meeting earlier this year, and co-wrote an article in the French-language Le Monde last month discussing four measures that could save the euro.

During his session at the European Investment Conference, Professor de Boissieu will look at whether the European Union stands a chance of surviving sovereign defaults, and he will examine some possible sources of sustainable growth for Europe alongside existing social tensions and growing unemployment.

Wolfgang Münchau is associate editor and European economic columnist for the Financial Times, and he has recently made headlines for being one of the most vocal critics of the steps taken by the European Council to address the eurozone debt crisis. At the Fourth Annual CFA Institute European Investment Conference in Paris, he’ll discuss “Crisis and Consequence: The Way Forward for the Eurozone.”

Mr. Münchau also runs Eurointelligence.com, an independent, internet-based service for economic commentary and analysis of the euro area that features his own work alongside contributions from other noted economists, including Nouriel Roubini.

In his most recent update at Eurointelligence, posted in advance of the latest European Council summit, Mr. Münchau laid out what he considered to be “the minimum needed to avoid the risk of meltdown,” comprising steps to reduce Greek debt, increase flexibility of the European finance stability facility, and to extend the rescue umbrella across a broader portion of the eurozone.

After the summit, his Financial Times column (registration required) noted that while the council had “succeeded in staving off an imminent collapse of the eurozone,” the European debt crisis remains an ongoing concern.

Simon Johnson — MIT professor, former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, and presenter at the upcoming Fourth Annual CFA Institute European Investment Conference — was interviewed by Zero Hedge recently to talk about financial institutions that are “too big to fail” and whether the U.S. Dodd–Frank legislation has done anything to fix the problems that they pose.

According to Professor Johnson, “We’re in a framework where the biggest banks, JPMorgan, Citi, Bank of America are too big to fail. You can’t handle them within the existing resolution framework.”

You can read the entire interview at Zero Hedge to learn more about Professor Johnson’s thoughts on which companies should be considered too big to fail, how big they have to be, and whether Europe is ready for shocks to its financial system.

You can also see Professor Johnson at the European Investment Conference and attend his session, The Next Financial Crisis.

William De Vijlder, Chief Investment Officer of Strategy & Partners at BNP Paribas and presenter at the upcoming Fourth Annual CFA Institute European Investment Conference, recently spoke with The Economic Times to discuss Indian market outlooks.

In the interview, he discusses BNP’s preferred investment sectors in India and his firm’s current outlook on emerging markets. He also describes the Indian government’s forecast for economic growth as “on the optimistic side” — even though it’s no cause for alarm:

“Having some bit of a slower growth is instrumental. One should not be too worried about that. When growth is slowing sufficiently and inflation is coming down as well, then it means that the central bank and still the tightening cycle can even lift its foot from the brakes and then the economy can re-accelerate again. But based on present data, on available data, 8 to 9% growth is too optimistic.”

Dr. De Vijlder will be discussing emerging market investing during his session, Allocating Capital in an Uncertain World.

New session details have been added to the schedule page for the Fourth Annual CFA Institute European Investment Conference, providing more details on the times and topics for presentations at the event.

The conference will include plenary and concurrent sessions on topics such as reducing systemic risk, presented by Stephen Cecchetti of the Bank for International Settlements;gaining insight from the Japan experience, presented by Nomura’s Richard Koo; and the next financial crisis, presented by Simon Johnson, former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund.

You can view current session information on the conference schedule page or register for the conference online.