Breakout Session: The Global Economy and Corporate Strategy

The global economy is in an extraordinary state of flux. COVID, an unprecedented modern human tragedy, has caused a massive shock to domestic economies and to international trade. The United States’ powerful fiscal and monetary response creates a confluence of historic macro-economic conditions with implications, including inflation concerns and potential asset bubbles, that are difficult to predict. Compound this domestic policy stimulus uncertainty with Brexit risk, increasing trade friction between the United States and China, and the possibility of increased corporate, personal, and capital gains taxes, and the challenge of macro-economic forecasting becomes particularly fraught. How can a corporate director help set strategy and decide on capital allocations in an environment so bedeviled by profound uncertainty? This panel will review the state of the global economy, highlight the major evolving risk factors, and connect macroeconomic trends to practical, bottom-line issues salient to the corporate strategic process.