Economic growth in Europe has all but stalled after a 0.2% GDP contraction in Germany in 2Q14 and lacklustre growth in France and other European economies. While US GDP was relatively strong at 4.2% in 2Q14, this was on the back of a 2.1% drop in 1Q14. Meanwhile, China's second-quarter growth, while satisfactory at about 7.5%, has caused some econonmists to question whether the government's reliance on ad-hoc stimulus measures are delaying reforms and adding unnecessary debt. Similar questions are being asked about the effectiveness of Abenomics, the economic and monetary policies launched under Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. What is the outlook for the global economy, especially given that 2015 will be the year the US Fed is expected to start the process of normalizing interest rates?

Our special guest speaker will provide an analysis of current global economic conditions and an outlook for financial markets in 2015, with a special focus on the prospects for Asia, based on expected policy actions and global macro-economic trends. In particular, he will offer insights on the following:

About the speaker
Klaus Baader is the Chief Economist, Asia Pacific for Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking (SG CIB), based in Hong Kong since March 2012. He is also Head of Research Asia, a position he has held since September 2014. Before relocating to Hong Kong he was Chief Euro Area Economist in London. He joined Societe Generale in July 2009 from Merrill Lynch, where he had been Chief Europe economist since 2006. Previously, he was at Lehman Brothers for ten years, latterly as Senior Europe economist. He has also held positions at UBS and Deutsche Bank. Baader began his career at Salomon Brothers in 1989, after studying Economics and Political Science at the University of Cologne and the London School of Economics. He received his BSc in economics from the LSE in 1988, and completed a master's course in economics in 1989.