THE GLOBAL ECONOMY AND ITS EFFECT ON THE CITY

Goal: To gain a clear understanding of the basics of global economic developments and how they affect the City's financial markets.

• Why are international economic developments so important for the City?
• The crucial role of the US: can its economy withstand the banking sector's problems?
• Japan: how sustainable is its recovery?
• Can China remain an engine for the world economy?
• Should we worry about inflation? Or will deflation come back to haunt financial markets?
• Prospects for interest rates
• The effect of economics on bond markets, equities and currencies
• What to watch: the important economic indicators for 2008

The Indices

• The purpose of indices.
• Why are indices important and how are they used?
• Indices and index providers: who is behind the creation, calculation and distribution of indices.