Fiscal Profligacy & Anti-Globalism: How Sustainable Is The Stock Market Boom?

Innes McFee is the Chief Economist of Macro and Investor Services, based in London. Innes oversees the activities of the Macro & Investor Services teams globally, including the Global Macro Forecast and Global Macro Service.

Innes joined Oxford Economics in 2017 after 6 years at Lloyds Banking Group as a Senior Economist. At Lloyds Innes was responsible for the economic scenarios underpinning the Group’s internal planning and stress testing; analysis of key risks; and developing Lloyds’ approach to multiple economic scenarios for IFRS9. In addition, Innes’ role included developing the Group’s capability in modelling macroeconomic fundamentals and UK banking markets and advising the Group Corporate Treasury on financial market developments.

Prior to joining Lloyds Innes was an Economic Advisor at HM Treasury where his roles included management of the UK’s foreign currency reserves; US economist; and G20 macroeconomic policy advisor. Innes has a first class undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Durham and a MSc in Economics from Warwick University.

Chen Zhao is the Chief Global Strategist of Alpine Macro. From 2015 to 2016, he was Co-Director of Macro Research at Brandywine Global Investment Management. Prior to Brandywine Global, Chen spent 23 years at BCA Research as Partner, Managing Editor and Chief Global Strategist, Chen developed and wrote BCA’s China and Emerging Markets publications in the 1990s. Chen became the firm’s Chief Global Strategist in the 2000s and was the author of BCA’s flagship publication, Global Investment Strategy from 2005 to 2015. He holds an MA in economics from the Central University of Finance and Economics, was a visiting scholar at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and pursued post graduate studies with a PhD candidacy at McGill University.

Ryan Sweet is the Chief US Economist at Oxford Economics. He is responsible for forecasting and assessing the US macroeconomic outlook and how it will influence monetary policy and financial markets. Ryan is among the most accurate high-frequency forecasters of the U.S. economy, according to MarketWatch and Bloomberg LP.

Prior to joining Oxford Economics, Ryan led real-time economics at Moody’s Analytics and was a member of the U.S. macroeconomics team. He was also head of the firm’s monetary policy research, following actions by the Federal Reserve and examining its potential impact on the U.S. economy.

Ryan is an adjunct professor in the Economics and Finance Department at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. He received a master’s degree in finance from John’s Hopkins University, a master’s degree in economics from the University of Delaware, and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Washington College.

Mr. Slok joined Apollo Global Management in August 2020. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Slok worked for 15 years on the sell-side, where his team was top-ranked by Institutional Investor in fixed income and equities for ten years, including #1 in 2019. Previously he worked at the OECD in Paris in the Money and Finance Division and the Structural Policy Analysis Division. Before joining the OECD he worked for four years at the IMF in the Division responsible for writing the World Economic Outlook and the Division responsible for China, Hong Kong, and Mongolia. Mr. Slok studied at University of Copenhagen and Princeton University. He frequently appears in the media (CNBC, Bloomberg, WSJ, NYT, FT), and he has published numerous journal articles and reviews on economics and policy analysis, including in Journal of International Economics, Journal of International Money and Finance, and The Econometric Journal.

David Abramson is the Chief U.S. Strategist & Director of Research with Alpine Macro. For 28 years, David was a Macro Strategist holding a variety of senior roles at BCA Research. Most recently, he was Chief U.S. Strategist and also Director of Research for the firm. During his tenure at BCA Research, David launched and managed the European Strategy and Commodity & Energy Strategy services. In addition, he was the Managing Editor for the Foreign Exchange Strategy and the China Investment Strategy services. He has taught international finance to MBAs at McGill University for 20 years, and is on the Client Committee of the Kenneth Woods Portfolio Management Program at Concordia University.

Javier Corominas is Director of Global Macro Strategy at Oxford Economics. He is co-responsible for global strategic asset allocation as well the tactical calls across all asset classes. Additionally, he has a significant focus on providing thematic macro strategy research to generate actionable investment advice for asset allocators, portfolio managers and corporate Treasurers.

Javier is a senior macro and multi-asset investment strategist with over 16 years’ experience in active portfolio management as well as in independent macro research.

He has a background in macro-economic modelling and forecasting, portfolio optimization and risk budgeting, asset allocation (SAA and TAA), relative value models and global thematic investment research. This is coupled with a demonstrable track record in drawing conclusions for key asset markets, and developing profitable trade and investment strategies in FX, rates and the liquid asset classes.

Prior to re-joining Oxford Economics, he was a Director and Head of Research at Record Currency Management, one of the largest institutional currency managers in the world, with pension funds, insurance companies, family offices and private equity houses as clients globally.

Javier is regular commentator on currency, fixed income and broader global macro themes in the financial media/press and a regular speaker and presenter at global investment conferences and fora.

Javier holds both a First-Class Degree and an M. Phil in Economics from Cambridge University. He has a keen interest in world history and all manner of racquet sports, and is also fluent in Spanish and French.

Bassam Nawfal is the Chief Asset Allocation Strategist. Prior to joining Alpine Macro, Bassam spent 6 years at PSP Investments, a large Montreal-based pension fund, where he played a key role in launching and managing a dynamic currency and asset allocation strategy. Previously, he had started his career at BCA Research, where he spent 8 years serving in various roles, including as a senior FX strategist. Bassam holds a BComm in finance from Concordia University, as well as the CFA designation.

Prior to joining Alpine Macro, Kelly spent nearly 15 years at BCA Research, where she most recently served as Associate Editor. In that role, she specialized in thematic research across a wide range of areas, including commodities. Kelly holds a Master’s degree in Economics from McGill University, as well as the CFA designation.

Yan Wang is the Chief Emerging Markets & China Strategist. Prior to Alpine Macro, Yan spent 15 years at BCA Research, as the Managing Editor and Chief Strategist for BCA’s China Investment Strategy service, and played a major role in formulating BCA’s view on the Greater China region and emerging Asia. Prior to joining BCA, he spent six years as an equity analyst in China and Hong Kong. Yan holds an MBA in Finance from McGill University, an M.A. in Economics from Tianjin Institute of Finance and a B.A. in Finance from Nankai University. He also holds the CFA designation.

Nick was Senior Equity Strategist at J.P. Morgan, formerly First Republic, where he led equity strategy while acting on the firm’s Asset Allocation Committee. In addition, he served on the investment team managing a suite of JPMAM equity strategies. Previously, Nick was a Director and Investment Strategist within the Chief Investment Office at Bank of America. He began his career at Citi Smith Barney, in New York. Nick earned a B.S. in Finance from the University of Colorado and an MBA from Georgetown University. He holds the CFA designation.