Global Economy Report

This is a long one, but it's well worth it. Bart van Ark, Executive Vice President and Chief Economist of The Conference Board, shared his insights and forecasts for the U.S. and global economy at a press briefing in New York on July 10, 2012. His closing statement was: "Confidence has an increasingly short shelf life and that is what's making it very hard to get this economy to move forward. We need to really regenerate that confidence." Here's a time code reference for what led up to that statement: 0:00 Introduction 1:30 What we projected at the beginning of 2012 and how it compares six months later 3:08 What's causing the "false start" to the US economy 3:50 The effects of economic headwinds from Europe 5:08 Adjusted economic forecast for Europe 5:39 Headwinds from the emerging economies (China, India, Brazil) 7:34 Economic forecasts for the U.S. economy 8:13 The three factors affecting slow economic growth in the U.S.: housing, labor market, productivity 12:12 Consumer Confidence Index and consumption 13:41 Weaker confidence among business executives and lack of investment 14:26 Long-term growth, innovation, and productivity 15:52 The "fiscal cliff" 17:13 Summary 18:35 END To learn more about becoming a member of The Conference Board, visit: http://bit.ly/KwComv