The panel discussion was led by Tom Keen, managing director of Bloomberg Television and Radio. Alongside Keen other panelists included Jim Hagemann Snabe, Siemens AG Chairman;  Mariana Mazzucato, Professor at University College London (UCL); and Gita Gopinath, First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).  Gopinath’s opening comments stretched throughout the entire talk. They pertained to the impact that the conflict in Ukraine has had on prices, the inflationary pressures placed on consumers, and other headwinds that the world is facing. She added:

Wage growth

The problems involving food, fuel, and resources now threaten to derail an equitable recovery even further, but another issue remains the matter of wage growth. Mazzucato focused the discussion on the fact that private debt is rising and is close to the levels seen before the financial crisis in 2008. According to her, the real issue lies in the fact that real wage growth has not kept pace with rising costs and now the pressures caused by inflation. 

Decarbonization for growth 

Elsewhere, Snabe shared his vision of decarbonization of all value chains in order to kick start growth, and to do it on a micro level, which should then spill over onto the macro level of things.  He also added:

Summing up

The panelists were optimistic on the future of global growth, arguing that an inflation rate of around 2% is healthy and required as it focuses business and investors to make smarter investments. On the other hand, in terms of the current bottlenecks, the panelists at the Forum agree that as soon as the transportation capacity is fixed, prices will go down, and growth will accelerate.  Furthermore, the optimism stems from the view the panelists have on the headwinds the global community is facing, seeing it more as a leadership moment, where the focus needs to shift to collaboration and talking about solutions, not just talking about the issues that are present. Once supply chain issues are resolved, and the war in Ukraine grinds to a halt, global growth should resume as usual, as a larger set of growth foundations secure the economy’s long-term success and a return to international convergence. All in all, investors could look forward to a brighter future after experiencing various shocks throughout 2022 so far.  Buy stocks now with Interactive Brokers – the most advanced investment platform Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.