Co-authors Ilaria Maselli, Senior Economist for Europe at the Conference Board and Chuck Mitchell Executive Director, Knowledge Content & Quality at the Conference Board, discuss the findings of our latest C-Suite Challenge report. This report is one of a suite of knowledge offerings based on responses to the C-Suite Challenge™ 2020 survey, which asked CEOs and C-suite executives for their views on the external and internal stress points they face. For a look at our full report go to https:/...
Jan 08, 2020•28 min•Season 3Ep. 1
George Friedman, founder and chairman of Geopolitical Futures, sits down with Bart van Ark, chief economist of The Conference Board, to discuss how an uncertain geopolitical climate is likely to affect the global economy in 2020. George and Bart unpack a range of short-, medium-, and long-term phenomena: How has the economic dysfunction and social instability from the 2008 financial crisis influenced today’s economy? How large is the exposure for importing nations versus exporting nations? How h...
Nov 22, 2019•24 min•Season 2Ep. 15
In this podcast, Ilaria Maselli (Senior Economist) deep dives into the quarter 3 results for Europe of The Global Consumer Confidence Index by The Conference Board and Nielsen. They also discuss specific countries of interest, as well as preferences and concerns of European consumers. The new data show that confidence increased in Europe (at 88) and remained unchanged in the Euro Area subset (at 89). These are historically high levels of consumer confidence, in Europe as well as globally. We dis...
Oct 17, 2019•14 min•Season 2Ep. 14
The discrepancy between how CEOs view economic prospects (gradually worse) and how consumers continue to feel economically (positive overall) has never been bigger. Which markets have gained and lost confidence the most since the previous quarter? What consumer concern has grown the most? What can we expect for the road ahead? Find out in this conversation featuring The Conference Board’s Chief Economist, Bart van Ark, and Denise Dahlhoff, Senior Researcher focused on consumer topics.
Oct 09, 2019•19 min•Season 2Ep. 13
In this podcast, Ilaria Maselli (Senior Economist) and Derek Servais (senior digital media and IT specialist) deep dive into the quarter 2 results for Europe of The Global Consumer Confidence Index by The Conference Board and Nielsen. The new data show that confidence increased in Europe and in the Euro Area. Compared to quarter 1, Europeans are more likely to spend on new clothes, vacations, out of home entertainment and medical. But there are also consumers using the spare cash to nourish thei...
Jul 17, 2019•11 min•Season 2Ep. 12
In this podcast, The Conference Board’s Chief Economist Bart van Ark and Senior Researcher Denise Dahlhoff discuss select results from the Q2 2019 run of The Conference Board Global Consumer Confidence Survey, which is a collaboration with Nielsen. Findings include developments regarding consumer confidence in countries such as the U.S., China, Brazil, Mexico, UK, France and Germany, consumers’ spending on certain categories, and their top concerns. For more information on the research, visit Th...
Jul 08, 2019•18 min•Season 2Ep. 11
Latin America is a vast, diverse region in flux, with economic prospects varying immensely from country to country—and month to month. In this episode, Chief Economist Bart van Ark and an expert panel tour the latest developments from Cape Horn to the US border. Learn how political pressures, natural resource dependence, exports and trade policy, and security and safety concerns are playing out in individual markets—and why there’s reason for optimism across the region as a whole. Indications 2....
May 08, 2019•19 min•Season 2Ep. 10
The Conference Board, in conjunction with Nielsen, has formally launched our latest economic indicator. The Global Consumer Confidence Index takes the temperature of consumers in 64 markets around the world—including how, what, and where they intend to spend in the months ahead. In this episode, Chief Economist Bart van Ark and Senior Researcher Denise Dahlhoff discuss the background of the index, an overview of key findings for Q1 2019, and how business leaders can best leverage these quarterly...
Apr 16, 2019•19 min•Season 2Ep. 9
According to the IMF, total debt worldwide—including government, consumer, financial, and non-financial sources—now amounts to $185 trillion, or some 2.25 times the size of global GDP. A generation ago, the ratio stood at just 1:1. But despite this rapid rise in leverage, the traditional dangers of government debt in particular—soaring inflation and interest rates—have yet to materialize. Should the evidence of recent decades force experts to reconsider their basic monetary and fiscal assumption...
Apr 01, 2019•19 min•Season 2Ep. 8
The Conference Board started the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) in 1967. In February 2009, at the nadir of the financial crisis, the Index reached an all-time low of 25.3 points (1985=100). Over the next decade, an arduous recovery littered with false starts and temporary reversals slowly took root to produce a historic expansion. By October 2018, consumer confidence had climbed to 137.9—just points away from the all-time high reached in 2000. Since then, however, things have become murkier and...
Mar 29, 2019•18 min•Season 2Ep. 7
