There is general consensus now that we are in the middle of the worst financial crisis since The Great Depression. In todays globalized economy, the crisis is having an impact from Wall Street and Silicon Valley to Shanghai and Reykjavik. As of the first quarter of 2009, many of the equity markets are down roughly 50% from their peaks in the last 12 to 18 months. In the US, unemployment is approaching 10%, national home prices are down 25+% from their peak in 2006 and mortgage delinquency rates are near 8%. Business confidence as well as consumer confidence is at a multi-decade low.

The recent American Recovery and Reinvestment Act aims to jumpstart the economy by creating approximately 3.5 million jobs and calls for spending in key areas such as infrastructure, renewable energy and electronic medical records.

The proposed panel consisting of authoritative experts from business, academia and government will share their thoughts on where we are and the way forward.