Heralding an end to the "soft landing" forecast last year, Nariman Behravesh, EVP and chief economist of Global Insight of Lexington, MA, told the crowd of roughly 100 reporters that the outlook is for stronger growth. He noted that while the bond markets took a rather downbeat view of 2007's prospects, the global stock markets bought into the Goldilocks theory. "The stock markets turned out to be right," he told the crowd.
The only negative he could site was the continuing, but lessening, crisis in the housing market, which "represents only 6% of the total economy." Even now, the demand side of housing is picking up.
"We expect inflation to remain extremely tame," he continued. "There is a less-than 20% inflation risk." The only caveat would come if oil prices spike, something none of the panelists would bet against.
The outlook for emerging global markets is also optimistic, according to Michael Hartnett, Merrill Lynch's investment strategist for up-and-coming sectors of the world. In a statement released in conjunction with the session, Hartnett noted that, "We are unequivocally bullish on the secular outlook for emerging markets. The asset class is undercapitalized, underleveraged and under-owned."
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
John Salustri
John Salustri has covered the commercial real estate industry for nearly 25 years. He was the founding editor of GlobeSt.com, and is a four-time recipient of the Excellence in Journalism award from the National Association of Real Estate Editors.
