IRVINE, CA—The turbulent markets in China, Russia and Greecemight seem far removed for a retail investor, but that isn't thecase, says Rick Chichester, president and CEO of Faris LeeInvestments. As he sees it, troubles abroad create even more of areason to have a deeply considered investment strategy. And retailis a particularly attractive asset. GlobeSt.com joined up withChichester to get his read on the current environment in thisEXCLUSIVE interview leading up to the ICSC Western Conference &Deal Making event in San Diego.

GlobeSt.com: What are your thoughts on a globalcontext when it comes to investmentconsiderations?

Rick Chichester: As the economiesof the world today are more integrated and connected than ever,business and investment decisions should not be made independent ofa global perspective. One should first consider the influences ofthe global economy and then filter down to the specific nationaland regional economies. Globally we are in volatile times as manycountries face economic challenges (China, Russia, Brazil, Greece,etc.) and the US economy is expanding, albeit at a moderate pace.In the US the cost of stabilizing our economy and positioning itfor growth has not been without consequence. The Fed has increasedthe money supply (debt) by $3.1 trillion since 2008; its balancesheet is leveraged 77 to 1 ($56.2 billion of reserves supporting$4.3 trillion of liabilities) as opposed to 2008 leverage of 22 to1. Core inflation is 1.2% and unemployment/under employment/parttime employment still is not producing the employment levelsnecessary for a stable and balanced consumer-based economy. It hasbeen estimated that when considering the aggregateunemployment/underemployment, the real rate of unemployment iscloser to 22%. The Fed's interventions were important, but debtcannot continue to be used to artificially grow our economy locallyor internationally. We need to get back to a historically normalbase rate, as much as the international markets might encourage usagainst this course.