Northeastern Wisconsin Chapter of CFMA

 FEBRUARY 2020 CHAPTER MEETING

DATE

Tuesday, February 11, 2020
7:30 AM to 9:15 AM

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LOCATION

Liberty Hall Conference Center
800 Eisenhower Drive
Kimberly, WI 54136  

 
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TIMELINE
7:30 - 8:00 AM: Registration & Networking
8:00 - 8:15 AM: Breakfast
8:15 - 9:15 AM: Featured Speaker

FEE
Cost is $20.00 payable in advance
for non-members. For CFMA members, this is part of the pre-paid plan.

PAYMENT
Michelle Weiss, CFMA Chapter Administrator, will contact guests to confirm their status and request payment via check or cash at the meeting.

CONTACT

Michelle Weiss, Chapter Administrator
CFMA of Northeastern Wisconsin
920.750.9110
michelle@mwcommunications.org

TOPIC
2020 Economic Update

TOPIC SUMMARY
U.S. Economic Outlook: As 2020 has started, two major economic uncertainties have surfaced. One relates to the suspension of Boeing’s 737 Max production and the other relates to escalating U.S./Iran tensions. However, presuming the former proves temporary and the latter calms down, growth appears poised to improve as the economic headwinds coming from the global trade war and trade policy uncertainty both ebb. The trade war hit America’s factories and farms hard, but the signing of the “phase one” U.S. / China trade deal should start alleviating some of the pain.

Meanwhile, the USMCA was finally passed by the House, and the Senate is expected to soon give it the ratification stamp. Because of the slow start, this year might average slightly below 2% real GDP growth, compared to a bit above 2% last year, but the key is that economic performance should still be improving as the year unfolds -- minimizing (but not removing) the risk of recession in 2020. The presentation will discuss the above issues, along with their implications for wages, inflation and interest rates.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • The reasons why U.S. economic growth should improve this year after a slow start, and what could cause the longest business expansion in U.S. history to end (recession). This knowledge can be useful for business planning purposes.

  • The factors affecting Federal Reserve policy, and where interest rates will likely be headed this year. This knowledge can be useful for formulating borrowing and cash management strategies.

  • The drivers that are underlying wage growth and inflation (such as tight labor markets), and whether these dynamics will continue to be benign this year. This knowledge can be useful in addressing pricing and hiring (worker retention) issues.







management services for enterprise-wide business application implementations and process improvement efficiencies, with a primary focus on customer relationship management (CRM).   

He serves as the product manager of the Microsoft Dynamics® 365 for Customer Engagement/CRM team, one facet of the overall front office practice of Wipfli LLP. Matt has been involved in both specific and full-cycle assessments, selections, and implementations across multiple industries.  His on-the-job knowledge enables him to assist clients from the vision and plan development stage through training, deployment, and follow-up support.

Matt leverages broad experience working with small, medium-sized, and large market-leading clients.  The combination of his business consulting services and industry expertise produces the initiative, astute analysis, and unwavering commitment and enthusiasm that his clients have come to rely on.

Education
Boston College

·         Bachelor of science degree in operations and strategic management and finance

 

FEATURED SPEAKER

Michael Gregory, CFA
Managing Director, Deputy Chief Economist
& Head of U.S. Economics | BMO  


BIOGRAPHY
Michael Gregory is Deputy Chief Economist and Head of U.S. Economics for BMO Capital Markets. He manages the team responsible for forecasting and analyzing the North American economy and financial markets. 

Michael began his career in economics with Royal Bank of Canada in Montreal in the mid-1980s, before moving to Toronto to work in RBC’s foreign exchange and money market research group. He eventually moved further along the yield curve and across the border, joining the fixed income strategy group at Lehman Brothers in New York City in the mid-1990s.

Returning to Canada at the end of 2001, Michael headed up the Financial Services Analysis team at Bank of Montreal, focusing on regulatory and industry restructuring issues, before shifting to BMO Capital Markets Economics in 2004. He moved to Chicago in late 2013, providing research support for the U.S. and Canadian fixed income business and working with the Global Fixed Income Strategy team, before returning to Toronto last year.

Michael is a graduate of Concordia University in Montreal and the University of Western Ontario in London. Michael also did doctoral studies at Fordham University in New York City. He holds a Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Managing Director,
Deputy Chief Economist & Head of U.S. Economics | BMO  

 The Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA) is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: Website: https://www.nasbaregistry.org/

February 11, 2020 CFMA Chapter Meeting: Instructional Method: Group-live; Experience Level: Basic; Prerequisites / Advance Preparation: None; Field of Study for Featured Speaker: Economics; Recommended CPE Credits: 1.0; Refund Policy: No refunds will be issued by CFMA unless the event is cancelled.