Fidelity drops debate from conference
(CNS Business): Although this is an election year in Cayman, the annual economic conference organised by Fidelity Bank will not include a panel debate or a head-to-head with politicians. The Cayman Economic Outlook conference will, as usual, include an address from the premier but there will be no panel debate and no other politicians in the line-up. The guest line-up is heavy on overseas journalists; guests include keynote speaker John Tamny, the political economy editor at Forbes Magazine, as well as Janine di Giovanni, the war correspondent for Newsweek, and Evan Osnos, a journalist at The New Yorker.
Financial technology expert Alex Tapscott, RBC’s Caribbean Group Economist Marla Dukharan and Cayman Islands Governor Helen Kilpatrick complete the line-up, which will not include any local speakers other than the premier.
The theme for the 2017 conference will be “Economic Stagnation: Finding a Path to Growth”, looking at the global economic slowdown and its impact on Cayman. Brett Hill, Fidelity Cayman’s President and CEO, said that more than eight years after the financial crisis, growth remains weak around the world, with social and economic pressures building causing dramatic political change.
“There has been a backlash against globalisation and we’re witnessing an ever-diminishing commitment to global cooperation. It is vital that we understand the factors underlying the global economy’s weak performance, what might be done to stimulate growth and what the implications are for the Cayman Islands,” he added.
Over the past decade the annual local business conference has been held at the Ritz Carlton, but this year the event moves to Dart’s new hotel – the Kimpton Seafire Resort.
ALden in wonderland.
I guess they don’t want to hear what the politicians might say. Some of them might actually say something controversial to the Premier. Alden will lull them to sleep with his make believe stories.