Khalid Al-Falih

Macroeconomic Outlook | Global Conference 2025

Gregory Zuckerman, Khalid Al-Falih, André Esteves, Karen Karniol Tambour, Kathryn Koch, Ron O'Hanley

Leading financial experts analyze the convergence of political volatility, trade uncertainty, and shifting geopolitical alignments that are driving a global reevaluation of U.S. exceptionalism and prompting investors to diversify into Asian markets, the UK, and the Middle East. The panel highlights critical macroeconomic headwinds, including a "baked-in" recession risk and a Federal Reserve constrained by tariff-induced inflation, which are forcing a repricing of Treasury yields and exposing vulnerabilities in risk assets. Amidst these challenges, private credit emerges as a vital, though stress-tested, innovation for risk dispersion, while advocates for conservative lending strategies and active management position themselves to capitalize on the expected rise in defaults and liquidity dislocations.