Spring Break
University of Rhode Island business alumni discuss banks' troubled futures during panel
Betsy Cohen
Issue date: 4/24/09 Section: News
04/24/09 - A panel of three University of Rhode Island alumni gave presentations in Lippitt Hall's auditorium yesterday afternoon on the current and future global economy.
The discussion was part of the second Vangermeersch Endowed Lecture series hosted by the URI College of Business Administration.
The event, "Banking on the Future," brought in an audience of professors and students who filled every seat in the fourth floor lecture hall. Mark Higgins, Dean of the College of Business Administration and URI professor of accounting, acted as the moderator for the program.
William Eigen III, managing director of Absolute Return and Opportunistic Fixed Income strategies for JPMorgan Asset Management and an active member of the Global Macro Strategy Team, was the first panelist to speak.
"With pain comes opportunity," Eigen, a 1990 URI finance graduate, pointed out throughout his speech. "It's been a rocky ride ... it's tough out there right now," he said in reference to today's global economy.
Eigen III strongly advised all students to look toward the future and absorb as much they can about today's economy so they can grow from it.
"We have a big, big problem right now with employment," Eigen III said. "I actually think this will stabilize soon."
Eric Andreozzi, a 1989 URI finance graduate, the last presenter, agreed with Eigen III's statement.
"It's a struggle right now," Andreozzi, the managing director and co-founding partner of McColl Partners, said. "Everyone in our industry is laying off."
According to Eigen, $12 trillion has been invested in government programs within the last 18 months. "We really have some interesting things right now," Eigen said. "Traditional fixed income has been historically vulnerable to rising interest rates, which are currently near all time lows," he added.
He also said the financial crisis is based upon six components and other finance terms including leverage, rising housing prices and equity extraction. Eigen listed tactics for the United States to economically recover, including more bankruptcies, modest consumer recovery, inventory reductions in housing and an increase of lending.
The discussion was part of the second Vangermeersch Endowed Lecture series hosted by the URI College of Business Administration.
The event, "Banking on the Future," brought in an audience of professors and students who filled every seat in the fourth floor lecture hall. Mark Higgins, Dean of the College of Business Administration and URI professor of accounting, acted as the moderator for the program.
William Eigen III, managing director of Absolute Return and Opportunistic Fixed Income strategies for JPMorgan Asset Management and an active member of the Global Macro Strategy Team, was the first panelist to speak.
"With pain comes opportunity," Eigen, a 1990 URI finance graduate, pointed out throughout his speech. "It's been a rocky ride ... it's tough out there right now," he said in reference to today's global economy.
Eigen III strongly advised all students to look toward the future and absorb as much they can about today's economy so they can grow from it.
"We have a big, big problem right now with employment," Eigen III said. "I actually think this will stabilize soon."
Eric Andreozzi, a 1989 URI finance graduate, the last presenter, agreed with Eigen III's statement.
"It's a struggle right now," Andreozzi, the managing director and co-founding partner of McColl Partners, said. "Everyone in our industry is laying off."
According to Eigen, $12 trillion has been invested in government programs within the last 18 months. "We really have some interesting things right now," Eigen said. "Traditional fixed income has been historically vulnerable to rising interest rates, which are currently near all time lows," he added.
He also said the financial crisis is based upon six components and other finance terms including leverage, rising housing prices and equity extraction. Eigen listed tactics for the United States to economically recover, including more bankruptcies, modest consumer recovery, inventory reductions in housing and an increase of lending.
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