Co-Host of the Annual Early Bird Regional Economic Forecast
Calamos Investments once again partnered with the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce (NACC) to co-host the third annual Early Bird Regional Economic Forecast.
Crowds gather for breakfast before the event
The forecast attracted more than 200 local business leaders who listened to perspectives on the economy from John P. Calamos, Sr., Chairman, CEO and Co-CIO of Calamos Investments; Daniel G. Sullivan, SVP and Director of Economic Research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago; and Pat Callan, President of the Illinois Association of Realtors.
The event consisted of an individual audience address by each panelist, followed by an interactive Q&A session. One attendee commented, “This was a very diverse panel from the standpoint that they had people from the Fed, people from the real-estate market and the investment market with Calamos.”
In general, all panelists believe that we are in the beginning of an economic recovery and hope for a “V” shaped recovery. However, many indicators signal that a potential recovery will be slow, and avoiding a relapse may be heavily contingent on the Fed’s ability to correctly re-inflate the economy at the right time and at the right pace, as well as the banks willingness open credit markets to small businesses again.
John P. Calamos, Sr. reminded the audience that small businesses create the majority of new jobs and “if we get the job growth going again, the housing and the autos are going to take care of themselves, but if people don’t have income, how does a credit help?” He went on to say, “I would be an advocate for much more small business loans to help take some of the pressure off of the banks that can’t loan to businesses today.”
Students from the “Wall Street Club” at Naperville School District 203
meet John Sr.
John also reminded investors to think more globally stating, “As U.S. investors, we’ve got everything in dollars. Our houses are in dollars. Our businesses are in dollars. We’re dollar based. When you go to the liquid investment area, you can diversify away from the dollar a little bit.”
Calamos Investments welcomed the opportunity to partner with the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce. “Particularly in environments like this, small business owners are the engines of our economy. In sponsoring the Forum, our goal is to provide owners and members of the community with actionable insights about the economy and overall investment landscape,” said Vince Pellegrini, Chief Marketing Officer for Calamos Investments.
Please visit www.naperville.net for additional information about the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce and their work on behalf of the local business community.