Richard Koo, chief economist of Nomura Research Institute and presenter at the upcoming Fourth Annual CFA Institute European Investment Conference, made headlines recently with his claim that “ratings agencies may destroy the global economy.”
In Nomura’s latest research note, Mr. Koo stated that if the U.S. pursued a defecit reduction to the full extent of ratings agency Standard & Poor’s recommendations, it “would plunge the economy into another Great Depression.” Business Insider examines the note in greater detail.
Mr. Koo has been an outspoken critic of Standard & Poor’s, and accused them of “missing the point” in an earlier interview with Bloomberg television:
Mr. Koo’s presentation at the Fourth Annual CFA Institute European Investment Conference, The World in a Balance Sheet Recession: Gaining Insight from the Japanese Experience, will examine the distinction between a financial crisis and a balance sheet recession, looking at the unique characteristics of these types of recessions and the special challenges posed by ratings agencies and democracies in general.
