UTAR Institute of Management and Leadership Development (IMLD) organised a webinar titled The State of the US Economy via Microsoft Teams on 10 March 2022. Dr Tanweer Akram was the invited speaker for the webinar. Tanweer Akram is a senior economist with experience in financial services, banking, asset management, insurance, credit rating agencies, multinational corporations, economic forecasting and international financial institutions. He has published quantitative research in economics and finance journals. He is also an excellent communicator of macroeconomic concepts and investment themes.

In his presentation, Tanweer stated that while the US market is currently recovering, inflation remains high due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In other words, the US economy has recovered since the pandemic, but the labour market recovery is still unsatisfactory.

Energy prices and inflation are likely to remain high, according to Tanweer, despite the fact that headline and core inflation rates are both high due to supply disruptions and increased pressure from rising labour costs. Furthermore, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has pushed up the energy and commodity prices. He also stated that the housing sector is resilient, citing the rise in house prices as a result of low mortgage rates, limited supply and the rise in real income.

He also mentioned that the United States is facing uncertainty and a higher policy rate, and that income inequality in the country has risen dramatically over the last 50 years. Furthermore, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has heightened concerns about the global economy's prospects.

The webinar came to an end with a Q&A session and a group photography session.