Marietta Celebrates 15th Anniversary

February 7, 2015 marked the 15th anniversary of the founding of Marietta. Looking back over these years, we are especially grateful for the loyalty and support of our clients. At a gathering of the firm's members to commemorate this anniversary, Managing Partner, John Evans provided an optimistic forecast for global markets and stated that "Marietta is now stronger and has a brighter future than at any time in its history." As we confront the opportunities and challenges of the future, we rededicate ourselves to Marietta's Mission: "to provide the highest quality client service."

To all of our clients, we say thank you!

Marietta attends University of Chicago Booth’s Economic Outlook 2015

On January 15, 2015, Mary Allmon and Jim Rauh accompanied their colleague and current Booth MBA student, Jonathan Smucker, to Chicago and attended the University of Chicago Booth’s Economic Outlook 2015. The presenters were dynamic speakers with impressive resumes:

• Austan Goolsbee, University of Chicago economics professor and economic advisor to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and former cabinet member

• Randall Kroszner, University of Chicago economics professor and former Federal Reserve Governor

  

• Carl Tannenbaum, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist at the Northern Trust

The presenters collectively agreed that 2015 would be a year of slightly faster U.S. GDP growth, that European policy makers must act in order to fight deflation, and that India is on the right track. These statements are all consistent with Marietta’s 2015 Outlook. The presenters also agreed that the recent plunge in the price of oil was unexpected, but was a net positive to the economies of oil importers, the US included. They did not necessarily agree on the causes of the drastic price move: Goolsbee cited slowing demand in China while Tannenbaum mentioned geopolitical games being played within OPEC. Tannenbaum echoed a statement similar to Marietta’s Dec. 4 Oil Blog “OilSpills: Winners and Losers” that while US oil production growth will slow in the short term, it is unlikely to be permanently damaged. The speakers also agreed that the Fed was likely to raise interest rates in the second half of the year, with fall being the median prediction.