What Now Is the State of Things . . . What Next Will Be the State of Things?

Nearly two years after the “Black Swan” election of President Trump and a Republican Congress, an incredible amount of change has occurred—in the economy, the job market, the stock market, interest rates, policies and Washington politics, the Federal Reserve, the Supreme Court, and the geopolitics of the world.

For many Americans, a big puzzle is the “here-and-now” of a prosperity not seen since the Golden Era of the 1990s, juxtaposed against chaos and instability in Washington, increasing U.S. isolationism, and unsettling longer-run problems such as inequality, global warming, and potential U.S. sovereign debt and deficit issues not being addressed as the aftermath and legacies of the Great Recession and Great Financial Crises of 2006-2015 fade from memory.

In his 39^th breakfast talk, long-time Lexington resident and Temple member Allen Sinai will address the prospects for the U.S. economy, rising interest rates, and how long this longest bull equity market can go on, Washington policies and prospects after the Congressional midterm elections, trade wars, tariffs, and the U.S. place in the world, and whether the epochal sea changes of a changed Washington will remain. While the short-to-intermediate term looks quite bright, especially on the economy and for the stock market, Allen wonders about the longer-run future of America and whether the promise of America will remain its signature characteristic in a country seemingly gone haywire.

Dr. Allen Sinai is President and Chief Global Economist of Decision Economics, Inc. (DE), a U.S. and global economic and financial markets information and advisory firm located in New York, London, and Boston. Allen is a world-renowned economist and forecaster and has a documented record of unparalleled accuracy that spans four decades.

Dr. Sinai has worked with and for numerous financial institutions and businesses, has advised policymakers and governments, and has been a university academic. From 1983-96, he was at a Managing Director and Chief Global Economist at Lehman Brothers. He served as Executive Vice President and Chief Economist at The Boston Company, a private bank and investment subsidiary of Shearson Lehman Brothers. Prior to Lehman Brothers, from 1971-83 Dr. Sinai was Chief Financial Economist and Co-Director of the Financial Institutions Group (FIG), a Senior Vice President at the Lexington, MA-based pioneer forecasting firm Data Resources, Inc. (DRI). He served on the Board of Boston Private Financial Holdings, a wealth management and banking company, for 22 years from 1992 to 2014.

Dr. Sinai has taught at several Universities, including Brandeis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University, New York University, University of Illinois-Chicago, and Northwestern University. Over the years he has informed and advised policymakers in Washington and around the world. He obtained a B.A. Degree in Economics at the University of Michigan, with Honors, and holds a Ph. D. Degree in Economics from Northwestern University. He has been married to Lee Etsten Sinai for 55 years. The Sinais have two children and five grandchildren and reside in Lexington, Mass.

Talks in this series are sponsored by Brotherhood and include a delicious buffet breakfast of assorted bagels, smoked salmon, pickled herring, whitefish salad, tabbouleh, desserts, and more. Breakfast begins at 9:15 am, the presentation runs from 9:45 am to 10:45 am and is usually followed by a question and answer session. Admission is $10; free to Brotherhood members. For more information, email brotherhood@templeisaiah.net.

* Two attendees will go home with Why Men are Suspicious of Yoga – a book of short stories recently published by Brotherhood Board member and humorist Robert “Robear” Isenberg.