Global Financial Crisis: Opportunities and Threats: Draft 0.1

Expert Feedback & Open Invitation

London, UK - 9th October 2008, 08:50 GMT

Dear ATCA Colleagues

[Please note that the views presented by individual contributors are not necessarily representative of the views of ATCA, which is neutral. ATCA conducts collective Socratic dialogue on global opportunities and threats.]

Here is a consolidated digest of the key "Opportunities and Threats" as you have kindly presented to the ATCA Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and the mi2g Intelligence Unit from across the globe -- over 120 countries -- in regard to The Global Financial Crisis:

Opportunities

. Humanity is moving with hiccups towards greater humility, acting in concert and collective thinking. Nation states are recognising their inter-dependence within the global community of sovereign nations.

. Small is beautiful. The way out of economic difficulty is through the creativity and the ingenuity of small to medium size businesses as they have the ability to create employment and reinvent processes in all kinds of economic conditions.

. The global economy will no longer be driven by two or three trading blocs, as other smaller trans-national and regional engines are gaining significance.

[CONTINUES] [ATCA Membership]

Threats

. Ignorance, hubris and arrogance in the corporate, individual and government spheres. Leadership based on "I" and not "We" -- me-first and me-last as opposed to our mutual interest and joint well being!

. Inflation has increased input costs, which has trickled down to higher prices in stores. However, in the medium to long term the threat of deflation across all asset classes is much larger because of massive and unprecedented demand destruction.

. Businesses and consumers are being hit by a double whammy: a decreasing cash flow and a dip in the value of assets on the balance sheet. This may continue to sap confidence.

[CONTINUES] [ATCA Membership]

Expert Feedback

Thank you for all the expert feedback you have provided to the ATCA Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and the mi2g Intelligence Unit from across the globe in regard to how the global financial crisis is affecting you and the organisations you chair or actively manage since July 2007. We have amassed a huge database of information intelligence on what is going on in over 120 countries worldwide as a result of the longest running Socratic dialogue on ATCA, which started almost two years ago. Thank you for your commitment and excellence of contributions. We are immensely grateful. Whilst we may not be able to publish all of the feedback we receive, or we may be requested not to publish in many instances, we do still add the feedback received to the central database of expert knowledge held within ATCA.

It is particularly heartening to note that optimism prevails and you feel that there are fantastic asymmetric opportunities by way of silver linings amongst the dark clouds of rising asymmetric threats and unintended consequences from The Great Unwind, which has manifest in the real economy as The Global Financial Crisis. We would love to continue hearing from you as a distinguished ATCA or The Philanthropia friend or member.

If we have missed your thoughts, observations and views in this initial draft, feel free to write back and we will seek to incorporate your thinking in future drafts under Chatham House rule, ie, your thoughts will be mentioned without mentioning source given the sensitivity on these critical issues for governments, regulators, central banks, financial institutions and large businesses amongst the high profile distinguished ATCA members.

Open Invitation

You are invited. We are planning a small select roundtable on 15th October 2008 at 6:00pm in the City of London to discuss the Global Financial Crisis: Opportunities and Threats. If you would like to join us or get a summary of the proceedings under Chatham House rule, please write back. We will consider doing a repeat event towards the end of October if we are unable to fulfil your request to participate on the first occasion.