Gaze into the future with Nouriel Roubini at ET World Leader's Forum

When it comes to the state of the economy, there are cheerleaders, there are doomsayers and there are those who hold up the mirror. Nouriel Roubini, the New York University professor, belongs to the last category as he passionately propagates his theories based on data.

Roubini, the Turkish-born economist may have earned the moniker of Dr Doom for predicting the US subprime housing implosion that triggered the global financial crisis, but he's more often misunderstood by the markets whenever it is on steroids, as it is now.

The economist, who will be wearing the hat of a fund manager with an exchange-traded fund soon, is set to reveal his view of the world at ET's World Leaders' Forum this month in New Delhi.


The author of many books, including Megathreats and Crisis Economics, will come armed with an arsenal of economic data challenging the popular belief that the US is headed for a hard landing, and to counter that investment opportunities are shrinking.

When the world was dancing to the music of financial innovations, Roubini warned an audience at the International Monetary Fund in Washington on September 7, 2006, that a housing bust could "lead to a systemic problem for the financial system."

He didn't stop with that. In a warning that a financial "pandemic" was round the corner, Roubini prophesied the collapse of a few standalone investment banks and that the financial system wouldn't be the same again.

It wasn't just on the financial markets that he was well ahead of time. He was prescient in what's in store for global trade.

"If it (China) continues down this path (currency manipulation), China and other countries that run trade surpluses around the world will force the United States to take more severe steps," Roubini wrote in his book Crisis Economics that was published in 2011 that also discussed the crisis that could blow up due to Greece's fragile finances.

Everyone knows what happened when Donald Trump walked into the White House, and the simmering conflict in global trade. Now, the world is at the crossroads-an asset bubble, crypto mania, national debt at unbelievable levels, a renewed US-China conflict to dominate the world, currency wars and climate change.

Amid this gloomy scenario for global finance and trade, Roubini is launching his Atlas America Exchange Traded Fund. Is he Dr Doom or Dr. Boom? Be there at the ET World Leaders Forum to find out.

Nouriel Roubini will be speaking at The Economic Times World Leaders Forum in New Delhi on August 31.