The global economy continues to defy expectations, powering ahead over the past couple years even amid interest rate hikes, geopolitical instability, and other headwinds. With consumer spending still strong and central banks having largely turned more dovish, 2025 is starting from a favorable setup. Meanwhile, President Trump takes office again next week, vowing tough tariffs and tax cut extensions. What will the net impact be? And what of China and the rest of the world? Chief Economist Nathan Sheets shares his views on these and other topics with host Rob Rowe.
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Rob Rowe is Head of the Global Strategy and Macro Group (GSMG) as well as the U.S. Regional Director of Research. GSMG unites all of Citi's economists with fixed income, FX, equity and commodities strategists to create a common team providing research on the world's major economies and asset classes. Rob has been with Citi for more than 30 years serving in various capacities. He originally joined Smith Barney Harris Upham & Company in 1989, working in investment banking, fixed income sales and research. In addition to his managerial responsibilities, he continues to provide portfolio strategy for select clients as part of his previous role overseeing the Global Bond Portfolio Analysis team. He has written numerous articles and publications on fixed income and portfolio strategy.
Nathan Sheets, Ph.D., is Chief Economist at Citi. In this role, Nathan leads Citi’s surveillance and forecasting of the global economy and directs the analysis of the firm’s economics team. He interacts closely with Citi’s major institutional clients and internal risk takers, and publishes research on cross-cutting themes shaping the global economy and financial markets.
Most recently, Nathan was Chief Economist and a member of the senior investment team at PGIM Fixed Income. He also has served as Under Secretary of the U.S. Treasury for International Affairs, representing the U.S. government on international economic issues. Previously, he held positions with Citigroup, as Global Head of International Economics, and with the Federal Reserve Board, as Director of the Division of International Finance and FOMC Economist. In addition, Nathan was a senior advisor to the U.S. Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund and a visiting fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He joined Citi in October 2021.
Nathan has a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Brigham Young University and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.