The Program

The economic outlook for 2025 has suddenly become more uncertain. While inflation may be under control in the U.S., recent labor market data has brought back the possibility of a recession.

Several factors make a clear prognosis difficult: a close presidential race with candidates who espouse very different economic policies, uncertainty in the technology sector, commercial real estate issues, the continuing Russian war in Ukraine, the conflict in Gaza and the instability in the Middle East, and unprecedented climatic phenomena. Still, Arizona appears positioned for significant growth led by technology investments.

Join us at this year’s luncheon, where top national and regional experts will present their economic forecasts and advice on these issues and more.

Eric M. Leeper

Keynote Address

Eric Leeper has been the Paul Goodloe McIntire Professor in Economics at the University of Virginia since 2018. He is also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, director of the Virginia Center for Economic Policy at UVA, a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and a member of the advisory council of the Center for Quantitative Economic Research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He previously served as an external advisor to the Swedish central bank, member of the Research Council of the Bundesbank, and Visiting Scholar at many central banks. 

His research focuses on macroeconomic policy, with special emphasis on monetary fiscal policy interactions. One line of work focuses on the “fiscal theory of the price level,” by which fiscal policy influence economic activity and inflation through new channels. Past research examines the impacts of government spending, the consequences of alternative resolutions to long-run fiscal imbalances, and the modeling of the “fiscal limit” and sovereign risk.

Daniel J. Brady

Outlook for the U.S. Economy

Dan is a managing director for the Investment Strategy team. In this role he contributes to all investment strategy related activities for PNC Institutional Asset Management®, PNC Private Bank℠, PNC Private Bank Hawthorn® business lines. In addition, he provides recommendations for overall strategic and tactical asset allocation guidance of client portfolios and provides thought leadership on key investment issues. Dan also performs research and analysis that support the Bank's overall investment process. 

Dan serves as a voting member of the Asset Management Group & Institutional Asset Management Investment Policy, and Investment Advisor Research committees. He is also a PNC-certified Women’s Business Advocate. 

Prior to joining PNC, Dan was a consultant at Clearstead, providing institutional investment advice to endowments, foundations and retirement plans. During his tenure, he was an active member of the firm’s retirement plan committee and was involved in developing the firm’s pension indicator tool. Before his time at Clearstead, he was a Senior Portfolio Associate at the Glenmede Trust Company where he assisted portfolio managers in a holistic approach to wealth management and financial planning. 

Dan graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in economics from The Ohio State University. He is very active in his community and is a member of the Society of American Baseball Research.