Impact of Fed's impending rate hike

Roundtable participants:

Moderator: Anthony Rowley, Tokyo correspondent, The Business Times

NO one can say they weren't warned. A year ago IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said financial markets were "flying too close to the sun" and that (like Icarus) they risked burning their wings and plunging to earth. Recently, the Institute of International Finance signalled that a "perfect storm" was approaching emerging markets, and now it has pronounced these markets to be "in crisis". Most of this came well in advance of China's slowdown, which has been wrongly blamed for much of the world's troubles. Now, here we are on the verge, some say, of a new global recession, or worse. Is the picture as bad as it appears, or is the current turmoil creating opportunities? And, what happens when the Fed raises rates? The Business Times convened its panel of economic experts to look into a dark and threatening future.