The Great Suppression: Markets are soaring, the economy isn’t. From equities to houses, and bonds to cryptocurrencies, asset prices have roared to unprecedented levels over the last year – even as the world has suffered history’s biggest and fastest downturn.  But this disconnect is - at least partly - the natural consequence of a multi-decade effort to crush financial volatility. In repeatedly choosing to combat chaos through massive intervention efforts, well-intentioned governments and central banks have fundamentally changed how traders, investors and speculators react to uncertainty. In this session, Karl will explore the unintended - and unforeseen – consequences, looking beyond falling productivity, rising inequality, growing political strife, and increasing financial fragility to expose the darker reality behind today’s artificially-managed financial markets.   Speaker: Karl Schamotta, Chief Market Strategist Karl Schamotta leads Cambridge’s currency research group, focused on analyzing shifts in the world economy and creating strategies that help businesses harness market volatility. He has built risk management and trading programmes for hundreds of major corporations, and has extensive experience in managing complex exposures across major, minor and exotic currencies. Karl is a regular contributor to a number of international finance publications, and regularly appears in media such as the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters, BNN, CNN and CNBC. You can follow him at @vsualst on Twitter.