A panel of Queen’s School of Business professors is predicting a slow, but modest, recovery from the recession in 2011.

“Recovery from the recession is shallow, but is picking up steam,” said finance professor Lew Johnson during the 29th annual Business Forecast Lunch this week in Kingston.

Queen’s professors gave their expert opinions about financial markets and how businesses can manage during the economic recovery. The luncheon, which attracts business leaders from across the city, establishes an important link between School of Business and the community.

Professor Johnson reported investor confidence and business confidence are both trending up. However, while unemployment rates are down considerably, most new jobs are part time, which means the recession isn’t entirely over yet.

Shai Dubey, director of the Cornell-Queen’s Executive MBA program, told luncheon attendees that Kingston has fared better than most other Canadian cities through the recession and was optimistic about the groundwork that the city has prepared for its future.

 Student Winston Zhang won this year's $3,000 Business Forecasting Luncheon Award.

“Replacing aging infrastructure, developing comprehensive plans for growth, and working with institutions of higher education, agencies and industry to define areas where the city has competitive advantages for growth and sustainability all bode well for future of the city,” he said.

On another note, the economic forecast for first-year business student Winston Zhang is great. He is this year’s winner of the Business Forecasting Luncheon Award, a $3,000 scholarship given to a first-year student based on financial need and academic excellence.

“When I found out I won, it was a great feeling, I was very excited and I was really honoured,” he said.
Mr. Zhang is the First Year Representative with the Queen’s Conference on International Business and Queen’s Commerce Society’s Mentorship and Alumni Committee. While a student at Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute, Mr. Zhang place third in an international business case study competition.