Former IMF Chief Economist Dr. Simon Johnson to Provide a Global View of the Financial Crisis

Wall Street Access Hosts Conference Call to Discuss Current Economic Initiatives and Future Prospects for Global Banking System

NEW YORK, March 30 /PRNewswire/ — Wall Street Access, a leading research and brokerage firm, announced today that it will host a March 31 conference call for institutional investors on the global financial crisis featuring Dr. Simon Johnson, former Chief Economist for the International Monetary Fund. The call will focus on several key issues including:

• The viability of the banking system in the U.S. and abroad.
• The effectiveness and consequences of recent initiatives to shore up the world financial system.
• Recent efforts to stimulate the U.S. economy and create jobs, and comparative actions elsewhere.

In addition to his time with the IMF, Johnson is the Ronald A. Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, as well as a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, D.C., and a former member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Advisory Committee on Market Information. Johnson will begin the call with a discussion of how the credit crisis has been misunderstood and its global impact, and then open the lines to questions from institutional investors.

The call begins at 11:00 am EDT on March 31 and is open to institutional investors only. For access, contact Rachel Jablow at 212-232-5634 or rachel.jablow@wsaccess.com.

Dr. Johnson will be available to media after the call. Please direct all media inquiries to Katrin Lieberwirth at 646-502-3548 or klieberwirth@stantonprm.com.

“Dr. Johnson emphasizes that the crisis of consumer confidence has had profound effects on the demand for credit and its counterpart, desired savings, everywhere in the world,” said Tom Burnett, Director of Research at Wall Street Access. “We are pleased to host this call with Dr. Johnson to help provide much-needed perspective for investors to make rational decisions in this challenging environment.”

About Dr. Simon Johnson

Johnson is the Ronald A. Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, a position he has held since 2004. He is also a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, D.C., and co-founder of a website on the global economic and financial crisis, http://BaselineScenario.com. From March 2007 through the end of August 2008, Professor Johnson was the International Monetary Fund’s Economic Counselor (chief economist) and Director of its Research Department. At the IMF, Professor Johnson led the global economic outlook team, helped formulate innovative responses to worldwide financial turmoil, and was among the earliest to propose new forms of engagement for sovereign wealth funds. In 2000-2001 Professor Johnson was a member of the US Securities and Exchange Commissions Advisory Committee on Market Information. Mr. Johnson is an expert on financial and economic crises. As an academic, in policy roles, and with the private sector, over the past 20 years he has worked on crisis prevention, amelioration, and recovery around the world, in both relatively rich and relatively poor countries. His work focuses on how policymakers can limit the impact of negative shocks and manage the risks faced by their countries.

About Wall Street Access

Wall Street Access’ Institutional Services division provides value-added security analysis, regulatory updates, as well as discreet and anonymous execution of stock and option strategies, including large block trades. In addition, Wall Street Access Institutional Services provides hedge funds and other institutional investors with a steady stream of research across the healthcare and energy industries. The division also provides research on mergers, acquisitions and special situations opportunities, such as hostile offers and business segment divestitures.

Headquartered in New York, Wall Street Access is an independent securities firm that provides clients with institutional brokerage, securities research and wealth management services. The firm’s major focus is on research and trade execution in equity, options and investment grade fixed income securities. Its clients are primarily hedge funds and other institutions as well as high-net-worth individuals. Founded in 1981, Wall Street Access is a member of the NYSE, FINRA, ISE and SIPC. The Wall Street Access web site is located at www.wsaccess.com. Wall Street Access’s Institutional Services division clears trades and all transactions through Pershing, LLC.

SOURCE Wall Street Access