Rebalancing the economy - can government policy really work?      
What’s wrong with the Bank of England Model?
How fast and how far will interest rates have to rise this year?

Join us at the Manchester Business and Professional Services Conference to discuss this and many other issues. If you didn’t get to Davos, get to the Point on the 17th March

Government policy is geared to rebalancing the economy towards the regions, away from London and the South East and away from Banking and Financial Services.  Given the scale of expenditure cuts, areas dependent on public sector jobs will be badly hit but can the introduction of the LEPs provide a realistic alternative to the abolition of the RDAs to support regional employment?

In the North West manufacturing and exports are enjoying strong growth as word trade expands but for how long? Is it just a recovery from a very low base or can we really expect to see a resurgence of manufacturing, investment and a return to positive trade overseas?

Banking and finance are high on the agenda, we will hear from Angela Knight Chief Executive of the British Banking Association, Andrew Bailey will be with us to discuss Bank Regulation and Chris Cummings from TheCityUK will be here to bang the drum for financial services.

Access to finance is key for the SME, In the studio will be Simon Walker from the British Venture Capital Association and he will be joined by managers from the North West Business Fund with over £200 million available for investment. The pro.manchester private equity group (MPEG)has access to over £5 billion of funds under management. The Rowlands report (November 2009) suggested there was an equity gap between £2million to £10 million pounds. The pro.manchester report into Innovation and Enterprise (2010) challenged the Rowlands conclusion - we will explain why, if you are looking for finance of any size come to Manchester, MPEG is wating to accommodate the need.

And what of the economy, the economy will return to growth this year but at what price as inflation heads towards 5%. And interest rates, when will the Bank of England begin the “futile gesture” (to increase rates) and just how high will rates be by the end of the year? We will listen to a group of respected economists including Mark Berrisford-Smith from HSBC, Michael Dicks from Barclays Wealth and Andrew Sentance, the renegade member of the Monetary Policy Committee
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John Ashcroft, Wigan’s answer to Paul Mason will outline his views about why the Bank of England inflation model is fundamentally flawed and the Bank of England may have lost the plot in controlling inflation.

The Chancellor tells us the UK is back from the brink of bankruptcy and Mark Prisk the minister for Business and Enterprise will be with us to outline the way ahead. Carl Emmerson from the Institute of Fiscal Studies will be providing analysis of the true state of the government finances.

Property : Many consider the property market to be moribund with the banks sitting on assets. Is a lack of liquidity in the market a real constraint to growth? We’ll be discussing this with our panel of experts in the studio.

Higher education and business : The universities and business schools are working closely with business in Greater Manchester. In the studio will be the Vice Chancellors from Salford University, Manchester Metropolitan University and the Deputy Vice Chancellor from Manchester University. Join us as we take a video trip to TheMediaCityUK to see how business and academia combine to meet the growth challenge ahead.

If you didn’t get to Davos, then get to the point on the 17th March.