CSU Channel Islands economics expert Sung Won Sohn, Ph.D., will discuss the state of the global economy followed by panel discussion on cyber security at a luncheon presentation Friday, Oct. 16, 2015, from 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at CI’s Malibu Hall 100. 

Sponsored by CI’s Institute for Global Economic Research (IGER), “The Global Economy, Cyber Security and Investment Implications” talk is free to the public and includes lunch.

Sohn — a professor of economics at the Martin V. Smith School of Business & Economics at CI, and the director of IGER ​— will detail three reasons for concern here in the U.S.

“China’s economic growth is slowing down, commodity prices are falling and the Federal Reserve is about to raise the interest rate,” Sohn said. “All of this is causing hardships in emerging markets.”

This collection of foreign and domestic economic forces means emerging markets like India, China, Brazil, Indonesia and Turkey will not import as much from the U.S., he said, which will affect our economy.

All of us with investments, pensions and retirement accounts are affected when China’s economy weakens, he said, as evidenced by the late summer plummet on Wall Street caused by the drop in China’s market.

Another hot topic for our plugged-in world will be discussed by a cyber security panel moderated by Stan Stahl, Ph.D., president and board chair of the Information Systems Security Association in Los Angeles.

Panelists will be Patrick Fraioli, Esq., — a partner at Ervin, Cohen & Jessup, LLC — and Gina Osborn, assistant special agent for Cyber & Computer Forensics with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Los Angeles.

“Cyber security has been talked about a lot, but I think all of us as individuals and businesses can do a better job,” Sohn said. “We have seen security breaches with Target, Home Depot and other large companies. They have been hacked and their customers have suffered. We will see what experts in this field have to say.”

The cyber-security panel will be introduced by Larry Taylor, Ph.D., chairman of The Creighton Group, Inc., and serving on the National Association of Corporate Directors in Southern California.

Lunch will be served at this free event, but reservations, which can be made by visiting go.csuci.edu/IGER-Luncheon, must be made by Oct. 9.

For more information, contact Paulina Rodriguez at paulina.rodriguez@csuci.edu or call 805.437.3637.

— Kim Gregory is a communication specialist for CSU Channel Islands.