Susannah Streeter

UNLOCKING THE DOOR TO FEMALE FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT

‘’Money is the soundtrack to our lives. From squeezing a fistful of sweaty pennies as we navigated pick and mix treats, to the pounds earned during a Saturday job, to your first pay check and last pension contribution. Given that it’s an ever-present force pulsing through every part of our interaction with the world – you’d think that by now we’d have got the hang of it.  Instead, money is a worry. It can keep us up at night. It can extinguish our hopes. It can lead to depression. Women effectively work for free for nearly two months of the year compared to the average man. Women are also losing out when it comes to investments, as they are far less likely to invest, which puts them at a financial disadvantage in the long term. Men have billions more in stocks and shares ISAs, investment accounts and pensions. But it doesn’t have to be this way.’’

Susannah, as a senior investment and markets analyst and a campaigner for equal pay at the BBC unlocks the mysteries of the financial system. She helps build the knowledge manual to help women negotiate getting a better deal at home, work and in the world of investments.

TAKING THE TEMPERATURE OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

‘’Following a year of shocks, from the invasion of Ukraine to commodity price spirals and bond market mayhem, investors are set to remain highly sensitive to further upheaval particularly given that a third of the world is set to enter recession in 2023.  Inflation is showing signs of easing and consumers are proving more resilient that expected but investors are much more highly attuned to the potential for threats to escalate. ‘’

Susannah Streeter constantly takes a temperature check on the world economy in her role as a senior investment and markets analyst. She explains the task ahead for central bank officials, still trying to rein in inflation:

“Policymakers are valiantly trying their hand at being master chefs by trying to stop inflation burning spending power whilst avoiding the economies sinking like undercooked souffles. The recipes are showing some signs of working with price spirals finally edging down from painful peaks and there are hopes recessions will be shallower.

The FTSE 100 is the flavour of the month as inflation eases, consumers appear more resilient, and China reopens.  Investors appear to have fallen back in love with UK assets, after a difficult period when FTSE 100 was the wallflower among global indices. But there is a risk this could be a short-lived crush. There are still niggles of worries which could blow up about ebbing consumer and company resilience in the months to come around the world.

Europe’s energy crisis has retreated, for now but even more difficult issues are looming, from the rise of AI to devastating climate change and the challenge of ageing populations. We may be overcoming short term hurdles, but it’s time to start tackling the long-term mega-threats emerging.’’

HOW TO RE-CONNECT A GEO-POLITICALLY FRACTURED WORLD

‘’We are facing an increasingly fractured economic and political world, so finding new forums of communication and collaboration to find our way through the fog of war and corporate dislocation and are increasingly vital.’’

Susannah has a unique view of the power of communication and how it can help change the world for the better. This spans from her early days in uniform as the founding member of the royal Air Force mobile news team when she used the power of film to enact change, to her senior anchor position for the BBC, up until now as a sought-after analyst and chair of politically sensitive global debates

‘’True inclusivity involves bringing polarised views together. We need to learn from ostracised but powerful individuals, rather than shutting down unwelcome voices, and create new cross feed lines of dialogue alongside traditional institutions.’’