On January 29, 2009, Columbia Business School's Center on Japanese Economy and Business (CJEB), along with the Japan Society, Nomura Holding America, Inc., and the Women's Bond Club of New York, cohosted the panel "America Has Voted: Impact of New U.S. President on Asian Markets." Moderated by Leslie Norton, foreign editor of Barron's Asia, the panel featured Columbia Business School's Alicia Ogawa, director of CJEB's Program on Alternative Investments; David Reesler, managing director and chief economist of Nomura Securities International, Inc.; and Jeffrey Young, chief economist of Platinum Grove Asset Management.

The United States has witnessed a historic election coinciding with what moderator Leslie Norton called a "nor'easter of epic proportions in the markets and the global economy." The panelists' objectives included not only exploring the potential impact of the Obama administration on the Asian markets and economies but also recognizing that Japan in particular has valuable lessons to teach the United States. Mr. Norton quoted investor Jeremy Grantham: "Japan absorbed the greatest deleveraging in human history without incurring a severe depression...I can only hope we do as well."