Economics & Strategy – Economics: First

Ed Hyman, a member of the All-America Research Team Hall of Fame, captures a record-smashing 33rd straight year at No. 1. The ISI Group economist was one of the first to warn clients that the U.S. housing boom was about to go bust — that was back in 2005, long before the term "subprime mortgage" entered the vernacular — and now he is among the first to declare that the bust is about to go boom. "We think housing has turned the corner and expect both housing starts and house prices to surprise on the upside, and to keep the U.S. economy — and the world economy — from sliding into recession," says Hyman, 67. He sees other reasons for optimism as well. "The U.S. economy is likely to improve in the fall, in lagged response to both lower oil prices and easing moves around the world over the past year," he says. Experience makes Hyman's opinions invaluable, money managers say. "He has seen so much over the years that he's able to synthesize a mountain of information and relate it to historical parallels in interesting ways," observes one buy-side supporter.