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Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway explore the most interesting topics in finance, markets and economics. Join the conversation every Monday, Thursday, and Friday

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Episodes 1,302

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  • Oct 31, 2024 · 42 min

    Years of Restrictions Didn't Slow China's Quest for Tech Dominance

    In 2015, China identified several key industries of the future for which it aimed to compete at the technological frontier. The 'Made in China 2025' plan included expansion in things like EVs, solar power, batteries, semiconductors, AI, and drones. But now, 2025 is almost here and China's progress has been remarkable across several of these categories. In fact, it's the world leader in some of these industries (like EVs and solar), and it's catching up in others. In this episode we speak with Bloomberg News reporter, Rebecca Choong Wilkins, as well as Gerard DiPippo, senior geoeconomics analyst at Bloomberg Economics. The two of them were part of a team that took a major look at the status of Made In China 2025 (a name that isn't really even used that much anymore). We discuss how much progress China has made despite efforts from the US over the last several years to impede its ambitions, and how it's judging the success of the program. Read More: US Efforts to Contain Xi’s Push for Tech Supremacy Are Faltering How American Tax Breaks Brought a Chinese Solar Energy Giant to Ohio Become a Bloomberg.com subscriber using our special intro offer at bloomberg.com/podcastoffer. You’ll get episodes of this podcast ad-free and exclusive access to our daily Odd Lots newsletter. Already a subscriber? Connect your account on the Bloomberg channel page in Apple Podcasts to listen ad-free. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Oct 28, 2024 · 43 min

    Why Home Insurance in Florida Is a Mess

    Florida has been struck by two big hurricanes this year, setting off a wave of damage and, of course, new insurance claims. As we all know by now, insurance rates in places like Florida, Louisiana, and California have jumped in recent years thanks to a combination of more natural disasters, higher replacement costs, and other factors. But Florida has become a particularly expensive market, with roofing scams supposedly pushing up rates for everyone, and a string of private insurers exiting the market. So what's the future of this messy market? We speak with Jerry Theodorou, policy director of finance, insurance and trade at R Street Institute, a free market think tank. He's also a veteran of the insurance industry and, in this episode, he walks us through what's been going on in Florida's insurance market and argues that there are some signs that things are getting better. Read More: Why Insurance Rates Have Been Surging in California and Florida Florida Home Insurers With Lax Ratings Pose New Property Risk Become a Bloomberg.com subscriber using our special intro offer at bloomberg.com/podcastoffer. You’ll get episodes of this podcast ad-free and exclusive access to our daily Odd Lots newsletter. Already a subscriber? Connect your account on the Bloomberg channel page in Apple Podcasts to listen ad-free. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Oct 27, 2024 · 1 min

    Listen Now: The Deal with Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly

    When sports, business and culture collide, there’s often a deal to be made. Join Alex Rodriguez and Bloomberg correspondent Jason Kelly as they get the inside track from corporate titans, sports champions and game-changing entrepreneurs on investing, strategy, reinvention and the ones that got away. The Deal is a Bloomberg Podcasts and Bloomberg Originals series that’s passionate, relaxed, insightful and inspirational. If you think you know these icons, prepare to be surprised. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Oct 25, 2024 · 21 min

    Lots More on the Ongoing Mess That Is Boeing

    Shares of Boeing, America's biggest aerospace manufacturer, have plummeted 40% so far this year. The company is facing a string of challenges, including fatal crashes of its 737 Max jet, a door blowing off another 737 aircraft, striking workers, and difficulties ramping up production. That's opened up some pretty existential questions for the company — including whether this former national champion will even survive for much longer. In the meantime, Boeing executives are trying to turn things around by raising additional capital and slashing the workforce to bring down costs. But will it work? In this episode, we speak with aerospace veteran Richard Aboulafia, a managing director at AeroDynamic Advisory, about the ongoing mess that is Boeing. Read More: Boeing Workers Reject Deal in Longshot Bid to Revive Pension The Remarkable Story of Brazilian Jet Maker Embraer Become a Bloomberg.com subscriber using our special intro offer at bloomberg.com/podcastoffer. You’ll get episodes of this podcast ad-free and exclusive access to our daily Odd Lots newsletter. Already a subscriber? Connect your account on the Bloomberg channel page in Apple Podcasts to listen ad-free. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Oct 24, 2024 · 42 min

    How Banks and Private Credit Became the Best of Frenemies

    By now, everyone knows that private credit is a hot market. What's less known is that banks want in on it too. It's an odd state of affairs given that both these entities are in the business of making loans, so in theory they should be competing against each other. But instead we're seeing a bunch of deals, with more than a dozen big banks teaming up with private credit over the past year. So why are two seemingly natural competitors joining forces? And how much of an existential threat does private credit really pose for the banking industry? On this episode, we with speak with Huw van Steenis, vice-chair at Oliver Wyman and a long-time bank analyst at Morgan Stanley, about this new dynamic. Read More: The Macro Impact of the Private Credit Boom The Black Hole of Private Credit Become a Bloomberg.com subscriber using our special intro offer at bloomberg.com/podcastoffer. You’ll get episodes of this podcast ad-free and exclusive access to our daily Odd Lots newsletter. Already a subscriber? Connect your account on the Bloomberg channel page in Apple Podcasts to listen ad-free. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Oct 21, 2024 · 35 min

    Why Mortgage Rates Went Up After the Fed's Big Cut

    On September 18, the Federal Reserve kicked off the cutting cycle by reducing overnight rates by 50 basis points. Since then, mortgage rates have gone higher. This is not obviously an intuitive thing to happen. The point of a rate cut is to stimulate the economy by reducing the cost to borrow. And people generally know that interest rates and mortgage costs are linked. Well, it turns out they are linked, but not directly. And certainly not in some linear manner. On this episode of the podcast, we speak with Tom Graff, the CIO of the wealth management firm Facet, and a long-time trader in the fixed income space. We talk about the factors that influence mortgage rates, why the spread between a 30-year fixed and a 10-year Treasury fluctuates over time, and how rate cuts can be priced in before they even happen. We also talk about what we'll need to see for mortgage rates to move sustainably lower. Read More: US Mortgage Rates Climb to 6.52%, Highest Since Early August Why a 'Broken' Mortgage Market Is Keeping Borrowing Rates Extra High See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Oct 18, 2024 · 50 min

    Meb Faber on the Big Bear Market in Diversification and Tactical Allocation

    For decades, investors have been told that diversifying is a good thing. You should hold a basket of stocks across different sectors and geographies, plus bonds, maybe some commodities or real estate, and so on. But, it turns out that you probably would have done better if you just bought large-cap US stocks in the form of an S&P 500 ETF like SPY. So why haven't diversified investments performed better? In this episode, we speak with Meb Faber, CIO of Cambria Investment Management, the host of the Meb Faber show, and the author of one of the most-downloaded research papers on SSRN. He says the last 15 years have "arguably been the worst period ever for an asset allocation portfolio. Read more: Great ‘Bear Market’ in Diversification Haunts Wall Street Pros The Fate of the World’s Largest ETF Is Tied to 11 Random Millennials Only Bloomberg.com subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox — now delivered every weekday — plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Oct 17, 2024 · 1 hr 18 min

    Richard Koo and Zichen Wang on What Just Happened in China

    In September, Chinese policymakers shocked the markets by unveiling a set of stimulus measures designed to boost the economy and bolster the real estate market. While it's too soon to know whether the announcements will be successful, the stock market took off like a rocket in the wake of the news. Since the initial unveiling, further efforts have been announced with promises of more to come. So how big of a deal is this really? Is this the start of a major turning point in China's economic trajectory? Or is this just business as usual? On this episode, we speak with two guests. First, we discuss the macro situation with Richard Koo, chief economist at the Nomura Research Institute, and the famed theorist of "balance sheet recessions." Then we delve further into China's decision-making apparatus with Zichen Wang, the author of the must-read Pekingology newsletter. Our guests answer why this time may be different, how these measures come about, how they get implemented, and what to watch next in terms of their impact. And if you want more Odd Lots content, subscribe to our new daily newsletter over here. Read more: US Trade Rep Katherine Tai Describes the New Era of Globalization Adam Tooze on the Big Misconceptions of the Chinese Economy See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Oct 14, 2024 · 46 min

    Apollo Explains How Big Tech Is Disrupting Credit Markets

    Big tech stocks have had an enormous impact on the stock market, with Magnificent 7 companies like Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia now dominating equity indices and basically dictating the path of benchmark returns. And of course, there's been loads of discussion about the real transformational value of AI and whether it's all going to end up being one big bubble. But tech investing and big disruptive trends like AI aren't just for equity investors. They're playing out in the credit market, too. And of course, building the data centers and producing the chips that power AI requires huge amounts of capital — much of which is sourced via bonds and loans. Increasingly, a lot of that capital is coming from private credit players, one of the biggest of which is Apollo Global Management. In this episode, we speak with Rob Bittencourt, a partner at Apollo and co-head of opportunistic credit, about how the tech story is playing out and what Apollo is doing in the space. Read More: Private Credit to Outperform in a Downturn, Apollo’s Zelter Says Only Bloomberg.com subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox — now delivered every weekday — plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Oct 13, 2024 · 10 min

    The ROI Rules of AI: Sirion's Legal AI (Sponsored Content)

    What if your contracts could be a roadmap to running your business – the first step in managing your relationships with your suppliers and clients? That’s the function of Sirion, a contract lifecycle management software for in-house legal departments. This episode of The ROI Rules of AI explores how Sirion has recently been upgraded with generative AI functionality designed to make it something the whole company can use, not just its legal staff. This episode is sponsored by IBM. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Oct 11, 2024 · 46 min

    Austan Goolsbee on How This Cycle Turned Out To Be So Different

    In 2022 and 2023, the Federal Reserve basically had one focus: defeating inflation. That's now changed. Keeping inflation at bay is still important, but the Fed is now attuned to labor market risks as well. On this episode of the podcast, we speak with Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee about how the US economy achieved something that almost nobody thought was possible: a marked decline in inflation without a major increase in the unemployment rate or a slowdown in economic activity. We discuss what actually happened to the economy over the last four years. What was the role of monetary policy in bringing down inflation? How much of the inflation turned out to be transitory all along? And what are the risks today, with the September jobs report having come in much stronger than expected? He explains why the Fed has shifted its priority and how he's thinking of risk management at this point in the economic cycle. Read More: Three Fed Officials Shrug Off CPI Report, Bostic Open to Pause Only Bloomberg.com subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox — now delivered every weekday — plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Oct 10, 2024 · 45 min

    The Ultra-Rich Are Building a Separate World Here on Earth

    In recent years, we've seen the emergence of cities whose main industry is that they're a great place to live if you're rich. Dubai would be the ultimate example of this dynamic. But it's not just Dubai. Lots of cities, all around the world, exist to cater to the wealthy, with a set of laws and taxation schemes that act like a magnet for global wealth. So how do these cities work? How big are they? And what exactly do they offer the global rich? On this episode of the podcast, we speak with Atossa Araxia Abrahamian, author of The Hidden Globe: How Wealth Hacks The World. She talks about these booming types of cities, how they emerged, and where they are going. Read more: Miami Wealth Boom Fuels $13 Billion Firm Serving the Ultra Rich Only Bloomberg.com subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox each week, plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Oct 7, 2024 · 56 min

    The Math That Explains How Multi-Strategy Hedge Funds Make Money

    Multi-strategy hedge funds are still all the rage on Wall Street, but what does it actually mean to be a pod shop and how are they being set up? On this episode, we speak with Dan Morillo, co-founder of Freestone Grove Partners and formerly a partner and head of equity quantitative research at Citadel (one of the most successful multi-strats out there.) While lots of people tend to talk about multi-strategy hedge funds as one big blob, he argues that there are important differences in their business models. We talk about how he identifies top portfolio managers, managing crowding risk, and the math behind compensation, scale and returns. Previously: How Hedge Funds Discover the Next Superstar Trader How to Succeed at Multi-Strategy Hedge Funds Only Bloomberg.com subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox each week, plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Oct 4, 2024 · 30 min

    Lots More on the Ongoing Mess That Is Intel

    The US is in the midst of a big effort to bring more semiconductor manufacturing onshore. Intel is the biggest US semiconductor manufacturer. There's just one problem. Intel has really been struggling to get its fab operations up and running in a timely, efficient manner. So what's the problem, and can the company turn things around? On this episode of Lots More, we speak to Stacy Rasgon of Bernstein Research and Mackenzie Hawkins of Bloomberg News to discuss the current struggles and future prospects for the company. Mentioned in this episode: Intel Gets Multibillion-Dollar Apollo Offer as Qualcomm Circles Arm Is Rebuffed by Intel After Inquiring About Buying Product Unit Only Bloomberg.com subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox each week, plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Oct 3, 2024 · 49 min

    The Big Tax Hike Coming in Just Over a Year

    In 2017, Congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which may be better known as the Trump tax cuts. Due to the way fiscal policy works in the United States, a large component of the bill was temporary. And starting in 2026, millions of households are due to see higher taxes if the bill isn't extended or a new one is passed. Regardless of who wins the presidency, dealing with this tax hike is going to be a key political issue. But what is the TCJA? What was the idea behind it? And what happens if it expires? On this episode of the podcast we speak to Kevin Brady, who was the architect of the bill as the former Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. We discuss both the economics and the politics of passing tax reform, and what Brady hoped to accomplish when he created the law. Read More: Trump Tax Cuts Would Cost More Than Almost All Federal Agencies See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Sep 30, 2024 · 45 min

    Jigar Shah on the Three Big Things Driving the Nuclear Energy Revival

    Earlier this month, we got the surprising headline that the shuttered nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island will be restarted. Of course, Three Mile Island was the site of a famous disaster in 1979 — one of the incidents that contributed to the US pulling back on the construction of new nuclear plants. This particular reactor was shuttered in 2019, when the economics of it no longer made sense. So why the restart? And why is there generally more interest and excitement about nuclear than there has been in years? On this episode of the podcast, we speak with Jigar Shah, the head of the Loan Programs Office at the Department of Energy. We talk about the big drivers both in terms of policy and economic conditions that have created this renaissance. Read More: Microsoft AI Needs So Much Power It's Tapping Site of US Nuclear Meltdown Microsoft to Pay Hefty Price for Three Mile Island Clean Power Only Bloomberg.com subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox each week, plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Sep 27, 2024 · 25 min

    Lots More on Potentially Massive East Coast Port Strikes

    Look out. Supply chains are back in the news. As soon as next week, workers at all of the ports on the US East Coast could go on strike, crippling trade across a range of industrial and agricultural parts of the economy. So what's at stake? What do the workers want? Is there any prospect of the US government heading it off? On this episode, we speak with Craig Fuller, the founder and CEO of FreightWaves, about what the labor dispute is all about and how it could possibly hammer the economy in the weeks leading up to the presidential election. Read More: Port Employers Ask NLRB to Force Dockworkers to Bargaining Table Only Bloomberg.com subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox each week, plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Sep 26, 2024 · 49 min

    This Is How Industrial Policy Can Go Bad

    Right now, industrial policy is back in vogue in the US. The administration is making an effort at reviving specific sectors, notably in areas of clean energy and semiconductors. But despite all of the money being spent on subsidies of various sorts, there's no guarantee it will actually work. If it were easy, every country would do it. So what are the conditions that make it possible? And how can it go sour? On this episode of the podcast, we speak with Vivek Chibber, a professor at NYU, and the author of several books including Locked In Place, which compares the development experience of South Korea and India. We talk about the interaction of economic policy and domestic politics, as well as the specific political conditions that need to be in place that allow the government to provide "gifts" to companies, and for those gifts to actually turn into leading edge industrial leaders, rather than for that money to simply go into the pockets of investors. Among the things we discuss are: What industrial policy actually is and what it's going to take for the US endeavors to actually become successful. Read More: How Economic Complexity Explains Which Countries Become Rich Adam Tooze on the Big Misconceptions of the Chinese Economy See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Sep 23, 2024 · 42 min

    Ariel Investments' John Rogers on How You Can Still Win With Value Investing

    These days if you talk to people about the stock market, they might talk to you about the effect of the Fed. Or they'll talk about the Mag 7 and AI capex spend. Or they'll extoll the virtues of passive, low-cost investing. It seems like you hear less and less about the art of security selection: Finding cheap diamonds in the rough that have been overlooked by other investors. But some people are still keeping that world alive. John Rogers is the founder and co-CEO of Ariel Investments, and in his primary mutual fund he invests only in mid- and small-cap companies. Recorded live on stage at the Future Proof Festival in Huntington Beach, CA, we talk about his approach. He explains why he believes value investing still works, and the process he uses to select individual names. We also discuss what he looks for and how he researches stock picks. Among other things, he tells us why he's invested in The Sphere (yes, that Sphere in Vegas) as well as the company that makes the McFlurry machines for McDonald's. Read More: Stocks, Bonds Trim Declines After Waller Comments: Markets Wrap Only http://Bloomberg.com subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox each week, plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Sep 20, 2024 · 25 min

    Lots More With Sam Ro on the Booming World of RIAs

    The Future Proof Festival takes place right on the beach in Huntington Beach, California. Thousands of registered investment advisors from all over the country come to talk shop, take pitches from vendors, eat tacos, drink beer, and listen to a concert from Third Eye Blind. On this Lots More, we talk with Sam Ro, the author of the Tker.co newsletter about the RIA scene, financial media, behavioral finance, the Fed, and the business of musical artists playing at conferences. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Showing 441–460 of 1,302 episodes