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Odd Lots

Bloomberg

#16 in Business this week

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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  • Oct 4, 2021 · 58 min

    This Is How the Trillion Dollar Coin Could End Debt Ceiling Fights for Good

    Every few years, people are reminded of the weird law the United States has: the debt ceiling. Congress has to vote affirmatively to raise the total outstanding legal stock of debt the country can take on. If Congress fails to vote in favor of it, you could see a theoretical debt default, with devastating consequences. Sometimes the vote is routine and easy. Sometimes it's contentious, as it was in 2011. But arguably there's an easy solution that could avoid these fights altogether: A provision in the law which gives the Treasury Secretary the unilateral right to create platinum coins of any denomination. While this sounds like a joke, there's a serious argument that it offers a robust legal path out of the problem. On this episode we speak with Rohan Grey, a professor at Willamette University College of Law and one of the foremost experts on the legality of the coin maneuver, on how it works in practice and in theory. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Sep 30, 2021 · 49 min

    Isabella Weber on China’s Vision for Making Markets Work

    For years, people have talked about China's ongoing process of opening up, or liberalizing its economy. And yet lately it's taken strong moves that seem to indicate a change in direction. It's cracked down on some of its largest tech companies while also allowing its real estate sector to cool off considerably, as we've seen with the stress on Evergrande. On this Odd Lots, we speak with UMass Amherst professor Isabella Weber, the author of the new book How China Escaped Shock Therapy: The Market Reform Debate. She explores China's big vision for making markets work in the pursuit of its ideas on socialism, and how the recent moves fit into a much broader, ongoing strategy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Sep 27, 2021 · 50 min

    This Is What the Pandemic Did to the U.S. Rail System

    The pandemic has obviously sent shockwaves throughout the supply chain. And, despite hopes of normalization, things might even be getting worse. The number of ships, for example, waiting to unload at the Port of Los Angeles has continued to grow. And it seems like every day another company talks about various shortages. So what does it mean for our commercial rail system? On this episode, we speak with Ian Jefferies, the President and CEO of the Association of American Railroads, to discuss the state of rail, how the industry has adapted, and the work it will take to get things back to normal. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Sep 23, 2021 · 55 min

    How To Understand the Inflation We’re Seeing Right Now

    Over the last several months, inflation has risen at a pace significantly faster than what economists have expected. Markets, and perhaps the Fed, take some solace in the fact that it can largely be tied to economic disruptions from the pandemic, and prove to be "transitory". But is it really transitory? And when will it fade? On this episode of Odd Lots, we speak with Julia Coronado and Laura Rosner-Warburton, the co-founders of the firm Macropolicy Perspectives, to get a better handle on what's going on, how long it will last, and the ramifications for the future. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Sep 20, 2021 · 54 min

    Understanding Evergrande, the Chinese Real Estate Conglomerate That’s Nearing Collapse

    If you've been following the wild ride that is Chinese real estate, then you've definitely heard of Evergrande. The price of its shares and bonds has been tumbling lately amid concerns about its cash flow and its model. But what really is Evergrande? And who stands to lose in a theoretical restructuring? On this episode, we speak with Travis Lundy, an independent analyst based in Hong Kong who publishes on Smartkarma, about the company's business model and what comes next. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Sep 16, 2021 · 42 min

    Stacy Rasgon on How the Global Chip Crisis May Be Getting Even Worse

    We've been talking about chips on Odd Lots for almost a year now. Thanks to a unique combination of events and constraints, capacity to make more semiconductors is incredibly tight. One industry that's lost out significantly is cars, as automakers are still cutting production due to an inability to source chips. On this episode, we speak with return guest Stacy Rasgon, a Managing Director and U.S. semiconductor analyst at Bernstein to discuss the current state of the industry, and why things are still so messed up. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Sep 13, 2021 · 47 min

    Dan Wang Explains What China's Tech Crackdown Is Really All About

    Over the last several months, Chinese authorities have undertaken a sweeping campaign of change. We've seen crackdowns on big tech and fintech companies (like Ant Financial and Didi), online education companies, and now even the playing of video games. Investors in key sectors have gotten clobbered by the new rules. So what is the goal and what is the endgame here? On this episode, we speak to Dan Wang, a China tech analyst at Gavekal Dragonomics, who breaks it all down. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Sep 9, 2021 · 46 min

    Zoltan Pozsar on What’s Going on in Rates Markets Right Now

    There's a lot happening in the plumbing of the financial system. The Federal Reserve's reverse repo facility has seen huge takeup from financial market participants seeking to park excess cash. Meanwhile, the central bank has also announced the start of a new standing repo facility. And, of course, we're nearing the start of tapering, when the Fed will start to wind down its asset purchases. On this episode, we bring back Credit Suisse Strategist Zoltan Pozsar to talk about everything that's going on right now. He describes a system awash with dollars that no one wants, and walks us through what that means for broader markets. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Sep 6, 2021 · 47 min

    Patrick O'Shaughnessy on the Next Big Thing in Passive Investing

    Passive investing is kind of boring. You dump your money in an index fund and that's it. The industry hasn't really seen big innovation since ETFs were invented in the 1990s. Enter custom indexing. Custom indexing allows asset managers to create bespoke indices for their clients. Interest in the space is already booming, with Morgan Stanley, BlackRock and JPMorgan all making acquisitions in the space. But what exactly is the difference between investing in a custom index versus something like the S&P 500? And why haven't custom indices been done before? On this episode we speak with Patrick O'Shaughnessy, CEO of OSAM and the host of the podcast "Invest Like the Best", about direct investing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Sep 2, 2021 · 58 min

    Omair Sharif Explains How Inflation Measures Really Work

    When people think about what inflation is, they might first think about some broad index like the CPI. What does the the CPI really tell us? And how is it constructed? And how much does its rise and fall relate to the state of the macro-economy? On this episode, we speak with Omair Sharif, a longtime veteran of both the buy and sell-side, who is now the founder and president of Inflation Insights. Omair knows inflation index construction better than anyone, and he walks us through what's happening right now, and how he thinks about forecasting where inflation will go. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Aug 30, 2021 · 58 min

    How Solana and Pyth Aim To Take DeFi to the Next Level

    There's obviously a lot of interest in crypto and DeFi these days. And while it's growing rapidly, it's still not cutting much into traditional finance business lines. For the most part, trading on blockchains is slow and costly. But some projects don't accept the premise that blockchains have to be slow and inefficient. Solana is an Ethereum competitor whose native token has been soaring. And unlike Ethereum, its transactions are cheap and ultrafast. So what tradeoffs does it make? And what projects are being built on top of it? On this episode, we speak with Solana founder Anatoly Yakovenko and Kanav Kariya of Jump Trading, who is involved with an oracle project called Pyth. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Aug 26, 2021 · 43 min

    Mitu Gulati and Ugo Panizza on Haiti’s Odious Post-Colonial Debt

    Nearly 200 years ago, the colonialist French power granted independence to Haiti. But it did so under the brutal condition that it pay 150 million francs in exchange for its freedom. This was a staggering sum that imposed a staggering imposition on the Haitian economy. And there's good reason to believe that that initial debt contributed to the ongoing poverty in the country. On this episode, we speak with law professor Mitu Gulati and economist Ugo Panizza about this odious debt, the significance of this burden, and the ongoing efforts for Haiti to obtain reparations. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Aug 23, 2021 · 47 min

    A Conversation With Ajmal Ahmady, Afghanistan’s Former Central Bank Chief

    Over the last week and a half, the world has watched in shock at the dizzying speed of the collapse in Afghanistan. Events are still unfolding, so the future remains extremely uncertain. One former official who has been outspoken in recent days is Ajmal Ahmady, who was running Afghanistan's central bank on an interim basis right up until the government fell. On this episode, we speak with Ahmady about what operations at the bank looked like in relatively normal times, how events transpired in the government's final days, and the future of Afghanistan's economy under Taliban rule. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Aug 19, 2021 · 56 min

    David Woo on What the Economists Got Wrong About the Stimulus

    David Woo has always been one of the most outspoken voices on the street. A former top strategist at Bank of America, he is now publishing independently at his new site David Woo Unbound. On this episode, he argues that the mainstream economists are getting it wrong, and that inflation will remain uncomfortably higher than what the Fed wants to see. We also discuss the economy more broadly, the virus, and the U.S. relationship with China. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Aug 16, 2021 · 46 min

    Neel Kashkari on the Fed’s Quest To Get To Full Employment

    The last two jobs reports have been strong, but the unemployment rate remains over 5%. And by some estimates, the economy is still 8 million jobs shy of where it would have been had it not been for the crisis. So when will the Fed declare "victory" in hitting its employment mandate? It's a question that's been complicated by the recent rise in inflation. On this episode, we speak with Neel Kashkari, the President of the Minneapolis Fed, a longtime proponent of pushing for a strong labor market. He explains what he's looking for, and how the labor market situation meshes with both the inflation situation and the Fed's new framework unveiled last year at Jackson Hole. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Aug 12, 2021 · 51 min

    Brent Donnelly on What It Takes To Be a Winning Trader

    The last 18 months has seen an incredible influx of people getting into trading. Thanks to a combination of Robinhood, a bull market, and perhaps more free time, trading is part of popular culture to a degree we haven't seen in over two decades. But what does it take to really win over time, across multiple cycles? And who should make an attempt at going pro? On this episode, we speak with veteran trader Brent Donnelly, the author of the new book Alpha Trader: The Mindset, Methodology and Mathematics of Professional Trading, on what it takes to consistently win. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Aug 9, 2021 · 52 min

    Dallas Fed President Rob Kaplan on the Economy and Monetary Policy Right Now

    The economy is in uncharted territory in more ways that one right now. Coming out of the worst of the pandemic, we're seeing a rapid pace of GDP growth, along with elevated inflation readings the likes of which we haven't seen in years. Beyond that, policymakers have engaged in historically aggressive fiscal and monetary expansion. The Fed, in particular, is almost a year into a new framework (unveiled last August at Jackson Hole) that aims to avoid certain mistakes of the past. So we sat down with Rob Kaplan, who has been the President of the Dallas Fed since 2015, to get his assessment of the situation right now. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Aug 5, 2021 · 1 hr 9 min

    Sam Bankman-Fried and Matt Levine on How the Crypto Market Really Works

    Sam Bankman-Fried is arguably the most important and powerful person in crypto. His crypto exchange FTX just raised $900 million and is growing like crazy. Meanwhile, Bloomberg Opinion columnist Matt Levine probably knows more about market structure than any other journalist. So, on this episode we paired them up for an in-depth conversation about how crypto really works, how it's different from traditional finance, and where it's all going. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Aug 2, 2021 · 56 min

    Gene Seroka on the Logistical Logjam at the Port of LA

    America's ports are a key source of congestion contributing to supply chain disruptions rippling through the economy. Things have gotten a little better, but very slowly. And the disruptions are expected to continue for quite some time. To understand more about what's going on, we spoke with Gene Seroka, the Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles, to understand how bad the problems are, and how they will eventually be fixed. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  • Jul 29, 2021 · 50 min

    The Bathtub Episode: How the Pandemic Disrupted Plumbing

    When you think about building a new home, obviously you think of various constraints regarding land, labor, and raw materials. But, of course, you can't build a new home without other basics, like windows, sinks, and bathtubs (or showers). And, just like everything else, these are now in short supply. On this episode, we speak with Trey Northrup, leader of the Americas at LIXIL, which sells bathtubs and other plumbing basics under various brands, including American Standard, Grohe, and about the stresses on the industry and when they're expected to ease. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Showing 881–900 of 1,302 episodes