WSJ's Take On the Week

The Wall Street Journal

WSJ's Take On the Week brings you the insights and analysis you need to get a leg up on the world of money and investing. We cut through the noise and dive into markets, the economy and finance. Join The Wall Street Journal's Telis Demos and Miriam Gottfried in conversation with the people closest to the hot topics in markets to get incisive analysis on the big trades, key players in finance and business news. The duo will bring actionable insights to a range of investors and business leaders while also entertaining a broader audience with lively, relatable conversations. Episodes drop Sundays.

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127 episodes
Updated July 26

Episodes127

Newest first

Jan 19, 2025 · 22 min
What Trump 2.0 Means for Banks, Crypto and More
On WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-hosts Gunjan Banerji and Telis Demos discuss the latest news on the L.A. fires and their impact on the insurance market. Then, they get into Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration and Wall Street’s reaction to the new administration. A who’s who of big tech like Tesla’s Elon Musk, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and even TikTok CEO Shou Chew will reportedly be in attendance. Gunjan and Telis also dig into bank earnings following surging profits for some of the largest bank
Jan 12, 2025 · 23 min
Will Dealmaking Boom Under Trump? Lazard CEO Peter Orszag Weighs In
On WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-hosts Gunjan Banerji and Telis Demos dive into what almost everyone on Wall Street is fixated on right now: rising bond yields. Then they explore what Disney’s potential merger with FuboTV means for streaming services and how sports and other live events are driving those deals. Telis also gears up for the Super Bowl. Well, his super bowl — bank earnings. JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and others report later this week. Later on, Peter Orszag, CEO of the ass
Jan 5, 2025 · 21 min
WSJ’s Take On the Year: Market Trends to Watch in 2025
AI was a big stock market theme in 2024. We’ve talked about it, and heard it many times. But it was far from the only thing that happened in stocks last year. We saw record-breaking growth from power companies like Vistra. Cult stocks like Palantir and MicroStrategy also had a moment. And of course, Nvidia, a company that needs no introduction, had a blockbuster year. But where there are winners, there are also losers. The announcement of Walgreens’ potential sale highlighted the challenges wit
Dec 22, 2024 · 19 min
Goldman Sachs Economist Jan Hatzius on His 2025 Economic Outlook
Jan Hatzius, chief economist and head of global investment research at Goldman Sachs, joins co-hosts Gunjan Banerji and Telis Demos for the show’s last episode of 2024. They talk about Jan’s 2025 economic outlook, the role tariffs could play in the second Trump Administration, and the Federal Reserve’s latest interest-rate decision. They even get into the holiday spirit and chat about gift-giving. A note to listeners: WSJ’s Take On the Week is going to take a break for the holidays and will re
Dec 15, 2024 · 27 min
Is the YOLO Trade Back? Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev Weighs In
Welcome to WSJ’s Take On the Week. Co-hosts Gunjan Banerji, lead writer for Live Markets, and Telis Demos, Heard on the Street’s banking and money columnist, cut through the noise and dive into markets, the economy and finance—the big trades, key players and business news ahead. Gunjan and Telis start off by discussing the upcoming Federal Reserve interest rate decision, and tackling what’s been going in the market for risky derivatives, where activity is on track to hit an all-time high this ye
Dec 8, 2024 · 21 min
Why Restaurants Are Making a Comeback, With Toast CEO Aman Narang
Welcome to WSJ’s Take On the Week. Co-hosts Gunjan Banerji, lead writer for Live Markets, and Telis Demos, Heard on the Street’s banking and money columnist, cut through the noise and dive into markets, the economy and finance—the big trades, key players and business news ahead. This week, Telis and Gunjan debrief on BlackRock’s $12 billion acquisition of private credit manager HPS. Then they tackle the “i word” – inflation – and the upcoming consumer-price index report. They also chat about bit
Dec 1, 2024 · 21 min
Coinbase’s Paul Grewal on the Future of Crypto Under Trump
Welcome to WSJ’s Take On the Week. Co-hosts Gunjan Banerji, lead writer for Live Markets, and Telis Demos, Heard on the Street’s banking and money columnist, cut through the noise and dive into markets, the economy and finance—the big trades, key players and business news ahead. This week, Telis and Gunjan skip debriefing about the headlines and jump straight into a special interview with Coinbase’s chief legal officer, Paul Grewal, to talk all things crypto, which has captivated both Main Stree
Nov 24, 2024 · 27 min
What Rockefeller Center’s Bond Deal Means for Commercial Real Estate
Welcome to WSJ’s Take On the Week. Co-hosts Gunjan Banerji, lead writer for Live Markets, and Telis Demos, Heard on the Street’s banking and money columnist, cut through the noise and dive into markets, the economy, and finance—the big trades, key players and business news ahead. This week, Telis and Gunjan debrief on how chip maker Nvidia crossed the $100 billion mark in its annual sales, as well as how consumer spending is faring in the wake of retail earnings, like Target’s. And we check in o
Nov 17, 2024 · 22 min
The AI Trade’s Next Phase Is Here. Are You Ready?
Welcome to WSJ’s Take On the Week. Co-hosts Gunjan Banerji, lead writer for Live Markets, and Telis Demos, Heard on the Street’s banking and money columnist, cut through the noise and dive into markets, the economy, and finance—the big trades, key players and business news ahead. This week, Telis and Gunjan dig into the latest on the Trump trade, the crypto rally and what upcoming retail earnings reports from Target and Walmart could signal about American consumers. Later, Dominic Rizzo, portfol
Nov 10, 2024 · 1 min
WSJ’s Take On the Week Is Back
WSJ's Take On the Week brings you the insights and analysis you need to get a leg up on the world of money and investing. Weekly, we cut through the noise and dive into markets, the economy and finance. Join The Wall Street Journal's Telis Demos and Gunjan Banerji in conversation with the people closest to the hot topics in markets to get incisive analysis on the big trades, key players in finance and business news ahead. The show returns November 17.
Apr 14, 2024 · 28 sec
A Message for Our Listeners
We’re going on hiatus. A message for our listeners from WSJ’s Take On the Week producer Jess Jupiter. For more coverage of the markets and your investments, head to WSJ.com.
Apr 7, 2024 · 20 min
Why Record Profits For Big Banks Could Be Good For Consumers
This week, we're expecting earnings reports from three of the biggest U.S. banks: JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo. Josh Brown and Michael Batnick from Ritholtz Wealth Management join us to discuss what these reports could tell us about the finances of consumers and businesses — how much we’re spending, how much we’re saving and whether we’ve been taking risks. Then, we're drilling into oil. A report from the International Energy Agency is expected Friday and will play a role in lettin
Mar 31, 2024 · 22 min
Is the AI Boom Real? And Will We See It in This Week’s Jobs Report?
The latest earnings season is coming to a close and we are looking forward to the next quarter to learn where profits are headed. What have investors learned about U.S. companies and the economy and which sectors should they be paying close attention to? Gabriela Santos, managing director and chief market strategist for the Americas on the Global Market Insights Strategy Team at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, joins the conversation to share her big takeaways from the latest earnings season. Then,
Mar 27, 2024 · 25 min
Affirm CEO Max Levchin on Credit Cards vs. ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’
Affirm CEO Max Levchin is one of the original co-founders of PayPal, and now he leads one of the biggest players in the buy now, pay later business. Levchin wants to build a company that changes how shoppers pay for big-ticket items and the way people take on debt. But critics argue the company is a danger to consumers because it allows them to make some purchases with no interest payments, thereby encouraging excessive spending. For this bonus episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, Levchin talks ab
Mar 24, 2024 · 20 min
Are Inflated Prices Due to Corporate Greed? This Report May Tell Us
This week, we’re taking a look at corporate greed. A recent survey from Navigator Research found that most Americans think greed is a “major cause” of inflation. But is that true? Deepak Puri, chief investment officer of Deutsche Bank Private Bank in the Americas, joins us to dig into this week’s Corporate Profits report from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis to get some answers. Then we’re turning to jobless claims. It’s been four years since the Covid-19 pandemic led to business shutdowns a
Mar 17, 2024 · 18 min
Tale of Two Feds: Will Interest Rates Drop and is FedEx a Tech Company?
This week, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is expected to release another interest rate decision. Will the Federal Reserve's statements move the markets and disrupt the bullish momentum in the stock market? Torsten Slok, partner and chief economist at Apollo Global Management, joins us to share what specific phrases from the FOMC may indicate when rate cuts will come and gives us a hot take of his own about what the Fed’s decision will be. Then, we're turning our attention to FedEx's ea
Mar 10, 2024 · 21 min
How Confident Are the CEOs of America’s Largest Companies?
Are U.S. CEOs feeling confident? The Business Roundtable CEO Economic Outlook Index measures the health of the U.S. economy from the perspective of U.S. chief executives. We discuss why this survey matters for investors and the markets with Joe Brusuelas, principal and chief economist for assurance and tax consulting firm RSM US. We continue the conversation on CEOs’ outlook with Everette Taylor, CEO of global crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. Taylor shares his view on CEO confidence and his ex
Mar 3, 2024 · 20 min
What This Week’s Jobs Reports Could Tell Us About the State of the Consumer
This week, we’re expecting the JOLTS and nonfarm payrolls reports. With inflation still holding above the Fed’s target and some weakness in the latest durable goods and retail sales reports, February’s nonfarm payrolls report will carry some extra weight. Charles Schwab’s chief investment strategist, Liz Ann Sonders and their chief fixed income strategist, Kathy Jones, join us for a discussion about how the market is anticipating these reports, especially the jobs report– which will be the week'
Feb 25, 2024 · 18 min
What Paramount’s Earnings Report Could Tell Us About the State of Streaming
This week, we’re looking ahead to Paramount Global’s earnings report. The company that includes TV, movies, and streaming, has been taking it on the chin from investors. Its stock has lost more than 50% of its value in the past year, so Wednesday’s report could be pivotal. Recently much of the talk about Paramount has been as an acquisition target — for media executive Byron Allen to Skydance Media CEO David Ellison. Michael Morris, senior managing director at Guggenheim Securities, joins us to
Feb 18, 2024 · 21 min
ARK Invest's Cathie Wood: AI Boom is Real, But Still Selling Nvidia
Chipmaker Nvidia is having a strong start to the year. The company is currently the best performing stock in the S&P 500 for 2024 and the third-largest company in the U.S., with a value of about $1.8 trillion. But how are investors feeling about Nvidia’s success? Ahead of the company’s earnings report later this week, we’re speaking with Cathie Wood, CEO and chief investment officer of ARK Invest, who recently went from a buyer to a seller of Nvidia stock. Cathie shares insight into that decisio

WSJ's Take On the Week

What Trump 2.0 Means for Banks, Crypto and More

Will Dealmaking Boom Under Trump? Lazard CEO Peter Orszag Weighs In

WSJ’s Take On the Year: Market Trends to Watch in 2025

Goldman Sachs Economist Jan Hatzius on His 2025 Economic Outlook

Is the YOLO Trade Back? Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev Weighs In

Why Restaurants Are Making a Comeback, With Toast CEO Aman Narang

Coinbase’s Paul Grewal on the Future of Crypto Under Trump

What Rockefeller Center’s Bond Deal Means for Commercial Real Estate

The AI Trade’s Next Phase Is Here. Are You Ready?

WSJ’s Take On the Week Is Back

A Message for Our Listeners

Why Record Profits For Big Banks Could Be Good For Consumers

Is the AI Boom Real? And Will We See It in This Week’s Jobs Report?

Affirm CEO Max Levchin on Credit Cards vs. ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’

Are Inflated Prices Due to Corporate Greed? This Report May Tell Us

Tale of Two Feds: Will Interest Rates Drop and is FedEx a Tech Company?

How Confident Are the CEOs of America’s Largest Companies?

What This Week’s Jobs Reports Could Tell Us About the State of the Consumer

What Paramount’s Earnings Report Could Tell Us About the State of Streaming

ARK Invest's Cathie Wood: AI Boom is Real, But Still Selling Nvidia