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

Feb 15, 2024 · 24 min
BlackRock’s Rick Rieder on Bitcoin, the Fed and His Big Worry in 2024
BlackRock’s Rick Rieder leads the $10 trillion asset manager’s global asset allocation team and he’s excited about a return to normalcy in 2024. He’s expecting strong economic growth and he’s hoping the Fed will speed up its interest rate cuts this year. Plus, he explains why he likes bitcoin and what his big worry is right now.
Feb 11, 2024 · 21 min
Will DoorDash Deliver the Economy a Romantic Dinner this Valentine’s?
Why will DoorDash’s earnings report deliver a better check-up for the U.S. economy than Marriott, Coca-Cola and Kraft-Heinz this week? Because the affordable luxury of food delivery is a great barometer for how much Americans are still willing to spend. Jason Helfstein, Oppenheimer and Company’s managing director and head of Internet research, tells us why he’s giving the stock a buy rating and how he thinks the latest changes to minimum wage laws will affect stockholders. And it’s still all ab
Feb 4, 2024 · 19 min
What Shifting Consumer Habits Mean For CVS, Pepsi, and Beyond
This week, multinational food, snack, and beverage company, PepsiCo is set to release their fourth quarter financial results. The soda maker has made headlines recently after their products were removed from European supermarket chain, Carrefour. The split follows a recent announcement by PepsiCo's chief financial officer, Hugh Johnston, that the company is expecting to slow price hikes this year. Jeremy Goldberg, portfolio manager at Professional Advisory Services, joins us to share what these
Jan 28, 2024 · 18 min
What This Week’s Fed Rate Decision and Tax Season Means for Investors
This week, the Federal Reserve's rate-setting committee is expected to release a decision on interest rates. When will the central bank finally begin lowering rates? Former St. Louis Fed President James Bullard joins us to share his thoughts on the decision and what he thinks the Fed needs to prioritize next. Plus, ready or not, tax season is here. Tax filing season starts January 29 and we want to understand what this means for you and your investments. WSJ reporter, Laura Saunders, joins us to
Jan 24, 2024 · 21 min
How The White House is Prioritizing Economic Policies for 2024
As we look ahead to what this year will hold for the markets, one question looming is the results of November's presidential election. While nothing is certain, it’s very likely that President Biden will be the Democratic nominee for president. So what can investors and everyday Americans who are thinking about their bank accounts, jobs and families expect from the rest of 2024 and the next four years if Biden is re-elected? To find out, we’re talking to Jared Bernstein, chair of the Council of
Jan 21, 2024 · 18 min
Are Things Getting Better For Businesses? NABE's Outlook for 2024
What are business owners' biggest worries and how are they feeling about the economy? This week, the National Association for Business Economics, or NABE, is expected to release its first survey of the year. We spoke with Constance Hunter – a senior adviser at MacroPolicy Perspectives and a past president of NABE – about how investors should be thinking about this data and what it could mean for the economy and financial markets in 2024. And, in our roundtable with WSJ reporters Sharon Terlep a
Jan 14, 2024 · 18 min
Will Home Prices Drop in 2024? What Zillow’s Co-Founder Sees Ahead
Zillow co-founder Spencer Rascoff joins us this week to talk about housing and the state of tech and investing in private markets. Although mortgage rates have fallen from their peak in 2023, there may not be enough inventory to bring in potential homebuyers. Rascoff tells us about what he sees as potential obstacles and successes for the housing market. And, as an entrepreneur and a venture capital investor who has co-founded some of the most well-known companies in the U.S., including Hotwire.
Jan 7, 2024 · 18 min
What the New Year Holds for Small Businesses and Big Banks
Investors are bullish on big companies, but what about the small ones that drive almost half of U.S. economic activity? Arlan Hamilton leads a venture capital firm that invests in these small firms and has a front-row seat. Her fund, Backstage Capital, has invested in hundreds of small companies that are hoping to become large ones and she’ll tell us what she sees happening right now and what’s on the horizon. Plus, is banking back? Bank stocks soared at the end of 2023, with a couple even outpe
Dec 31, 2023 · 18 min
Take On the Year: What to Expect in Markets and Money in 2024
The new year is upon us, and this week we’re telling you what you need to know to make sense of the markets as we head into 2024. It’s our final episode of 2023, and what a year it was: a long-forecast recession never materialized, the U.S. economy saw solid growth, and the stock market delivered spectacular returns – all while rising interest rates put the squeeze on borrowers and the housing market. So what should we expect for 2024? David Kelly, chief global strategist and head of the Global
Dec 20, 2023 · 25 min
Interest-Rate Cuts Coming? Chicago Fed’s Austan Goolsbee Has Thoughts
The financial markets seem convinced that interest rates are poised to come down next year. But officials at the Federal Reserve aren’t committing to rate cuts yet. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee, who was on the Fed’s rate-setting committee this year, joins WSJ’s Take On the Week to discuss why “all things are on the table” when it comes to interest rates, including potential rate hikes, and why he thinks there is still a risk of recession. Plus: what’s keeping him up at night, and why he
Dec 17, 2023 · 18 min
Still Have Inflation Concerns? Spending Data May Offer Insight
This week, we’re getting data from the Federal Reserve's favored measure of inflation, the personal consumption expenditures report, or PCE. While surprisingly strong consumer spending has helped boost the economy this past year, several reports show that consumers’ spending may be getting maxed out by high grocery prices and rising costs for medical care and transportation. Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, joins to share what rising jobless claims and strong consumer spending means for
Dec 10, 2023 · 18 min
How The Fed Is Moving the Markets Beyond Interest Rate Hikes
This week, we’re getting the fourth-quarter earnings from Photoshop creator, Adobe. The company’s announcement in October of new AI tools and services led to a five-percent jump in its stock, solidifying the investor excitement still surrounding AI technology. Dan Gallagher, a technology columnist for WSJ’s Heard on the Street, joins to explain how these new services will affect Adobe’s business and what investors should be looking for in its latest earnings report. Then, we’re turning our atten
Dec 3, 2023 · 22 min
What the Jobs Report and Consumer Spending Tell Us About the Economy
This week, we’re turning our attention to the jobs report. The Labor Department is expected to release their monthly jobs report this Friday. The report is arriving at a crucial time as recession concerns still loom for many investors and consumers. According to last month’s consumer confidence index, released by The Conference Board, a business research organization that oversees the monthly confidence survey, around two-thirds of consumers said a recession was “somewhat” or “very likely” in th
Nov 26, 2023 · 15 min
What Third-Quarter Earnings Tell Us About What’s Next for Markets
About 95% of companies in the S&P 500 have reported third-quarter earnings. So this week, we’re having a roundtable conversation to discuss what we learned from the latest quarter and what the earnings reports tell us about where the market is and where it’s heading. WSJ’s Heard on the Street editor Spencer Jakab and reporter Justin Lahart join us to explore those ideas and more. Then, we’re turning our attention to Dubai where the 28th annual United Nations Conference of the Parties, or COP 28,
Nov 19, 2023 · 18 min
Why Consumers Are Buying Flights Instead of Gifts This Holiday Season
This week is Black Friday, which means it’s the unofficial kickoff of the holiday shopping season. The big question many economists want to know is will consumer spending be strong? WSJ retail reporter Sarah Nassauer joins us as we look ahead to earnings reports this week from retailers, like Best Buy and Dick’s Sporting Goods, to find out if the holiday spirit is enough to boost sales. Then, we’re turning our attention to artificial intelligence. Nvidia, the technology company known for designi
Nov 12, 2023 · 15 min
Taking the Measure of Consumer Spending at Home Depot
This week, we're grabbing our toolboxes and heading to Home Depot. The home improvement retailer is expected to report earnings on Tuesday. Jinjoo Lee, who covers big retailers for The Wall Street Journal’s Heard on the Street column, joins guest host Telis Demos to talk about how the housing market, consumer spending and supply chains all play an integral role in Home Depot’s success. We’re also turning our attention to two upcoming reports on inflation to take a deeper look at what they mean f
Nov 8, 2023 · 22 min
Why Mohamed El-Erian Is Worried About a 2024 Recession
Mohamed El-Erian is one of the world’s most respected economists and he has growing concerns about a recession in 2024. El-Erian previously served as the chief executive and chief investment officer at financial services company Pimco, and now is the chief economic advisor at Pimco’s parent company, Allianz, one of the world’s largest insurance and financial services firms. He is also the president of Queens’ College at the University of Cambridge. In this special episode of WSJ's Take On the We
Nov 5, 2023 · 17 min
Snap, Crackle, Drop. What Kellogg's Split Says About the Snack Business.
This week, we’re turning our attention to breakfast cereals and snacks. Kellogg, the company responsible for cereals like Frosted Flakes and snacks like Pringles, in early October split into two companies: WK Kellogg and Kellanova. WK Kellogg maintained the company’s cereal products, while Kellanova kept snacks. Snacks have been big business for companies, but with changes to eating habits brought on by obesity drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro, these companies may face some struggles ahead. WK Ke
Oct 29, 2023 · 19 min
Looking Ahead to This Week’s Fed Meeting and the Future of Crypto
This week, we’re opening up our digital wallets and examining the current state of crypto. Wall Street hasn’t been talking much about crypto this year, and that silence has been golden for digital assets. The price of bitcoin has jumped by more than 100% year to date. Cryptocurrency exchange platform, Coinbase, is expected to report earnings this week so we’re chatting with Jeff Dorman, the chief investment officer of Arca, a crypto-focused asset manager, to find out why he thinks crypto will st
Oct 22, 2023 · 20 min
From Recession Fears to Too Good? What This Week’s GDP Data Will Tell Us
This week, we're looking ahead to the GDP data for the third quarter of 2023 to find out how much the American economy grew from July to September. Thanks to higher than expected numbers from the latest retail sales and jobs reports, economists have lowered the probability of a recession occurring next year to below 50 percent, the lowest it's been since summer 2022. With recession worries now taking a back seat, attention has shifted to the economy’s surprising growth and why it just might be t

WSJ's Take On the Week

BlackRock’s Rick Rieder on Bitcoin, the Fed and His Big Worry in 2024

Will DoorDash Deliver the Economy a Romantic Dinner this Valentine’s?

What Shifting Consumer Habits Mean For CVS, Pepsi, and Beyond

What This Week’s Fed Rate Decision and Tax Season Means for Investors

How The White House is Prioritizing Economic Policies for 2024

Are Things Getting Better For Businesses? NABE's Outlook for 2024

Will Home Prices Drop in 2024? What Zillow’s Co-Founder Sees Ahead

What the New Year Holds for Small Businesses and Big Banks

Take On the Year: What to Expect in Markets and Money in 2024

Interest-Rate Cuts Coming? Chicago Fed’s Austan Goolsbee Has Thoughts

Still Have Inflation Concerns? Spending Data May Offer Insight

How The Fed Is Moving the Markets Beyond Interest Rate Hikes

What the Jobs Report and Consumer Spending Tell Us About the Economy

What Third-Quarter Earnings Tell Us About What’s Next for Markets

Why Consumers Are Buying Flights Instead of Gifts This Holiday Season

Taking the Measure of Consumer Spending at Home Depot

Why Mohamed El-Erian Is Worried About a 2024 Recession

Snap, Crackle, Drop. What Kellogg's Split Says About the Snack Business.

Looking Ahead to This Week’s Fed Meeting and the Future of Crypto

From Recession Fears to Too Good? What This Week’s GDP Data Will Tell Us