Moody's Talks - Inside Economics

The economy is performing about as well as could be expected. Growth is resilient, inflation is moderating, and unemployment is low and stable. It appears increasingly likely the economy will avoid a recession. But having said this, the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes are weighing heavily on the financial system and economy. To avoid a recession, nothing else can go wrong. In this podcast,...

Despite the light week of economic data, there was lots going in in the economy to discuss for the Inside Economics team, including the runup in 10-year Treasury yields and fixed mortgage rates. Noted investment banker Chris Whalen then joins the conversation to talk about the banking system, its’ under significant pressure, the independent mortgage banks, a shakeout is underway, and the Fed and o...

The Inside Economics team dissects the July report on consumer price inflation and concludes that inflation is on track to be back to the Fed’s inflation target by this time next year. Well, OK, Cris thought more likely the end of next year. The discussion then turned to modest fallout from the banking crisis earlier this year (at least so far) and Fed policy with University of Maryland economics...

It’s jobs Friday, and Mark, Cris and Dante discuss the near perfect (Dante’s description) July employment report. Job growth remains strong, but it is moderating, and should help convince the Federal Reserve that its interest rates hikes are over.  The group identified a few nits in the numbers, but the report was so good Cris lowered his odds the economy will suffer a recession in the coming year...

Mark, Cris and Marisa (yes, she is back) welcome Matt Robison of the Beyond Politics podcast to talk policy and politics. The discussion ranges from the risk of a government shutdown and Bidenomics to a consideration of whether the nation’s politics are as fractured as they seem and who is going to be the next President.  It goes without saying there was also a fulsome conversation about this past...

Mark and Cris take stock of the economy’s performance so far this year, and consider what surprised them (think the job market), what they got right (think weaker house prices), and what they got wrong (think the banking crisis). They also look forward and discuss what people are overly considered about, and what they should be more worried about.  Where’s Marisa? For the full transcript, click he...

The stellar June CPI inflation report is top of mind for Mark, Cris and Bernard.  The report arguably couldn’t have been better, as the conversation makes clear.  The podcast then turns to a discussion of whether the worst is over for the troubled single family housing market with Lance Lambert, the real estate editor for Fortune. No one has a better pulse of the market than Lance. For more on Lan...

Mark, Cris & Marisa are joined by Jobs Day regular Dante DeAntonio to discuss the June employment report. Job growth is slowing to script but wage growth is still stubbornly high. The group discusses full employment, the probabilities of recession in the next year and what this all means for the Fed’s upcoming meetings. For the full transcript, click here Follow Mark Zandi @MarkZandi, Cris deRitis...

Stephen Roach, Senior Fellow at the China Center of Yale Law School, discusses China’s near and longer-term economic prospects with Mark, Cris and Marisa. Steve explains why he has evolved from a bull to a bear on China’s economy, why the critical relationship between China and the U.S. has gone sideways, and how to get the relationship moving in a positive direction. For more on Stephen Roach, cl...

Mark, Cris and Marisa weigh whether or not to change the forecast for the Fed funds rate and dig deep to play the statistics game. Later they are joined by Professor Glenn Mueller of the University of Denver to talk all things commercial real estate. Professor Mueller ranks the segments of the CRE market from worst to best performing and explains why the legalization of marijuana has disrupted the...

The Inside Economics team takes shelter from a tornado (true story), and Mark Calabria, senior advisor to the Cato Institute and former director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, describes the FHFA’s efforts to provide shelter to the housing and mortgage finance markets during the pandemic. His new book “Shelter from the Storm,” is a fascinating telling of that difficult period. For more on M...

Amid mounting geopolitical tensions over the independence of Taiwan, Mark and team consider various scenarios regarding how this is ultimately resolved. China appears to be taking a long-term perspective in its goal to unify Taiwan with the mainland, and thus the most likely scenario assumes the current uncomfortable, but peaceful status quo.  But much darker scenarios can’t be ruled out. For the...

The group dives deep into the jobs report for May. They dissect the cross-currents in the numbers, and consider what the report means for financial markets, monetary policy and the macroeconomy. The economic fallout of the legislative deal to end the debt limit drama, including the end of the student loan payment moratorium, are also part of the discussion. And of course there is the statistics ga...

Ben Harris, former Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the US Treasury, summarizes the latest proposal for raising the debt ceiling. An acceptable deal seems to be within reach but remains politically uncertain even as the x-date draws near.  What are the alternatives if no deal is reached?  And what could be the consequences for bondholders, Social Security recipients, and other stakeholde...

Richard Branch, Chief Economist for Dodge Data & Analytics, joins the podcast to share his insights on all things construction. Construction is the most interest rate sensitive sector of the economy, yet despite the near unprecedented tightening in monetary policy, it is holding its’ own.  What gives?  The group also digs deep into the different parts of the construction sector, from the strugglin...

Mark and team do a deep dive into the inflation numbers and consider prospects that inflation will continue to moderate. After the statistics game, they turn to their latest research considering the economic fallout of what could happen if lawmakers fail to increase the debt limit in time. It isn’t pretty. For more on the debt limit breach scenarios, click here . For the full transcript, click her...

Another jobs Friday, another strong jobs report. Dante DeAntonio joins the crew to break down the employment numbers and what they mean for the near-term outlook. The team also discusses the recent banking crisis, the looming debt limit x-date, and the most likely outcomes for both. And is someone using ChatGPT to cheat at the statistics game? For the full transcript, click here Follow Mark Zandi...

Falling house prices and recent housing policy actions taken by the FHA and FHFA to address housing affordability are top of mind this week. Edward Pinto, Senior Fellow and the Director of the AEI Housing Center at the American Enterprise Institute joins to discuss. The team also provides their thoughts on weaker-than-expected GDP data. Is the weak GDP # good or bad for the economy? Marisa dominat...

John Toohig, head of Whole Loan Trading at Raymond James, joins Mark, Cris and Marisa to discuss the fallout of the banking crisis on lending standards, credit growth and the economy. The fallout so far seems manageable, but... For more on John Toohig, click here or follow him on LinkedIn or Twitter .   If you would like to learn more about upcoming Moody’s Analytics & Raymond James in Conversatio...

Jonathan Smoke, chief economist of Cox Automotive and colleague Mike Brisson join Mark and Cris to discuss what’s going on in the vehicle market. After a rundown on this week’s inflation stats we discuss prospects for vehicle prices, sales, production, and the implications of tighter underwriting and weaker credit quality in the auto loan market. We also take up the tough new emission standards an...

Heather Boushey, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisors, joins the podcast. She gives us a rundown on the economy, including her thoughts on the job market and inflation, and the hard work of incorporating climate risk into the outlook for the economy and federal budget. For more information on Heather Boushey’s work with the Council of Economic Advisers click here or follow her...

Inside Economics regular Dante DeAntonio joins us for the March release of the US employment report. Down the strike zone.  In the middle of the uprights. Down the fairway. Sticking to script.  All apt descriptions of the job market in the month of March. But this is all before the fallout of the banking crisis has become evident. Follow Mark Zandi @MarkZandi, Cris deRitis @MiddleWayEcon, and Mari...

Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani, chief investment officer for Wealth Management at Goldman Sachs, join Mark, Cris and Marisa to cut through the uncertainty over the banking crisis and China’s prospects. The worst of the banking crisis appears to be over, but China’s economic problems are only beginning. For more about Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani click here For more on Goldman Sachs Investment Strategy Group...

Diane Swonk, chief economist of KPMG returns to discuss fragilities in the financial system and the impact on credit availability and the economy. She shares her view that a meaningful recession is dead ahead. We also discuss the Fed’s meeting earlier this week and their decision to not pause rates given the banking system turmoil. For more on Diane Swonk, click here Follow Mark Zandi @MarkZandi,...

Mark and Marisa welcome third time returning guest Aaron Klein, Senior Fellow of Economic Studies at the Brookings Institute to discuss the recent bank failures. They converse and debate about how things went so badly off the rails, the government’s response and what could have been done differently, and the implications for the Fed’s interest rate decision next week. For more on Aaron Klein, clic...