Trading Perspectives: An Economic Podcast

Have investors moved on from the conflict in Iran? What would it take for it to matter again? Have markets already priced out the Iran risk? What has the market's reaction taught us about investor psychology? What would force investors to pay attention again? Are markets being complacent or correctly assessing the risks? Has the "buy the dip" mentality become so entrenched that geopolitical shocks...

The World Cup is a massive global undertaking every 4 years. Is it really worth it?    The World Cup will bring fans in from all over the globe. What do you think will impress them the most, both good and bad? The prices for World Cup tickets, especially for 'key games and/or games,' is objectively high. Is the most popular sport in the world available only to the rich?   Economic consultants esti...

There are some similarities to the 'dot.com' bubble of the late 1990s. However, there are some significant differences too.   U.S. businesses have spent a lot of money on AI, and will need to see some form of return on this investment. What and when will this be?   Is the sector expanding too much and too rapidly? How much longer can the economy continue to engender/foster/finance this growth?  Wh...

In economic and military terms, Europe, as a whole, has had a pretty tough go of it since the Financial Crisis of 2008. While still a major player in global affairs, the data suggests it might not carry the same weight it did previously. From essentially being equal partners with the U.S., in many ways, it now seems to have taken a lessor role. How did this happen? Was it economic? Demographic? A...

Since the Federal Reserve has a dual mandate of price stability and full employment, investors tend to focus on the inflation and jobs reports. Just how many jobs is the economy creating? What does that mean for future monetary policy and economic growth? How will that impact my investment portfolio? However, recently, the jobs data has not been quite as robust as it had been coming out of the wor...

The U.S. military recently arrested Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro on a slew of drug-related issues. However, was Washington's goal really Maduro? Or was it access to Venezuela's massive oil reserves? Also, what message does this recent action send to other international leaders? And, finally, what is the ultimate definition of success for the United States in this instance? In this week's T...

This week, a major American automaker announced a significant write-down on its investments in electric vehicles (EVs). Does this mean the company overinvested or simply invested too early? Are American consumers fundamentally resistant to EVs? Or have various governments pushed EVs faster than the sector, market and infrastructure can truly support? In this week's Trading Perspectives, Sam Clemen...

It seems an increasing number of Americans are finding it harder to see "the light at the end of their financial tunnel." Everything costs more, and the necessities of life have increased in number. It seems the cost of living is rising faster than the cost of living it up. Everything from housing to childcare to the electric bill is taking a bigger chunk out of the household budget. This begs the...

Few would debate the potential that AI has to upset the labor markets. However, people seem to have different ideas about which jobs AI will eliminate first, and which jobs are safe for now. So, which are truly at risk — and which aren't?  Further, what can workers do to protect themselves from AI-related job cuts? In this episode of Trading Perspectives, Sam Clement and John Norris discuss the im...

Recent polls suggest younger Americans are less inclined to believe in the so-called American Dream and the benefits of capitalism. But why? Especially when so many non-Americans still do? Could it be social media has skewed what the American Dream really is? Or is there truly a generational difference in the appeal of economic systems like socialism, communism and capitalism? Finally, what is the...

A lot of folks seem to believe that the recent tariffs will drive a lot of manufacturing jobs back to the United States. However, the decline of the traditional "blue-collar workforce" in the United States has been decades in the making. Will the imposition of a new tax be the magic bullet to reverse this trend? Does the U.S. even want many of these manufacturing jobs back? Further, why do politic...

It is no secret technology stocks have been a driving force in domestic stocks. However, their continued rally has led to the overall sector becoming a huge chunk of the market, and therefore the market's return. How has the happened? Is the concentration to tech stocks truly indicative of the overall diversification of the US economy? Has this sort of lack of diversification ever happened previou...

With the government currently shutdown, investors are struggling to determine the true health of the U.S. economy. Key among the concerns is the strength of the U.S. consumer. As the old saying goes: "how goes the U.S. consumer is how goes the U. S. economy." So, have tariffs impacted the price of goods or consumer behavior? What is the U.S. consumer buying? If the focus on 'need to have' goods an...

This week, the Federal government officially ceased all "non-essential" activities. Unfortunately, this was widely anticipated due to differences of opinion in healthcare spending on Capitol Hill. However, what it all means for the average American isn't completely clear. People want to know: What is a government shutdown and what is it not? What or how have we gotten to this point? What is the pr...

On September 17 th , 2025, the Federal Reserve cut the target overnight lending rate between member banks. This was as expected. However, it seems not everyone is completely clear on what it means. So…. What is a Fed rate cut and what is it not? What had the investment markets been waiting for the Fed to cut? What might this mean for mortgage rates? Or for consumer debt? Finally, how will this imp...

What does it mean when the Fed meets and doesn't do anything? When the Bureau of Economic Analysis says the economy grew 3.0% when it really didn't? When the Bureau of Labor Statistics announces the labor markets are stronger than anyone believes they really are? When all official measures of inflation don't seem to reflect the consumer's reality? Essentially, what is the truth behind the headline...

This week, Democratic voters in New York elected Zohran Mamdani to be their candidate for the mayoral election in November. Perhaps not surprisingly, the 33-year old's popularity with the younger generations helped to catapult to victory. However, his political platform and campaign processes are giving the traditional elites the fits. Rent freezes? Free public transportation. Free childcare? Gove...

This week, the Federal Open Market Committee met, and didn't cut the overnight rate. This even though its economic projections were far from robust. Somewhat frustratingly, the Fed reported it thinks the long-term growth rate for the US economy is around 1.8%. This is well less than the historical average, and would cause our deficit to balloon even more than forecast. Further, the President's tar...

Legend has it the Roman Emperor Nero played his fiddle while Rome burned down around him. These days, domestic investors keep throwing money into the financial markets despite troubling headlines both here and abroad. But why is the American investing public apparently ignoring the world around it? Is it a change in risk tolerance? Easier access to retail investment products? Recent past performan...

The Administration's One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) has had caused a lot of wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth. How are we going to pay for all of these tax cuts? Where have the tax credits gone? What do you mean the states can't regulate Artificial Intelligence? However, the hullabaloo misses the point: without a meaningful pickup in economic activity and reduction in Federal expenditures, th...

This week, the Court of International Trade sort of put the kibosh on the Administration's blanket, reciprocal tariffs. Also, Elon Musk made his exit from the apparently ineffectual DOGE, but not before taking a few passing shots. Also, while the House passed the President's "big beautiful bill," a lot of people are wondering how Washington can possibly pay for it. All told, from the outside looki...

This week, the stock markets rallied sharply on news the Administration was going to cut the tariff rate with China from 145% to 30%. However, should investors be enthused with constantly shifting economic policies? Particularly those like tariffs, which add costs to both the importer and the consumer? Further, with the economy already cooling slightly, is now the right time to play hard ball with...

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) recently announced the U.S. economy shrank during the 1 st quarter of 2025. Obviously, that is not good news. However, is it the bad news the headline would imply? Are we standing at the edge of the economic cliff? Or will the UJS economy be able to take a step back of the abyss? In this week's Trading Perspectives, Sam Clement and John Norris discuss the rece...

After a few days of positive returns, it seems the market panic has subsided. So, is now a good buying opportunity? Is it safe to get back into the investing waters? Or would it be prudent to wait a while? After all, the threat of tariffs are still very real and very possible. The economy appears a little weaker than it was in 2024, consumer confidence has collapsed and corporate America doesn't h...

One of the Administration's primary goals with the tariff wars seems to be onshoring production jobs. Intuitively, that makes sense. More jobs are almost always better than fewer. However, are these the types of jobs the American economy actually needs and the American workers actually wants? Further, what is the likelihood companies make drastic shifts in their production facilities, understandin...