Trading Perspectives: An Economic Podcast

In this episode John and Sam talk about the mass shootings in Texas and Ohio and the effect the tragic events will have on an already unsettled market.  Do major events effect the market? How have local and global markets responded in the past?  Lastly, how much pressure will the GOP have to implement meaningful gun reform?

For the first time in over a decade the Federal Open Market Committee, the monetary policy making arm of the Federal Reserve, cut the overnight lending target by 0.25% to an effective range of 2.00-2.25%. This week John and Sam breakdown the statement from the FOMC. Why now and is it even necessary? Should we expect to see another rate cut in the near future?

Last week, the European Central Bank decided to keep interest rates below zero and president Mario Draghi hinted at cutting the rate even more.  This week, John and Sam explain negative interest rates. How do they work and who would buy a security that is guaranteed to lose money?  How will it affect the U.S?

Last week, Netflix announced its most recent quarterly earnings and needless to say, the markets aren't happy. Earnings per share was down, user growth was less than expected and the number of US subscribers decreased by over 100,000 users.  In this week's episode of Trading Perspectives, John and Sam talk about how the nature of television is changing yet again.  With streaming so easily accessib...

This week, John and Sam talk about the recent rise in the price of Bitcoin.  Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are back in the spotlight since Facebook announced the launch of the Libra, it's own form of cryptocurrency.  Why are cryptocurrencies back on the rise after what happened in 2018?  Where is the value in Bitcoin coming from? Currently cryptocurrencies are seen as volatile replacement for...

Last week, President Trump named Judy Shelton, a long-time advocate of the gold standard, as his latest pick for a seat on the Federal Reserve Board.  The US abandoned the gold standard in 1971 under the Nixon administration and many feel bringing it back would be devastating to the US economy.  On the flip side, some believe it would make the US dollar less susceptible to inflation.  With the US...

Student loan forgiveness could very well become a major part of the democratic platform in 2020. This week, John and Sam explain the scope of the problem behind student loan debt and how it came about.  Before we make a decision to eliminate student loan debt, we need to understand where we started and who is at fault for the student loan debt crisis. How are student loans effecting college tuitio...

Episode 44 of Trading Perspectives features special guest Scott Reed, Senior Managing Director of Oakworth Capital Bank.  As Bernie Sanders and many left leaning politicians are making a push to break up big banks, John and Scott discuss how the role of banks has changed over recent decades.  How has technology impacted the way people bank?  Will the evolution of technology in the banking industry...

Amidst the rising tensions with Iran, John and Sam talk about US military involvement in episode 43 of Trading Perspectives.  Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo says Iran was behind last week's attack on oil tankers and the US is ready to take action if necessary.  What exactly does that look like in today's world? Is it fair to risk the lives of young men and women by sending them into armed conflic...

Last Wednesday, Bernie Sanders traveled to Walmart's annual shareholders meeting to demand that Walmart increase wages to $15/hr.  In episode 42, John and Sam talk about the effect that would have on employers in areas that are not as wealthy as San Francisco and New York.   If employee related costs went up, would employers hire less people? Would they be forced to raise prices on consumers?  Alt...

In episode 41 of Trading Perspectives John and Sam talk about Bernie Sanders and his campaign to decrease pharmaceutical prices.  Is it really that easy to slash prices like Sanders says?  What would the average American have to do to see a decrease in prices?  There are two options.  Decrease demand or increase supply. 

In episode 40 of Trading Perspectives John and Sam talk about the ballooning budget deficits and the ability to pay back the debt. With the United States still being the dominant economy, and its debt still desirable, the question remains how long can that last and should we be worried?

Ticket prices for the PGA Championship Tour were down this year and turn style attendance at baseball games is proving to be on a down hill trend.  Even college athletics, the MLB and the NFL are reporting fewer people in attendance. What impact will this have on local economies?  This week, John and Sam talk about how technology is effecting the world of sports and how salaries for professional a...

This week John and Sam talk about the sacrifices they are willing to make when it comes to climate change.  With meat free items emerging in the fast food industry, investors responded well to the IPO from Beyond Meat, the plant-based meat provider, earlier this month.  Setting stock price aside, would you be willing to trade that Big Mac for the meatless alternative to support climate change?  Wh...

In episode 37 of Trading Perspectives John and Sam talk about Lori Loughlin, Felicity Huffman, and the economics behind "Varsity Blues".  On April 4, 2019, Caitlin Flanagan wrote an article in The Atlantic titled "They Had It Coming". The article suggests that the parents involved in the scandal were responding to a changing America and upset that what they considered to be rightfully theirs was b...

In episode 36 of Trading Perspectives John and Sam discuss the generational differences in the perception of retirement.  Statistics show the average age of retirement has been consistently on the rise since the 1980s.  More and more people are continuing to work well into their late 60s and even 70s.  According to younger generations, people no longer want to be defined by their jobs. Work life b...

Episode 35 of Trading Perspectives features another special guest, Lincoln Lee Hammons from Mobile, Alabama. In addition to his role as Managing Director for Oakworth Capital Bank, Lee is a bourbon connoisseur.  In this week's episode, John and Sam get the 411 on all things bourbon.  How did it get to be so popular at business events? In the past we've seen huge spikes in popularity with wine and...

On Wednesday, April 10, 7 CEOs from big banks attended the House Financial Service Committee's hearing titled "Holding Megabanks Accountable: A Review of Global Systemically Important Banks 10 Years After the Financial Crisis." In addition to policy questions, many members of congress took the hearing as an opportunity to ask some hard-hitting questions about political topics such as gun control a...

In episode 33 of Trading Perspectives, John and Sam debate the future of college tuitions and the value of education.  Over the last few decades we have continued to watch college tuition sky rocket.  Now, specialized education is becoming more mainstream and countries like India and South Korea are sending fewer students to American colleges. Have tuition rates finally reached an inflection point...

Generally speaking, the women's US Soccer Team performs significantly better than the men's team. So why would the men continue to be compensated at much higher rate? In this episode John and Sam peel back the layers of the economic onion and dig into how compensation is calculated. Are women really compensated at a lower rate? If so, how will companies afford to close that gap in order to provide...

Episode 31 of Trading Perspectives, features another special guest, David McGrath.  Being part of a true Irish family primarily residing in Ireland, David provides his personal perspective on the effects of Brexit.  Currently David resides in Mobile, AL and is responsible for developing and managing wealth management relationships in South Alabama for Oakworth Capital Bank.

This week's episode of Trading Perspectives features special guest Dave Driscoll.  Dave is Oakworth Capital Bank's Chief Technology Officer and an expert on artificial intelligence.  We've all heard of Siri and Alexa, but AI is much larger than that.  So, what exactly is AI?  How long has it been around and what are the risks associated with it? 

In episode 29 of Trading Perspectives, John and Sam talk about Universal Basic Income.  Universal = everyone. Basic = base or floor amount. Income = money from the government. As the name implies, UBI is a predetermined amount of money the government gives to each individual regardless of their ability or even willingness to work.  Who wouldn't like that?

This week John and Sam focus on the book "Why Nations Fail" written by: Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson.  Originally published in 2012, the authors argue that the key differentiator between successful and unsuccessful countries is their inclusive institution, suggesting that countries fail when they become extractive and power becomes concentrated.

We all know that Oscar Mayer has a way with B-O-L-O-G-N-A, but what about healthier products?  Investors were thrown for a loop on Thursday as Kraft Heinz announced that they would be impairing $15B in good will on a number of brands, most notably Kraft and Oscar Mayer.  Now the company's strategy is in question and many are left wondering what will happen to the once thriving brands that used to...