What's a College Degree Worth Anyway?
Trading Perspectives: An Economic Podcast
How much emphasis do employers put on an undergraduate degree and the institution that issued it? Has the sticker price of a college education changed the way students choose their schools and majors? How much emphasis do employers place on majors, GPAs and the prestige of applicants’ undergraduate schools? Is this the same for graduate schools as well? With advancements in AI potentially impacting entry-level work, what roles will recent graduates eventually fill? Are we overpaying for outdated career paths? What is the future of higher education...
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The Evolution of the American Dream
Trading Perspectives: An Economic Podcast
Homeownership, financial security and a better life for future generations have long defined the American Dream. But are those goals becoming harder to reach? What was the American Dream to previous generations? Were they able to achieve this? What is the American Dream for/to today’s younger generations? Are they able to achieve this? What are some of the major difference between previous definitions of the American Dream and today’s? What is keeping young people from achieving the American Dream? Is it imagined or reality? What, if anything,...
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The Normalization of Debt Isn't Normal
Trading Perspectives: An Economic Podcast
Debt has become so embedded and normalized, even encouraged, that people aren’t just taking loans for big things anymore. They are financing everything because they can. Having credit card balances while still spending normally has become the norm. In the age of influencers on social media, people feel pressure to own certain things, live a certain lifestyle. Are we using debt as an effective tool or has it become a parasitic dependency? When did debt become as commonplace as it is? Has it always been this way or was there a watershed event? Are this...
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The AI Gold Rush: How Data Centers Could Reshape the Economy
Trading Perspectives: An Economic Podcast
Investment in new technologies and the necessary infrastructure to support them is helping to fuel the economy. Is this a good or bad long-term development? Why are so many businesses building data centers? Why is electricity, not chips, becoming the biggest constraint? Who really wins economically: utilities, construction, industrials, regional economies, tech tycoons, or someone else? What is the environmental impact of data centers? In this week’s Trading Perspectives, Sam Clement and John Norris discuss the AI-driven data center boom, its impact on...
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Housing Affordability? Yeah, right.
Trading Perspectives: An Economic Podcast
The housing market has been relatively depressed. However, a new home seems to be out of the reach for many Americans. Higher interest rates have been an impediment to the housing market, as they make monthly mortgage payments that much more expensive. The inventory of lower-priced or entry level homes isn’t great enough for the demand, arguably keeping prices higher. The old real estate agents’ mantra holds true: “location, location, location.” Between economic conditions and local laws, the housing market can be very localized. What impact will reduced levels...
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Is the Iran Conflict Old News?
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 no longer scare investors? What is the biggest takeaway from the conflict for investors? In this week's Trading Perspectives, Sam Clement and John Norris discuss why investors have largely...
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Is the World Cup Really Good for the Economy?
Trading Perspectives: An Economic Podcast
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 estimate the tournament could generate billions in economic activity. How reliable are some of the more optimistic predictions? The World Cup might be great for host cities, but...
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Can You Spell AI Without B-U-B-B-L-E?
Trading Perspectives: An Economic Podcast
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? What will the eventual ‘endgame’ look like as it pertains to investing in AI? Are we in a bubble or not? Or is it not that easy? In this week's...
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Will Europe Ever Be Europe, Again?
Trading Perspectives: An Economic Podcast
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 differing opinion on what were once ‘shared values’ with the United States? A decline in overall military strength? Or some combination? In this week’s Trading Perspectives, Sam Clement and...
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What's So Great About the Jobs Market?
Trading Perspectives: An Economic Podcast
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 worst of the pandemic. But why? Has the economy cooled considerably? Is Artificial Intelligence to blame? Is corporate America hard-hearted? Or is something else to blame? In this week’s Trading...
info_outlineIn a recent conversation with a local federal reserve representative John made mention of how the pandemic has altered global supply chains. Many manufacturers have become all too reliant on China to be the supply house for the global economy. As we all know, putting all your eggs in one basket is generally not a good idea. Will businesses learn their lesson about becoming too dependent on one supplier?