Global Macro Update

What’s really driving US and world events? What are the real motives for Putin’s and Xi Jinping’s actions? How will the latest crisis affect your personal life and investments? Global Macro Update with Mauldin Economics Publisher Ed D’Agostino is a deep dive into current macroeconomic world affairs—from black-swan events to the chess moves of global leaders and market makers. Every week, Ed interviews top experts in geopolitics, economics, finance, and industry to deliver their inside scoops straight to your doorstep.

Could Another Tariff Meltdown Lie Ahead? 07/25/2025

Could Another Tariff Meltdown Lie Ahead? “Anytime Trump says something, it is harmful to my positions.” For commodities trader Jared Dillian, the spring tariff meltdown broke the market for good. And we may be due for a second tariff-driven sell-off this fall. /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/37546240

A Regime Change for Global Trade 04/25/2025

A Regime Change for Global Trade The simultaneous sell-off of stocks, bonds, and US dollar is a big deal. Brent Donnelly from Spectra Markets explains how broken trust has left permanent scars on US trade policy: “Once an action has been taken, you can remove the action, but then there's still going to be some damage.” /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/36300845

Will the trade war become a currency crisis? 04/18/2025

Will the trade war become a currency crisis? All trade wars have a currency effect, but what happens when nations drive down their currencies to counter US tariffs? John Mauldin explains why he doesn’t believe China is using US treasuries as a weapon—and where the trade war will hurt most. /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/36212635

Too Late for Portfolio Insurance? 04/11/2025

Too Late for Portfolio Insurance? There’s no substitute for experience. That was evident this week in the markets. While most people were confused or frozen, at least one investor (our old friend Jared) was making money after spending the past few months positioning himself for a week like this one. Part of his strategy involves using options, but not for speculation… /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/36087495

Private Equity: Too Big to Fail? 04/04/2025

Private Equity: Too Big to Fail? Private equity is buying up America—everything from nursing homes to the local plumbing business. Some are calling it a bubble, with the value of global private equity deals reaching $2 trillion in 2024. Brendan Ballou, author of the new book Plunder, says the real trouble with PE comes from weak regulations that incentivize bad decisions. /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/36004635

Ukraine’s Playbook for Defeating Russia 03/28/2025

Ukraine’s Playbook for Defeating Russia Modern history is rife with examples of wars that grind on needlessly, only to end with no clear winner. There is a risk this will happen with Ukraine, though President Trump is eager to force a settlement. BCA Research Chief Strategist Marko Papic joins us to unpack what happens next. /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/35890825

Inflation Is Over 03/14/2025

Inflation Is Over Inflation is dropping quickly, but you wouldn’t know it from the headlines. Danielle DiMartino Booth explains why, highlighting layoffs and other underreported recession signals. As she’s said before, “There is no greater drag on inflation than job loss.” /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/35676195

More Geopolitical Chess with George Friedman 03/12/2025

More Geopolitical Chess with George Friedman George is back! Over half a million people caught my last interview with George shortly after the US and Russia began settlement discussions about Ukraine. Today he responds to the animated comments that followed, explaining why Russia cannot wage war in Europe, NATO's diminishing relevance, and how the flurry of activity at the White House compares to Roosevelt's first hundred days in office. /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/35653795

Deflationary Tariffs? 03/07/2025

Deflationary Tariffs? Former Wall Street trader Jared Dillian is here to talk deflationary tariffs, troubling signs from the housing market, the rising risk of a recession, and why he’s “super bullish on bonds.” /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/35564625

It’s Bird Flu Season 02/28/2025

It’s Bird Flu Season In the US, 10% of commercial egg-laying hens have died from the bird flu in the last eight weeks. Egg prices are set to soar another 41% this year. Are we in for another pandemic? Cumberland Advisors co-founder David Kotok discusses the economic domino effects of pandemics across history. /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/35480665

Ending a Catastrophe for Ukraine and Russia 02/21/2025

Ending a Catastrophe for Ukraine and Russia If you feel like the world order is being rearranged, you’re right. George Friedman explains the geopolitical machinations behind Ukraine settlement talks and President Trump’s plan to “redesign the world.” /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/35379415

The Years of Plenty 02/13/2025

The Years of Plenty My friend Jacob Shapiro is back, and he sees ample opportunities for investors who can tune out white-noise media. “For the next five, 10 years, these are the years of plenty.” We also cover economic resiliency, US energy security, and the ripple effects of tariffs on US-China relations. /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/35275300

The China Problem 02/07/2025

The China Problem The US has a China problem. Our biggest geopolitical rival has a massive trade surplus, and it’s working to usurp America’s position as the global hegemon. What effect will the new Trump tariffs have on this ongoing rivalry? As our guest today, China specialist Lyric Hughes Hale says, “Communism always ends in tears.” /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/35190420

The Opium War in Reverse 01/31/2025

The Opium War in Reverse China has weaponized fentanyl against the US. Today we’re speaking with Canadian journalist Sam Cooper about how China and Canada drive the opioid trade, money laundering in Vancouver, Mexican cartels, and corruption at the highest levels of government. They’re all in on it… /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/35087555

The Global Race for the Arctic 12/23/2024

The Global Race for the Arctic US-Canada relations are strained. Many believe Canada isn’t doing enough to choke off illegal immigration or to protect North America’s security interests in the Artic, which Russia and China aim to dominate. We’re covering this and more with Canadian journalist Jonathan Roth. /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/34592395

Is the Big Market Shift of 2025 Already Here? 12/20/2024

Is the Big Market Shift of 2025 Already Here? The stock market dipped 3% on Wednesday, and I know many investors are getting nervous. Hearing from a technical analyst like Katie Stockton, founder of Fairlead Strategies, is particularly important now, when the leading macro analysts all seem to have wildly different outlooks. Note: We recorded this interview on Dec. 12. /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/34549875

Felix Zulauf: Where to Invest in 2025 12/17/2024

Felix Zulauf: Where to Invest in 2025 Felix Zulauf says “We're moving away from the world we come from.” He’s back again to discuss the Trump tariffs, deglobalization, and the slide toward “state capitalism.” Listen in to learn where to invest in 2025 to benefit from the changing world order. /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/34476740

Jared Dillian’s State of the Union 11/21/2024

Jared Dillian’s State of the Union My friend Jared Dillian is back to discuss everything from Indian stocks, Milei’s Argentina, and burning cars in France, to Social Security and how to make money in 2025. /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/34097751

US-China Trade War—Round 2 11/15/2024

US-China Trade War—Round 2 China Beige Book’s Shehzad Qazi pegs the probability of a US-China trade war in 2025 at 100%. Is India the next China? What does slower growth in China mean for the global economy? Get Shehzad’s take in our interview. /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/33944022

Election 2024: How Russia et al. Warp Your Vote 11/01/2024

Election 2024: How Russia et al. Warp Your Vote When it comes to cybersecurity, intelligence expert Karim Hijazi says the election is not “under control.” Russia, China, Iran—plus “hackers for hire”—are busy meddling. Their goal isn’t necessarily to tilt the scales in favor of one candidate or party, but to weaken the US as a whole. /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/33709917

The End of Old Age (and Social Security) 10/25/2024

The End of Old Age (and Social Security) Join Ed and macroeconomist Patrick Cox as they discuss demographic reversal, the collapse of Social Security, and rapid advances in longevity medicine, including compelling age-reversal research coming out of Johns Hopkins and MD Anderson. /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/33612397

Hard Times 10/04/2024

Hard Times Dr. Lacy Hunt says the US economy is in a “very precarious situation” and that it’s a mistake to pretend people are doing well when a closer look at the economic data shows they are hurting. He walks us through that data, making it easy to digest for the layman. /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/33328317

Real Solutions to Runaway Energy Demand 09/27/2024

Real Solutions to Runaway Energy Demand Manufacturing is returning to North America, thanks to automation, a greater focus on resiliency, and rising labor costs in China. This is a good thing, but it will require massive amounts of energy. Where will it come from? Mark Mills has some answers. /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/33224592

A Natural Mayhem Hedge 09/20/2024

A Natural Mayhem Hedge Will oil prices recover anytime soon? And what role should oil and gas stocks play in your portfolio? Get some answers from Piper Sandler global energy economist Jan Stuart, along with his thoughts on nuclear energy and China’s “giant Achilles heel.” /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/33129422

The Next Oil Boom 09/13/2024

The Next Oil Boom The narrative around oil is that a global supply glut and weak demand from China will continue to keep oil prices down. Bison Interests founder Josh Young tells a different story, filled with OPEC cheaters, nationalization undertones, and a much smaller global oil supply than people think. /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/33028087

Is China More Capitalistic Than the US? 08/30/2024

Is China More Capitalistic Than the US? Building resiliency, in part by decoupling the US economy from China’s, is essential to our long-term security. China is doing the same thing. Yet China’s export business is booming, and it dominates trade with other emerging markets. Is a communist nation beating us at capitalism? /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/32803687

When the $8 Trillion Private Equity Bubble Pops 08/23/2024

When the $8 Trillion Private Equity Bubble Pops Former Wall Street trader Jared Dillian highlights the $8 trillion private equity bubble, built on massive layers of debt, that poses a systemic threat to the entire financial system. Will we get another implosion like we had in 2008? /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/32697692

Sept. 11, Russian Oligarchs & the Death of the Middle Class 08/09/2024

Sept. 11, Russian Oligarchs & the Death of the Middle Class After Russia invaded Ukraine, the US and its allies froze over $58 billion in assets from Russian oligarchs and blocked major Russian banks from using the international payment system, known as SWIFT. Did we cross a line? Or did we cross it decades earlier in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks? /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/32503277

The Age of Scarcity 08/02/2024

The Age of Scarcity Is the age of plenty over? Economist Bill White says it ended with COVID. Now we’re moving into an age of scarcity—and it’s putting us at war. As Bill puts it, “We're in a war to preserve our market-based, capitalist, democratic system in an environment that is going to be very, very difficult to navigate.” /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/32389297

The End of Trust 07/26/2024

The End of Trust Something phenomenal happened in 2001: People generated more information that year than they had in all human history combined to that point. Hear from former CIA analyst Martin Gurri, who unpacks the effects of this information “tsunami” in his book, The Revolt of the Public. /episode/index/show/fda6c871-9dbb-460b-a1d2-e4368377914c/id/32295557

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