The stock market has produced outsized returns over the last several years. As a result, stocks represent a greater percent of overall US household wealth than they ever have. How has this happened? How have Americans become comfortable with the historically most risky asset class being so important on the country’s collective balance sheet? Is it technology? Is it generational? Is it something else? In this week’s Trading Perspectives, Sam, Courtney, and John discuss the stock market’s increased importance on the lives of the average American.

Trading Perspectives: An Economic Podcast

The Increased Importance of the Stock Market

There is little argument that social media has changed how we live our lives and conduct business. However, is it for the good or the bad? Or is it a little bit of both? If so, what should the government do to mitigate the negative aspects of social media? Is that even a role the government should play? In this week’s Trading Perspectives, Sam, Courtney, and John discuss the positive and negative aspects of social media, and whether it is overall a good or bad thing.

Social Media

What exactly are employees looking for in an employer? What are employers doing to keep their workers happy? Is the recent focus on work/life balance here to stay? Or was it always there? Do different generations expect different things out of their job? These are some of the questions Courtney, Sam, and John try to answer in this week’s Trading Perspectives.

The Great Resignation

China’s Lehman Brothers?  There has been a lot of news about the recent financial troubles of Chinese property developer Evergrande. The company is saddled with billions upon billions in debt which it is highly unlikely to repay in full. Could a potential collapse cause ripple effects across the global financial system? Will the next great global crisis come from China, as opposed to the United States? If not, what does the current situation with the company tell us about the way President Xi and Beijing are running the company? Is it business as usual. In this week’s Trading Perspectives, our old friends John and Sam try to make some sense of the mess for Courtney who, as always, has some questions.

Evergrande

This week Trading Perspectives welcomes Courtney Truss to the show.  As an associate at Oakworth Capital Bank and working alongside John and Sam, she brings another generational and demographical perspective to the show.  In this episode, John, Sam, and Courtney discuss the vaccine mandate and how it might effect employees and employers economically and personally. 

Vaccines and The Workplace

On September 14th, Californians will go to the polls to decide whether to ‘recall’ Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor in a very Democratic state. The first question is: why do this? The second is: what will be accomplished? In this week’s Trading Perspectives, John and Sam discuss the California recall to determine whether it is a valiant effort or a waste of time.

California Recall

Every year, we get the same old warning about the depletion of the so-called Social Security Trust Fund at some date in the future. This year, the experts think it will be 2034. But will it really? After all, Social Security is as almost sacred on Capitol Hill. So, what do a Gen Xer and a Gen Zer think about the impending doom of America’s favorite government program? This week John and Sam discuss what the future of Social Security will look like moving forward.

Social Security Going Bankrupt

Sometimes, the weather report is the most important financial news. This goes especially for catastrophic storms which detrimentally impact economic activity. So, how will Ida affect the US economy? Will it be as bad as the winter storms in Texas earlier in the year? Also, why do businesses often get back to normal, or some sense of normal, faster than public services? In this week’s Trading Perspectives, John and Sam literally talk about the weather and how it has the potential to change the economy.

Ida's Economic Impact

Ever since the financial crisis of 2008-2009, the Federal government has flooded the world with debt and the Federal Reserve has gobbled it up. Currently, the Fed is buying up to $120 billion in debt securities each month with money that didn’t previously exist. Now that the financial system is flush with cash, if not drowning it in, how much longer should the Fed continue to stimulate the system? In this week’s Trading Perspectives, John and Sam discuss the impact the Fed has had on the price of money in the US economy and what the potential ramifications are IF and when the Fed stops financing Washington’s spending problem.  

The Federal Reserve: How Much is Enough?

In this week’s Trading Perspectives, John and Sam discuss the recent happenings in Afghanistan, and try to make sense of one of the bigger black eyes the US has gotten in years. Are there any generational differences of opinion when assessing the debacle that has unfolded in Kabul? Are there any takeaways? Any lessons to be learned? What does it all mean in the grand scheme of things and, most importantly, our pocketbooks? 

The Mess in Kabul

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US economy currently has over 10 million available jobs. Where are they? What kind of jobs are they? Why aren’t more people taking them? Is it really a good thing to have that many job openings? In this week’s Trading Perspectives, John and Sam analyze the current state of the labor markets, and try to understand the mismatch between the supply of jobs in the economy and worker demand for them.

Jobs Everywhere and Not a Worker in Sight!

What if they threw an Olympics and no one cared? Although the games are comfortably winning their respective time slots, viewership is significantly lower in both absolute and relative terms compared to recent Summer Olympics. What are the reasons? Change in viewer behavior? Confusion about schedules? Lack of fans at the live events? An overall dearth of team spirit? Generational differences? All of this and more? In this week’s Trading Perspectives, John and Sam discuss why interest in the Tokyo Olympics is as low as it is. Let’s just say, it has been a perfect storm.

Olympics Anyone? Please.

COVID-19 cases are again on the rise and vaccinations are falling. Will this recent spike in the Delta Variant lead to business and education lockdowns like last year? Would the US economy be able to rebound if that happens? Also, who isn’t getting vaccinated, and why? With all the data the government has, it should be able to target areas of weakness instead of implementing blanket policies which could crush economic activity.

The Delta Variant: Are Lockdowns Coming Again?

Recent studies suggest reducing the workweek might actually increase worker productivity. So, is it a good idea to ease the time constraints on workers in order for them to produce more? It might seem counterintuitive, but the results don’t lie. Or do they? After all, do employers pay for output or time? That is the question. This week, John and Sam tackle the so-called 4-day work week to see whether it is good for the economy or much ado about nothing. Gen Z versus Gen X.

The 4-Day Work Week: Fact or Fiction?

With stubbornly low interest, is the United States in danger of becoming the next Japan? A zombie economy characterized by persistent low growth and puny asset returns? While there are similarities between the two countries, the differences more than outweigh them. In this week’s Trading Perspectives, Sam and John analyze Japan’s “lost decades” in order to make the case the United States will NOT become the next Japan.

Low Interest Rates

A young Market Analyst gives a seasoned Chief Economist a fresh perspective on the driving factors that influence our economy. Trading Perspectives is brought to you by Oakworth Capital Bank. https://www.oakworthcapital.com/ tradingperspectives@oakworthcapital.com

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Trading Perspectives: An Economic Podcast

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