Moody's Talks - Inside Economics

Scott Hoyt joins the podcast to provide a look into the holiday retail season and to discuss the state of the U.S. consumer more broadly. The team reviews the downbeat data on consumer confidence, the labor market, inflation and housing, and contemplates the implications for consumer spending this Christmas. The team remembers to take a listener question on income inequality and the mood gets even darker. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

The Inside Economics crew welcomes Alan Blinder back to the podcast. The Princeton University economics professor and former Vice Chair of the Fed offers his perspective on the outlook for artificial intelligence, the risk of a bubble in equity markets, and the potential implications of current threats to Fed independence. The team also breaks down the much-delayed September employment report.

The Inside Economics team records a rare Saturday podcast. They consider the fallout from the just-ended government shutdown on the broader economy and the economic data. It’s not good, but it ended just before it did serious damage. The team also takes up the Trump administration’s pivot to addressing affordability, including scaling back tariffs, most important for the group, those on pasta and bananas. And they introduce a new regular segment of the podcast – listener questions. So, keep them coming.

Mark, Cris and Marisa discuss the trajectory of the alternative labor market data on what is yet another “jobs” Friday with no official labor market data release. They discuss various outcomes around the federal government shutdown, how and when it may end, and what that means for the backlog of economic data releases. The trio concludes by answering several thought-provoking listener questions.

Fellow Moody's colleague Chris Lafakis joins Mark, Marisa, and Cris as they discuss current economic trends and Chris's recent study on the macroeconomic consequences of hurricanes. Mark starts the conversation by sharing his questions about the latest data on layoffs and how AI is influencing the economy. The team members share their different perspectives before shifting the discussion to the economic toll of Hurricane Melissa and how storms can affect regional economies.