Moody's Talks - Inside Economics

Mark, Cris & Marisa reunite for a lively discussion about their predictions around AI’s impact on the economy over the next year or two. The team talks about their recently released webinar & white paper on the Macroeconomic Consequences of AI and answers several great listener questions in the process. Marisa and Cris try to talk Mark down off the AI-apocalypse ledge, as the once eternally optimistic Zandi has gone down a darker path recently.

Former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Jared Bernstein, and housing maven, Jim Parrott, join Mark and Cris to drink from today’s fire hose of events, including the SCOTUS decision striking down President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs to the 4th quarter GDP numbers. The conversation turns to how well the economy is performing through the prism of AI, housing, and jobs. It’s a veritable econ nerdfest.

Together at last. In a rare joint performance, Dante and Matt join the Inside Economics crew to unpack January’s jobs and CPI reports. The brief federal government shutdown delayed economic data releases a few days, which made for a loaded slate this week. Dante shares his impression of January’s seemingly strong jobs report and then the team plays the stats game. A brief hiatus did not affect Marisa’s ability to dominate. Matt then goes through the first inflation data of 2026, and where it looks like inflation is headed in the coming months.

In the Oscar-winning film Shakespeare in Love, theater owner Henslowe explains that the theatrical business faces "insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster," yet somehow "it all turns out well.” It’s a mystery he can't explain. This week's podcast channels that spirit as Moody’s Analytics economist, Dante DeAntonio, joins Mark and Cris to dissect the labor market despite the delayed employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The team navigates volatility across financial markets and examines the outlook for employment and consumer spending in light of AI adoption and the stabilization of the saving rate. Like Henslowe's faith that the show goes on, they explore whether the economy will find its way through even when the data arrives fashionably late.

No, this isn’t a Bavarian dish. But our colleague Martin Wurm joins the Inside Economics team to consider Kevin Warsh as the next Chair of the Federal Reserve Board. The group dissects Warsh’s writings and speeches to glean how he might change the way the Fed operates monetary and regulatory policy, and whether he will be able to preserve some semblance of Fed independence. There is also the stats game and listener question – please keep them coming.