Moody's Talks - Inside Economics

After a quick review of this past week's economic data, Professor Andrés Velasco, Dean of the School of Public Policy at the London School of Economics, joins the Inside Economics podcast, along with Head of International Economists, Gaurav Ganguly. The group dissects the U.S. push to acquire Greenland and Europe's response to it. They discuss President Trump's reaction to international dissent and conclude that TACO is a market-driven phenomenon. The discussion delves into income inequality worldwide, and the team debates how much it influences election outcomes. Finally, they discuss the London Consensus and how it offers alternative public policy choices in an era of rising nationalism and increasing income inequality.

The Inside Economics crew is joined by Logan Wright, partner and director of China market research at Rhodium Group. The team first unpacks December’s consumer price index and discusses the state of U.S. inflation. Then, Logan shares his expertise on the Chinese economy. From a slumping property sector, dubious economic data, and evolving trade flows, there was no shortage of topics to dive deep into.

Jon Hilsenrath, former journalist at the Wall Street Journal, joins the Inside Economics crew to discuss the December jobs report and the Fed. The team breaks down the latest employment data and debates whether the report is “fine” or “anemic”. The focus then shifts to the Fed for a wide-ranging conversation about where interest rates are headed and whether Fed independence is in doubt. Jon argues that independence is already compromised and likely to get worse.

The team reunites in 2026 and reflects on the economy's performance in 2025 and looks ahead to the New Year. Mark reviews the forecast accuracy for the past year and is surprised by the results. Mark and Cris quibble over how to characterize the economy in 2025, and the team shares its predictions for 2026, along with the probabilities of the base cases, upside, and downside forecasts.

Mark and Cris are joined by Natalie Gochnour, associate dean in the David Eccles School of Business and director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah, and Moody’s Analytics’ head of regional economics Adam Kamins to learn some of the secrets behind one of the nation’s most successful states. From demographics to governance to the ski slopes, Natalie shares lessons learned from her decades working in and for Utah, including what to call residents of the Beehive State (hint: don’t even think about adding a second “a.”). The gang also talks about newly-released third quarter GDP data and The Conference Board’s most recent consumer confidence survey. Finally, Mark capitalizes on his knowledge of Cris’s mannerisms to claim victory in the stats game.