The Real Eisman Playbook Inside America’s Economic Divide: AI, Tariffs, & The Fed | The Real Eisman Playbook Episode 29
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Oct 13, 2025 Steve Liesman, a Senior economics reporter at CNBC, shares his insights on the current economic landscape. He discusses how AI spending may be masking weak overall growth and the challenges of youth unemployment in a tech-driven job market. Liesman also delves into the complexities of tariffs, detailing their initial shock and gradual effects on small businesses. Additionally, he reflects on the political pressure facing the Federal Reserve and shares stories from his time reporting in post-Soviet Russia.
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AI Masks Broader Economic Flatness
- The market and the economy are diverging: AI investment is powering market gains while the rest of the economy is flat.
- Backing out AI spending suggests non-AI investment is stagnating and risks a K-shaped recovery.
Momentum Keeps AI Spending Alive
- Market exuberance can sustain AI investment as long as investors reward it with rising share prices.
- That dynamic can perpetuate spending even before real returns materialize.
Tariffs Widen The Corporate‑Small Business Divide
- Tariffs are compressing margins and disproportionately hurt small businesses that can't navigate exemptions.
- Larger firms can absorb or manage tariff impacts, creating a bifurcated economy.