Danielle DiMartino Booth, CEO of QI Research and former Federal Reserve insider, discusses pressing economic issues. She critiques the Fed's hawkish stance and its manipulation of data, describing it as a tool for political ends. DiMartino Booth connects rising corporate layoffs to overhiring during the pandemic and worries about inflation from proposed tariffs. She highlights the urgency for accountability at the Fed and warns about looming market risks, calling for strategic hedging and vigilance in times of economic uncertainty.
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insights INSIGHT
Fed Used Missing Jobs Data As Excuse
The Fed used the missing October payrolls report as cover to delay a December rate cut.
Danielle says the timing made it easy for Chair Powell to justify holding rates.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Avoid Fresh Stimulus Checks
Avoid repeating pandemic-style stimulus checks because they stoke short-lived demand and inflation.
Danielle applauds GOP resistance to another $2,000 tariff rebate for that reason.
insights INSIGHT
Layoffs Signal Real Demand Weakness
Corporate layoffs reflect both overhiring during the pandemic and a recessionary drop in demand.
Freight and transportation data signal the U.S. is in a deep recession, Danielle warns.
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Tom Bodrovics welcomes Danielle DiMartino Booth, CEO and Chief Strategist for QI Research, to discuss the latest economic developments and the Federal Reserve’s role. The conversation begins with the recent Fed Minutes, which reiterated a hawkish stance and coincided with the cancellation of the October payrolls report, providing the Fed with an excuse to delay rate cuts. DiMartino Booth suggests that the Trump administration’s actions, such as proposing a $2000 tariff rebate, have been met with resistance from Congress due to concerns about inflation. She also highlights the recent surge in layoff announcements from major corporations, attributing it to a combination of overhiring during the pandemic and the current economic downturn.
Timestamps: 00:00:00 – Introduction 00:00:27 – Fed Minutes Analysis 00:01:28 – Government Shutdown Data 00:02:43 – Scott Bessent Challenges 00:04:49 – Stimulus Checks Critique 00:05:15 – Corporate Layoff Trends 00:07:55 – Fed Data Manipulation 00:10:46 – Fed Politicization History 00:12:55 – Fed Leadership Candidates 00:14:40 – Stacking Fed Reserves 00:16:46 – Repo Rate Spike 00:21:08 – Personal Finance Advice 00:23:17 – Wrap Up
Tom then shifts to the politicization of the Fed, with DiMartino Booth arguing that the institution has become more overtly political in its policymaking. She criticizes the Fed’s use of data as a “weapon of mass destruction” to serve its needs and calls for more accountability. DiMartino Booth also expresses concern about the Fed’s handling of liquidity issues, noting that the recent repo rate spike signals potential problems ahead. She suggests that the Fed may need to provide more liquidity to the system, but cautions that this could exacerbate existing bubbles in the equity markets.
Danielle DiMartino Booth is CEO and Chief Strategist for Quill Intelligence LLC, a research and analytics firm.
DiMartino Booth set out to launch a Research Revolution, redefining how market intelligence is conceived and delivered, with the goal of not only guiding portfolio managers but promoting financial literacy. To build QI, she brought together a core team of investing veterans in analyzing the trends and providing critical analysis of what drives the markets.
Since its inception, commentary and data from DiMartino Booth’s The Daily Feather have appeared in other financial sources such as Bloomberg, CNBC, Fox Business, Institutional Investor, Yahoo Finance, The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, Seeking Alpha, TD Ameritrade, TheStreet.com, and more.
A global thought leader on monetary policy, economics, and finance, DiMartino Booth founded Quill Intelligence in 2018. She is the author of FED UP: An Insider’s Take on Why the Federal Reserve is Bad for America (Portfolio, Feb 2017), a full-time columnist for Bloomberg View, a business speaker, and a commentator frequently featured on CNBC, Bloomberg, Fox News, Fox Business News, BNN Bloomberg, Yahoo Finance and other major media outlets.
Before Quill, DiMartino Booth spent nine years at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, serving as Advisor to President Richard W. Fisher throughout the financial crisis until his retirement in 2015. Her work at the Fed focused on financial stability and the efficacy of unconventional monetary policy.
DiMartino Booth began her career in New York at Credit Suisse and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, where she worked in the fixed income, public equity, and private equity markets. DiMartino Booth earned her BBA as a College of Business Scholar at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She holds an MBA in Finance and International Business from the University of Texas at Austin and an MS in Journalism from Columbia University.
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