WSJ's Take On the Week

This podcast explores topics such as Adobe's new AI tools affecting its business, the Federal Reserve's levers to move the markets, and the impact of Gen-Z on restaurant marketing strategy.

Discussion on the upcoming jobs report and consumer confidence in a potential recession. Interviews with the chief economist and a member of the White House's Council of Economic Advisors. Analysis of the performance of COVID-19 vaccine makers and the pharmaceutical and drug sectors. Current economic situation, job gains and losses in various industries explained. Focus on wage growth, inequality, and investor interest in weight loss products.

WSJ's Take On the Week discusses the latest quarter's earnings reports and their implications for the market. They also delve into the United Nations Conference on climate change and the involvement of big oil companies in clean energy solutions.

This week is Black Friday, which means it’s the unofficial kickoff of the holiday shopping season. The big question many economists want to know is will consumer spending be strong? WSJ retail reporter Sarah Nassauer joins us as we look ahead to earnings reports this week from retailers, like Best Buy and Dick’s Sporting Goods, to find out if the holiday spirit is enough to boost sales. Then, we’re turning our attention to artificial intelligence. Nvidia, the technology company known for designing and manufacturing computer graphic chips, is expected to report earnings this week. After the AI boom helped fuel gains for the company, investors are looking to see what recent U.S. restrictions limiting exports to China will mean for the company and its stock. Brenda Vingiello, the chief investment officer of Silicon Valley-based Sand Hill Global Advisors, joins us to explain what investors should be looking for in Nvidia’s earnings report. Lastly, we’re queuing up for holiday travel. With a record number of consumers expected to travel in the next six months, we’re checking in with WSJ’s travel reporter, Jacob Passy, to find out if this sky-high travel is reaching a descent anytime soon. Further Reading Five Economic Signs You’re Smart to Procrastinate on Holiday Shopping This Year  Nvidia’s $5 Billion of China Orders in Limbo After Latest U.S. Curbs  For more coverage of the markets and your investments, head to WSJ.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This podcast discusses the upcoming earnings report of Home Depot and how factors like the housing market, consumer spending, and supply chains play a role in their success. It also examines the impact of slowing inflation on corporate profits and analyzes the expected earnings from Target and Walmart. The podcast offers insights into the state of the consumer and the effects of inflation on retail spending.

Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic advisor at Allianz, discusses his concerns about a 2024 recession, policy mistakes by the Federal Reserve, the confusion in the bond market, inflation's impact on purchasing power, compromised resilience in various sectors, and the potential for reversal in labor augmenting transformations. The importance of hope and change in economic decision-making is also explored.

This week, we’re turning our attention to breakfast cereals and snacks. Kellogg, the company responsible for cereals like Frosted Flakes and snacks like Pringles, in early October split into two companies: WK Kellogg and Kellanova. WK Kellogg maintained the company’s cereal products, while Kellanova kept snacks. Snacks have been big business for companies, but with changes to eating habits brought on by obesity drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro, these companies may face some struggles ahead. WK Kellogg and Kellanova are expected to report earnings this week, so we’re speaking with Pamela Kaufman, a Morgan Stanley equity analyst who covers the packaged goods industry, to find out if the separation of the snacks and cereal businesses will prove to be a winning combination and what reduced appetites may mean for investors. Then, we’re queuing up for Disney’s earnings report. Merriment has gotten significantly more expensive with costs for admission to places like Disney’s theme parks rising faster than prices for food and gasoline. What will this week’s earnings from Disney tell us about the cost of having fun? Robbie Whelan, who covers Disney for WSJ, joins us to discuss how Disney’s higher-than-ever amusement park prices and declining television business will affect the company’s bottom line. Lastly, we’re looking at China’s upcoming consumer and producer price index reports to learn how a slowed economy in China impacts investors here in the states. Further Reading America Is Binging on Snacks, and Food Companies Are Eating It Up  The Ozempic Craze Could Put These Companies on a Crash Diet  Ozempic: How the Diabetes Drug Works and Why It’s Such a Big Deal for Weight Loss  It’s Getting Too Expensive to Have Fun  Disney Raises Prices at Its Theme Parks  Disney Sheds New Light on ESPN’s Financial Challenges  For more coverage of the markets and your investments, head to WSJ.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we’re opening up our digital wallets and examining the current state of crypto. Wall Street hasn’t been talking much about crypto this year, and that silence has been golden for digital assets. The price of bitcoin has jumped by more than 100% year to date. Cryptocurrency exchange platform, Coinbase, is expected to report earnings this week so we’re chatting with Jeff Dorman, the chief investment officer of Arca, a crypto-focused asset manager, to find out why he thinks crypto will still come out on top despite bankruptcies, money laundering risks, and alleged fraud. It’s also Fed week. Members of the Fed’s rate-setting committee have been hard at work in recent weeks, making the case that moves in financial markets have done some of the Fed’s work for them, by tightening financial conditions. WSJ reporters Gunjan Banerji and Harriet Torry join us for a roundtable discussion on whether we should be expecting one final rate hike before the year’s end and how that could affect the market and investment portfolios. We wrap up with Starbucks. The popular coffee chain is also reporting earnings this week and we’ll be looking to see what their new CEO Laxman Narasihmhan has to share with investors about the health of retail, food service and U.S. consumers.   Further Reading U.S. Targets Crypto Mixers Over Money Laundering Risks  Crypto Lender Genesis Prepares to Liquidate Without Deal With Parent Company  Sam Bankman-Fried to Take the Stand in Fraud Trial  The Fed Is Putting Too Much Faith in Markets  For more coverage of the markets and your investments, head to WSJ.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we're looking ahead to the GDP data for the third quarter of 2023 to find out how much the American economy grew from July to September. Thanks to higher than expected numbers from the latest retail sales and jobs reports, economists have lowered the probability of a recession occurring next year to below 50 percent, the lowest it's been since summer 2022. With recession worries now taking a back seat, attention has shifted to the economy’s surprising growth and why it just might be too good to be true. KPMG chief economist Diane Swonk joins us to talk about that and what investors need to look for in this week’s GDP report. Then, we're talking Visa ahead of its expected earnings. WSJ reporter Angel Au-Yeung is here to explore how changes in the credit card fees charged to merchants could change how Visa and Mastercard do business, and what you pay at the store. We wrap things up getting Meta in Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse to see what the company’s expected earnings report this week could tell us about Meta’s social media platform Threads and whether it’s giving Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) a run for its money. Further Reading A Recession Is No Longer the Consensus Resilient U.S. Economy Defies Expectations Visa, Mastercard Prepare to Raise Credit-Card Fees  For more coverage of the markets and your investments, head to WSJ.com.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we’re looking at what the Federal Reserve is watching as it plots the course of interest rate hikes. In their most recent meeting, last month, minutes revealed that a majority of Fed members say one more rate hike would be appropriate. We’re two weeks away from the next Fed meeting, and investors are paying close attention as the decisions made will play a significant role on consumer spending and banks’ deposits. Mary Daly, the president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve, joins us with her take on where the economy stands, and what people are telling her about their personal economic outlooks. With stalled progress in slowing inflation revealed in September’s consumer-price index report, the road to two percent may take longer than investors would like. Plus, we’re looking ahead to earnings reports coming this week from Goldman Sachs, Netflix, and Johnson & Johnson. Michael Farr, CEO of investment advisory firm Farr, Miller, & Washington, tells us why those are the companies he’ll have his eye on this week and what their earnings reports can tell investors about how consumers are spending their money. Further Reading Fed Minutes Show Officials Divided on Future Rate Rise  How Banks’ Deposit Pressures Could Get Worse, in Three Charts  Why Consumers Are Mad About Inflation Even Though It Has Fallen  This Inflation Report Won’t Let the Fed Declare Victory  For more coverage of the markets and your investments, head to WSJ.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices