What Goes Up

More than 150 years after the end of slavery in the U.S., the net worth of a typical white family is nearly six times greater than that of the average Black family. Season 3 of The Pay Check digs into into how we got to where we are today and what can be done to narrow the yawning racial wealth gap in the U.S.Jackie Simmons and Rebecca Greenfield co-host the season, which kicks off with a personal story about land Jackie's family acquired some time after slavery that they're on the verge of losing. From there the series explores all the ways the wealth gaps manifests and the radical solutions, like affirmative action, quotas, and reparations, that can potentially lead to greater equality.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The flattening of the Covid case curve and the re-opening of economies around the world is causing big ripples in the stock market, with investors selling off the Internet-based companies that led the market higher during lockdown. Susan Schmidt, head of U.S. equities at Aviva Investors in Chicago, discusses this and other hot topics for investors, including the recent jump in interest rates.Mentioned in this podcast: Stock Market Momentum Comeuppance Gets No Sympathy From the Fed Cathie Wood’s ARKK Struggles in Early Trading After 20% RetreatThe tragic life and death of a ‘National Lampoon’ legendSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The surge in Treasury yields this week caught a lot of investors off-guard, triggering a bout of volatility in the stock market. Amanda Agati, chief investment strategist for PNC Financial Services Group, shares how government spending packages are affecting interest rates. She also discusses how she looks at alternative high-frequency economic data and why she’s bullish on emerging markets.Mentioned in this podcast:In a Flash, U.S. Yields Hit 1.6%, Wreaking Havoc in Markets GameStop’s Reddit-Driven Roller-Coaster Rages On as Volume SoarsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marko Papic, partner and chief strategist at hedge-fund seeder Clocktower Group, discusses how the current economic and market cycle will be vastly different than the tepid recovery from the global financial crisis. He jokingly uses slogans from Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum to describe the risk-taking posture he believes investors will maintain amid a period of fiscal largesse: “All I know is that for the next two years, it’s like diamond hands and to the moon.”Mentioned in this podcast:The Bubble's Final Paroxysm May Be Months AwayGet Ready for the Great U.S. Inflation Mirage of 2021See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The dislocations in markets last year created a fleeting opportunity to buy stocks that pay big dividends on the cheap. Sorting through which companies had the wherewithal to weather the pandemic and keep the payments flowing was not an easy feat, however, given the unprecedented economic shutdown and uncertainty about how long the virus would affect various types of businesses.Joining this week’s podcast to discuss his process for evaluating dividends – in normal times and crazy times – is Chris D’Agnes, a portfolio manager at Hamlin Capital Management, an income-focused investment advisory firm that oversees about $4.8 billion in separately managed accounts and an equity mutual fund.  Mentioned in this podcast:Tilray Plunges Most on Record as Cannabis Stocks TumbleDogecoin’s Creator Is Baffled by Meteoric Rise to $9 BillionSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Like a lot of parents these days, Cameron Crise is dealing with a teenager at home who wants to get into day-trading and reap the type of the windfalls boasted about by the WallStreetBets crowd.Crise, a former hedge-fund trader and now a strategist at Bloomberg who writes the “Macro Man” column, had a novel way of handling the situation. Inspired by the classic movie “Trading Places,” he proposed a $1 bet on where GameStop shares were headed and another wager that his son Patrick could not double his money in three days with some Reddit-inspired paper trading that didn’t actually put any of the son’s – or more importantly, father’s -- money at risk in the market.Who won this battle of Macro Man vs. YOLO Boy? Tune in to find out!Mentioned in this podcast:Meme Stocks Lose $167 Billion as Reddit Crowd Preaches DefianceReddit’s Market ‘Hype Machine’ Is in a Quest to Drive Out BotsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The drama surrounding GameStop Corp. and other high-flying stocks targeted by social media-influenced traders has triggered a debate about behavior in markets and what regulators should do about it.Larry Tabb, the head of market-structure research at Bloomberg Intelligence, discusses this issue as well as the role clearing firms played in causing Robinhood and other brokerages to restrict trading in certain stocks.Mentioned in this podcast:In 11 Hours of Pure Mania, 100% Stock Gains Popped Up EverywhereHow a Penny Stock Explodes From Obscurity to 451% Gains Via Chat ForumsReddit Jolts Activist-Short Hedge Funds Into ‘Adapt or Die’ ModeWallStreetBets Briefly Goes Dark After Fueling GameStop’s SurgeBattle Between Hedge Funds and Day Traders Creates Record VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why does Tesla joining the S&P 500 remind Wells Fargo Securities’ head of equity strategy of AOL and the dot-com boom and bust era? He also explains why he’s sticking with his year-end estimate of 3,850 for the S&P 500 even after the benchmark index reached that level in the first month of the year.Mentioned in this podcast:GameStop Record Surge Gives Win to Reddit Army in Citron ClashRiskier the Better Is Rallying Cry of Day Traders Going SmallSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The upcoming inauguration of Joe Biden as president offers the U.S. a chance to reboot its relationship with China after a tumultuous four years under Donald Trump. Bob Hormats of investment firm Tiedemann Advisors, who has served in senior economic and trade policy roles under five different U.S. presidents, discusses what’s at stake. Mentioned in this podcast: A Handful of Penny Stocks Just Made Up a Fifth of U.S. VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another week, another record high for stocks – even in the midst of political unrest. Vincent Deluard, director of global macro strategy at StoneX Group Inc., discusses the disconnect between stocks and reality, a so-called “bear market for humans,” his outlook for 2021, and the risk of inflation.Mentioned in this podcast:Stock Market Warns Workers That They’re the Problem for BusinessDay-Trader Heaven Arrives as Tesla, Bitcoin and Stock Options SurgeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.