Real Vision: Finance & Investing

Real Vision co-founder and CEO Raoul Pal joins Maggie Lake for today’s Daily Briefing to talk about volatility across markets, the economy, and geopolitics. Stocks closed out their first losing quarter in two years on Thursday, and U.S. bonds had their worst three-month period in more than 40 years. The eurozone’s inflation rate jumped to another record high in March. Although prices dipped for the fifth straight day today, crude oil is 44.7% higher than it was a year ago, up 32% in February alone. The U.S. economy once again added more than 400,000 jobs in March and the unemployment rate dropped to 3.6%, but companies across many industries say they’re struggling to find workers. And war continues to rage in Eastern Europe. What’s Raoul’s take? Get your questions ready, and drop them on the Exchange: https://rvtv.io/3x1pDYm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Joe Biden announced a plan to release from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve 1 million barrels of oil per day for the next six months as part of the federal government’s effort to fight inflation. Releasing 180 million barrels from the SPR is an unprecedented step. But it’s unclear whether it will have a meaningful impact on oil prices. Earlier Thursday, OPEC+ ratified a 432,000 barrel per day production increase as of May, but that increase is in line with the cartel’s plan; it is not responding to oil consumers’ calls for significant output boosts. Oil investors everywhere seem to be holding the line for only gradual production increases, despite the ongoing crisis in Eastern Europe. Bart Melek, Global Head of Commodity Markets Strategy at TD Securities, joins Real Vision’s Ash Bennington to discuss the global crude oil market, current constraints on production and supply, and inflation. Want to submit questions? Drop them right here on the Exchange: https://rvtv.io/3IV7RbE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Japanese yen, long a safe haven, is not reacting to crisis this time around the way it has in the past. In fact, the yen just broke through a key long-term level of technical support and is trading at six-year lows versus the U.S. dollar. But Governor Haruhiko Kuroda continues to defend the Bank of Japan’s yield cap, in place to sustain accommodative monetary policy, despite broader risks to the domestic situation. Our man in Japan, Weston Nakamura, joins Maggie Lake to assess the global implications of the country’s continuing efforts to stimulate growth in the world’s third-largest economy. Then, Maggie welcomes Darius Dale, founder and CEO of 42 Macro, to talk about the Federal Reserve’s fight against inflation, the impact of tighter policy on the housing market, and the employment situation in the U.S. Want to submit questions? Drop them right here on the Exchange: https://rvtv.io/36Zk3uw Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Although no formal agreements have been reached, Moscow has said it will redeploy troops and reduce military activity around Kyiv, and Ukraine has said it will adopt a neutral stance in exchange for a Russian ceasefire, stoking optimism the end of the war in Eastern Europe is in sight. Delegates from Russia and Ukraine met face-to-face in Istanbul Tuesday, with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu saying the discussions had yielded the most significant progress to date. Equity indexes in Europe closed higher across the board, and U.S. stocks are holding solid gains two hours shy of the close of regular trading in New York. Meanwhile, the bond market is on course for its worst quarterly loss on record after the Federal Reserve launched its monetary tightening efforts this month and signaled the potential for more aggressive hikes. With tensions seemingly easing in Eastern Europe, inflation remains the major threat to global growth. Tony Greer, founder of TG Macro, joins Warren Pies to talk about the market’s response to Russia-Ukraine and the Fed’s response to inflation. Want to submit questions? Drop them right here on the Exchange: https://rvtv.io/3Ljle6U. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Jared Dillian puts it, when the prices of things we need are going higher and the prices of things we want are going lower, “it creates economic misery.” Things we need include fossil fuels and agricultural commodities. Things we want include stocks and bonds. In 2022, with stock and bond prices falling and commodity prices rising, wealth has evaporated, and the cost of living has increased. And the thing is, to seriously take on rising prices, the Federal Reserve is going to have to accelerate its monetary tightening cycle. “In order to stop inflation,” writes Dillian, “the Fed will have to engineer a recession.” We’re starting to see indications from sections of the yield curve that a downturn is imminent – for example, the yield on the five-year U.S. Treasury note exceeded the yield on the 30-year bond earlier today. Stocks, meanwhile, have enjoyed a two-week rally. Is there a way out for the Fed that doesn’t include recession? Dillian, author of The Daily Dirtnap, joins Real Vision’s Maggie Lake for today’s Daily Briefing to talk about the Fed, interest rates, economic misery, and recession. Want to submit questions? Drop them right here on the Exchange: https://rvtv.io/3IMaiNH Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Raising capital for small companies is a difficult and time-consuming process — legendary entrepreneur Ross Beaty, chairman of Equinox Gold, emphasizes the importance of having tenacity and adaptability to change strategy when things don’t pan out. From a lifelong journey of building up businesses and investing, he chats with his long-time friend and fellow investor Rick Rule, president and CEO of Rule Investment Media, to share the lessons Beaty learned in the energy and mining space. The pair examine the changing capital and scale requirements of companies today in a market where long-term value creation is of utmost importance. Filmed on October 6, 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Russell Clark, one of Real Vision’s favorite guest-personalities, returns for another engrossing conversation with Raoul Pal. Russell always brings fresh perspectives, and Raoul is always keen to draw on his current thinking to help make sense of what’s happening around us. In short, Russell’s current sense is that everything has changed. In a far-ranging conversation, Russell and Raoul weigh the impact of innovations such as extracting oil and gas from shale, the ongoing center-of-gravity shift from capital to labor, and the vulnerabilities of centralized risk management. Russell notes that clearing houses are now the center of trading activity; they price risk differently than central banks, and he describes how that works and how that doesn't work. “The collateral,” says Russell, “can never go bust.” The world is changing, rapidly. This is a great way to catch up. To read more of Russell's work, visit www.russell-clark.com. Recorded on March 1, 2022. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Inflation is at four-decade highs in the U.S., and supply constraints caused by the war in Eastern Europe only increase upward pressure on crucial commodities. The Federal Reserve is laser-focused on the issue, to the point where futures markets are now pricing in more than nine rate hikes in 2022. And the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note hit a two-year high on Friday, reaching 2.503% on expectations of aggressive tightening ahead. Still, the Fed is sticking with a relatively robust growth forecast. Investors are clear on the Fed’s path. It remains to be seen how Chinese policymakers will respond to threats to growth and stability. As the world continues to respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it becomes clearer that major shifts are in process. Will the Chinese yuan ever overtake the U.S. dollar in the global currency hierarchy? What role could Bitcoin play in a revamped global system? More immediately, are we on the verge of a global liquidity crisis? Michael Howell, managing director at CrossBorder Capital, joins Tony Greer to discuss these issues and more on today’s edition of Real Vision Daily Briefing. Got questions? Drop them on the Exchange: https://rvtv.io/3JGuIZz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Federal Reserve was already staring down an inflation problem well before Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine. One month into the war, there’s no clear end in sight. And constraints on key commodities will continue to drive prices and spur the creation of new supply chains. The Fed launched its tightening cycle with a 25 basis point increase to the fed funds target rate. The futures market is now pricing in a 50-basis-point move in May. Equity markets remain volatile. But the most interesting action may be in the bond market, where prices are falling faster than they have in decades as investors account for the Fed’s absolute focus on showing its commitment to fighting inflation. President Joe Biden is in Brussels to meet with NATO counterparts about Russia and Ukraine. But there are no easy answers for that conflict. However, Thomas Thornton, founder of Hedge Fund Telemetry, is here with Real Vision’s Ash Bennington to talk about the Fed, the bond market, Bitcoin, and finding opportunity in disorder in today’s Daily Briefing. Want to submit questions? Drop them right here on the Exchange: https://rvtv.io/3JTKf8N Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In another sign energy is now a second front in the Eastern European war, President Vladimir Putin has said he wants “unfriendly countries” to pay for Russian oil and gas in rubles. Putin’s move follows reports that European Union nations are considering joining the U.S. boycott of Russian oil and in the aftermath of a weekend attack on Saudi production facilities. Brent crude, the European benchmark, has surged again, rising nearly 5% Wednesday to $121. Energy costs will surely have the attention of an inflation-obsessed Federal Reserve. Cleveland Fed President Loretta Meester said she supports front-loading rate hikes, while San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said she sees room for a 50-basis-point hike at the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting in May. That’s despite the fact that market rates are already negatively impacting the housing market, with new home sales down for a second straight month in February and mortgage refinance applications down 14% week over week. Darius Dale, founder and CEO of 42 Macro, joins Maggie Lake to talk about energy, inflation, and the Fed. Want to submit questions? Drop them right here on the Exchange: https://rvtv.io/36C4JE6 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices