The Penta Podcast Channel

Join Ylan, John, and Brendan for this #JobsDay #Macrocast! The group discussed the current state of the labor force, including how caretakers, including women, are handling the high cost and short supply of daycare. The group also talked about how the employer and employee dynamic might shift as the labor market cools—will employees still be able to use their leverage to get benefits and flexibility? In the next couple weeks, there will be some potential economic headwinds, including changes to childcare funding, the reinstatement of student loan repayments, and potential government shutdown, and Ylan, John, and Brendan, also discussed the likely resulting actions out of the Federal Reserve. Read more about Penta and Civic Science's ESI reading.

Can AI revive the local news industry? How will legacy media outlets compete with the increasingly crowded entertainment landscape? How should media executives be assessing the impact of their work? In this episode of What's At Stake, Ylan Mui of Penta sits down with two media industry innovators, Sara Goo, Editor-in-Chief of Axios, and Paul Cheung, CEO of the Center for Public Integrity, to answer these questions and many more. With new developments in technology and as political tensions reach a fever pitch, journalists and media executives alike must think about the future of the industry. This episode is full of industry insights and thought-provoking discussions, including the potential role for AI in reviving local news and the importance of diversity in journalism.

Today on the Macrocast, Ylan, John, and Brendan are joined by David Wessel, Director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution. The group unpacks Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's Jackson Hole speech, including Powell's takeaway that the economy’s growth could require additional Fed hikes to fight inflation.  The group also discusses the implications of the U.S.'s federal debt, including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley's comments on the subject at this week's debate ,and triages the prospects for Congressional economic deals more broadly in the coming months.  Read more about David Wessel and his work at the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution.

As policy professionals and corporate communicators aim to tap into new markets and expand their reach, they're increasingly looking to tap into the influencer landscape. But this brings with it a host of questions: How should brands and issue advocacy campaigns leverage influencers? What are the risks? Can audiences trust the authenticity of influences? And, what's next for influencer culture?  Join us for this week's episode of What's at Stake, as Penta Partner Andrea Christianson chats with fellow Penta Partner Lauren Wolfson and D.C.-based influencer Sarah Phillips of 52 Thursdays, a popular style and fitness channel. Lauren offers insights on how brands can harness the power of influencer culture, and Sarah shares anecdotes from her decade-long experience in the influencer space. From understanding how to vet influencers, to exploring the phenomenon of "de-influencing," you won't want to miss this episode. 

On today's Macrocast, Ylan, John Fagan, and Brendan are joined by John Dick of Civic Science. The group chats about the latest consumer data from the ESI, which indicates  that consumers might be "coming back to reality" as some are trading down for purchase categories like going out to eat. Despite the decrease in the overall consumer sentiment in the ESI reading, the group notes that some retailers had very positive second quarter earnings calls. Later in the episode, they also discuss the minutes from the latest FOMC meeting, the biggest challenges currently impacting China's economy, and Secretary Yellen's recent trip to China. You won't want to miss this one! Check out more information about the ESI and this week's update here.

In this week's episode of What’s at Stake, we are re-releasing one of our favorite conversations from earlier this year: The case for reading business books. In the episode, Penta President Matt McDonald joins partner Andrea Christianson to share reading recommendations for those interested in business, including young professionals, aspiring leaders, and experienced executives. The two discuss their favorite books and explain why business professionals and leaders should take the time to engage with business literature at various stages of their careers.  You can find the full list of Matt’s reading recommendations here.

On this week's episode of the Macrocast, Ylan Mui of Penta Group and Brendan Walsh of Markets Policy Partners take on a range of topics: from Taylor Swift's Eras Tour, the Fed's upcoming Jackson Hole symposium, and the trend toward deflation in China. The duo also discuss the PPI and CPI index numbers, how they compare to pundit predictions, and what they mean for the overall economy. 

On this week's episode of What's at Stake, Senior Partner Kevin Madden and Director Oliver Edelmann join Head of the D.C. office Bryan DeAngelis for a deep dive into the heart of President Biden's re-election strategy. With over a year to go until the general election, Biden's spending plans and policies have emerged as the cornerstone of the Administration's strategy in 2024. But with the fate of the economic landing still up in the air, will tying Biden and other Blue candidates' fortunes to "Bidenomics" be a boon or a bane for Democrats on the ticket? Tune in to hear what our panel of political experts are predicting.

On this week's episode, K. Stratton Kirton, a Penta Strategy Partner, joins the Macrocast as a guest host with John Fagan and Brendan Walsh from Markets Policy Partners. The group discusses the middle of the road jobs day and what they think this means for Fed policy and the long discussed recession.They also explore Fitch's decision to downgrade the United States credit rating and recent central bank decisions around the world, including the Bank of England and Reserve Bank of Australia. Finally, the group talks about Saudi Arabia's decision to extend their oil production cut and China's continuing economic lag.Read Penta's Jobs Day analysis here.

On this week's crossover episode of What's at Stake and the Macrocast, Bryan DeAngelis, partner and Head of Penta's D.C. office, and Ylan Mui, managing director at Penta, speak with Greg Baer, President and Chief Executive Officer at the Bank Policy Institute.  The group breaks down the impacts of Basel III endgame, which is the regulatory approach to analyzing capital requirements for banks based on the riskiness of their activities. Specifically, the group discusses the plan for implementation of Basel III endgame in the U.S. following last week's U.S. federal prudential bank regulators proposed new capital requirements for large banking organizations. The group breaks down the timing of the standards, especially given the resiliency of banks in recent real and hypothetical stress tests, the current state of the economy, and the upcoming 2024 elections.   The Bank Policy Institute, or BPI, is a nonpartisan public policy, research and advocacy group, representing America's leading banks. BPI's work aims to help the nation's leading banks best serve their customers and fulfill their vital economic role.  Before his leadership of BPI, Greg has a variety of experience in the banking and financial services sector more broadly, including past roles as President of The Clearing House Association and Executive Vice President and General Counsel of The Clearing House Payments Company, Managing Director and Head of Regulatory Policy at JPMorgan Chase, and Deputy General Counsel for Corporate Law at Bank of America. He also served as Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions in the U.S. Department of the Treasury, after serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary. Greg was also managing senior counsel at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.