WTFinance

Interview recorded - 23rd of January, 2025On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Bill Fleckenstein. Bill is a professional money manager with over 30 years of experience. He writes a writes a daily column and is the author of “Greenspan’s bubbles: the age of ignorance at the federal reserve”.During our conversation we spoke about his thoughts on the markets, the bond market leaking, how Scott Bessent can balance it, whether bond market is losing faith in the government, passive investing, what this means for the 60/40 portfolio and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction1:40 - Overview of markets6:17 - How does Scott Bessent balance issues?8:42 - Means tested social security?11:57 - Losing faith in the government?13:57 - What happens to yields?15:22 - FED made a mistake16:47 - Dollar rally over?18:22 - What does Trump want?19:48 - Bill’s views on markets21:44 - Passive investing influence on markets24:12 - Increasing unemployment negative to markets26:07 - Why have miners not performed?28:27 - Speculative asset?32:59 - Shift away from 60/40 portfolio?35:47 - One message to takeaway from conversation?Bill Fleckenstein is president of Fleckenstein Capital, a money management firm based in Seattle. He writes a daily Market Rap column for his website, Fleckensteincapital.com, as well as the popular column Contrarian Chronicles for MSN Money.Bill Fleckenstein began writing a daily column on the Internet in 1996. Initially, the Market Rap was a daily recap of market events, with an added "Yes, but..." emphasis. "I quickly learned that the contrarian viewpoint was often misrepresented and under-reported. Since then, my daily column has always called it like I see it. I've tried to write the column in a way that even the novice investor can understand. I believe it's better to teach someone how to fish, rather than just give them an occasional fish."Bill Fleckenstein - Website: https://www.fleckensteincapital.com/Twitter: https://x.com/fleckcap?lang=enWTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 23rd of January, 2025On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Louis-Vincent Gave. Louis is the Founding Partner & Chief Executive Officer of Gavekal.During our conversation we spoke about his thoughts on the markets, the everything bubble in the US, what tariffs mean for the US Dollar, the Chinese economic revolution, QE in the market, manufacturing boom and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction0:59 - Louis’ overview of markets4:00 - Everything bubble in the US?7:44 - Are tariffs bullish US Dollar?10:20 - Expectation of US/China relationship?13:39 - Geopolitical ideology with Biden15:11 - What is happening in China?22:26 - China QE26:08 - Shifting to consumption economy?30:31 - Data points to watch?32:56 - Reliant on foreign investors?36:46 - Issues in Europe38:31 - Chinese currency?44:55 - One message to takeaway?After receiving his bachelor's degree from Duke University and studying Mandarin at Nanjing University, Louis joined the French Army where he served as a second lieutenant in a mountain infantry battalion. After a couple of years, Louis left the army and joined Paribas where he worked as a financial analyst—first in Paris, then in Hong Kong.Louis left Paribas in 1998 to launch Gavekal with his father Charles and Anatole Kaletsky. The idea at the time was that Asia was set to become an ever more important factor in global growth, and that consequently Gavekal needed to offer its clients more information, and more ideas, relating to Asia.Louis has written seven books, the latest being Avoiding the Punch: Investing in Uncertain Times which reviews how to build a portfolio at a time of rising geostrategic strife, and when very low interest rates and stretched valuations on most assets announce constrained returns on most assets over the next decade.Louis speaks English and French. He spent many hours studying Mandarin and Spanish, which he once spoke decently. He is married with two sons and two daughters.Louis-Vincent Gave:Website - https://research.gavekal.com/Twitter - https://x.com/gave_vincentWTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 17th of January, 2025On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Henrik Zeberg. Henrik is a Macro Economist, Founder and Publisher of the Zeberg Report.During this conversation we spoke about the surprised resilience of the economy, why Henrik sees a recession on the horizon, whether it could become a China-like deflation, market narratives, Crypto to diverge from NASDAQ and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction1:54 - Surprised by economic resilience?3:38 - Trump economic boom8:56 - FED making mistake?13:18 - West moving towards China-like deflation?16:41 - China pulling down Europe?18:32 - Market view?21:41 - Don’t believe this time is different?24:18 - Market narrative26:16 - Crypto to diverge from the NASDAQ?27:13 - When would Crypto peak?29:47 - One message to takeaway?Henrik Zeberg is a Macroeconomist (M.Sc. Econ) from the University of Copenhagen. He is a Business Cycles student, Elliott Wave practitioner, and Chartist. You can find out more about his newsletter on his Website.Henrik Zeberg - Newsletter - https://www.thezebergreport.com/Twitter - https://twitter.com/HenrikZebergWTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 16th of January, 2025On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Jim Bianco. Jim is the is President and Macro Strategist at Bianco Research, L.L.C.During our conversation we spoke about the increasing volatility in the markets, what this means for the FED, why their first cut was a mistake, the dollar wrecking ball, Chinese desperation, Scott Bessent and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction1:29 - Increased volatility3:26 - FED cut mistake5:56 - Issue with duel mandate8:26 - FED to pause?10:43 - Dollar wrecking ball12:40 - China is desperate16:41 - Japanification of China?18:51 - Risk of increasing rates?21:41 - Combination of monetary & fiscal policy23:36 - Incumbents getting voted out25:36 - Yields coming back down?29:16 - Yellen dampened long-term yields?32:26 - Scott Bessent make changes?35:46 - Monroe doctrine37:26 - What does this mean for markets?43:46 - The market is overvalued46:16 - US sucking global liquidity52:15 - One message to takeaway?Jim Bianco is President and Index Manager at Bianco Research Advisors. He is also the President of Bianco Research LLC. Since 1990, Jim’s commentaries have offered a unique perspective on the global economy and financial markets. Unencumbered by the biases of traditional Wall Street research, Jim has built a decades long reputation for objective, incisive commentary that challenges consensus thinking.Jim appears regularly on CNBC, Bloomberg, and Fox Business, and is often featured in the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, Grants Interest Rate Observer, and MarketWatch. Jim has a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Marquette University (1984) and an MBA from Fordham University (1989).Jim Bianco: Research: https://www.biancoresearch.com/visitor-home/ETF: https://www.biancoadvisors.com/X: https://twitter.com/intent/follow?screen_name=biancoresearch&tw_p=followbuttonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-bianco-117619152/WTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfnTikTok - https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeUjj9xV/iTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-fatseas-761066103/Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 13th of January, 2025On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Michael Howell. Michael is the Founder & Managing Director of CrossBorder Capital.During our conversation we spoke about liquidity, how the FED and treasury have been artificially providing liquidity before the election, what the dollar wrecking ball means, impact on markets and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction1:30 - Outlook for global liquidity?8:53 - What drove QE/YC?17:35 - Bond market normalising20:35 - What is happening in China?25:15 - US Dollar wrecking ball36:28 - QE distortions38:30 - Action Scott Bessent to take?40:45 - UK QT impact on liquidity?42:15 - What impact on markets?44:25 - Exiting markets?46:10 - Everything bubble47:35 - One message to takeaway?Michael Howell is CEO of CrossBorder Capital, a London-based FCA registered, independent research and investment company that he founded in 1996. Previously he was Head of Research for Baring Securities and Research Director of Salomon Brothers Inc, the US investment bank. The liquidity methodology he pioneered monitors cross-border flows and Central Bank behaviour across some 80 countries world-wide. Liquidity flows are a central part of CrossBorder Capital's asset allocation advice, which is currently provided to major global investors, including institutional asset managers, government agencies, Central Banks and endowment funds. Michael has been in financial markets since 1981 and is a regular conference speaker and media commentator. He graduated from Bristol and London Universities with a finance doctorate, specialising in Fixed Income.Michael Howell -Website - https://crossbordercapital.com/Twitter - https://twitter.com/crossbordercapLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-howell-357b1416/?originalSubdomain=ukWTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 10th of January, 2024On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Steve Hanke. Steve is the Professor of Applied Economics and Founder and Co-Director of the Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise at The Johns Hopkins University.  He is also the author of the recently released book “Capital, Interest and Waiting: Controversies, Puzzles and New Additions to Capital Theory”.During our conversation we spoke about what happened in 2024, quantitative tightening, the treasury, drivers of money supply, trump inflation, the dollar wrecking ball, recession risk and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction2:20 - Review of 2024?8:18 - Quantitative tightening10:47 - Treasury bond issuance 13:37 - Issue with FED & Wall Street17:52 - Drivers of money supply21:32 - Bond market issue28:18 - Trump inflationary?31:27 - Dollar wrecking ball36:32 - Grow money supply with high debt?42:12 - One message to takeaway?Steve H. Hanke is a Senior Fellow, Contributing Editor of The Independent Review, and a Member of the Board of Advisors at the Independent Institute. He is a Professor of Applied Economics and Founder and Co-Director of the Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He is also a Senior Adviser at the Renmin University of China’s International Monetary Research Institute in Beijing, and a Special Counselor to the Center for Financial Stability in New York. Hanke is also a Contributing Editor at Central Banking in London and a Contributor at National Review. In addition, Hanke is a member of the Charter Council of the Society for Economic Measurement and a Distinguished Associate of the International Atlantic Economic Society. He is ranked as the world’s third-most influential economics influencer by FocusEconomics in Barcelona, Spain.Steve Hanke: Book - https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-63398-0X -  https://x.com/steve_hankeBio - https://www.independent.org/aboutus/person_detail.asp?id=516WTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 6th of January, 2025On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Doomberg.During our conversation we spoke about the rebellion of the elite and how increasing electricity prices have impacted this in Europe, energy bottlenecks, geopolitical risk, the new American empire, potential for geopolitical vacuum, Trump accelerating growth, European Winter 24/25 and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction2:34 - What stood out in 2024?5:04 - Numb to geopolitical risks18:39 - Energy bottleneck for data centres?10:19 - Pressure on US energy prices?12:49 - Gas pressure14:52 - Difficult to predict energy markets16:46 - What impact will Trump have on the world?20:12 - Geopolitical vacuum?21:51 - War for Africa23:31 - Do demographics matter with AI?27:49 - Trump accelerating growth?35:04 - Bureaucratic elite 39:24 - Europe energy cost destroying economy41:29 - Winter 2024/25 in Europe?46:24 - One message to takeaway from conversation?Doomberg is an independent, widely distributed publication that delivers concise, entertaining, provocative articles centered on energy, finance, and geopolitics. They are a small team of entrepreneurs that started this business after long careers in the industrial sector. With trillions of taxpayer dollars and myriad government mandates thrown at the energy transition, there was a practical voice missing in the traditional media. They started writing in that voice, with the freedom of having no master to serve beyond the foundation of our own principles, experience, and work ethic.This publication is their passion, and the content is supported by our team’s deep experience in heavy industry, private equity, and the hard sciences. They are entirely reader-supported and have grown to be the most widely read finance newsletter on the Substack platform.Doomberg - Substack - https://doomberg.substack.com/Twitter - https://twitter.com/DoombergTEmail - doomberg@doomberg.comWTFinance Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 3rd of January, 2025On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Dave Collum. Dave is a Professor of Organic Chemistry and leading thinker on markets and the larger world around us. During our conversation we spoke about Dave's review of 2024, the destruction of the democratic party, emergence of extremism, bureaucratic crisis, controlling complex systems, dollar wrecking ball, confiscating assets, Trump 2.0 and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction2:27 - Review of 20243:50 - Democrats took election for granted?9:00 - Biden in 2016?18:00 - Bureaucratic crisis26:08 - Emergence of extremism29:02 - Political accountability29:59 - Powell recent decision making?35:15 - Controlling complex systems31:22 - Managers can be poor allocators of capital40:42 - Distributions41:56 - Big Pharma model47:36 - Healthcare failing49:57 - Dollar wrecking ball53:42 - Confiscating assets58:47 - Optimism about Trump 2.01:03:13 - Trump to avoid a market reckoning?1:04:12 - One message to takeaway from our conversation?David Collum received a BS in biology from Cornell in 1977 and an MA, MS, and PhD in chemistry from Columbia University in 1980. Dave currently is the Betty R. Miller Professor of Chemistry at Cornell University. While at Cornell Dave has served as Director of Undergraduate Studies, Director of Graduate Studies, associate chairman, and chairman while running a research program in organic chemistry for forty years, which include collaborations with a host of large-cap pharmaceutical companies exemplified by Merck and Pfizer. In recent years he has become interested in the interface where politics and markets meet. He compiles an annual Year in Review, does several dozen podcasts per year, and occasionally stirs up trouble on more mainstream media sources.Dave Collum - Twitter - https://twitter.com/davidbcollum?s=21&t=xvXQIRnoZm5mxXw68trHEQYear in Review - https://peakprosperity.com/2024-year-in-review-what-is-a-fact/WTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 17th of December, 2024On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Professor Richard Wolff. Richard is a well-known critic of an alternative contemporary economic system, host of the Economic Update and Founding Director of Democracy at work.During our conversation we spoke about the economics of 2024, what to expect in 2024, the potential for another roaring twenties, the collapse of the US empire, actions to prevent such an event and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction1:30 - Economics of 202412:40 - Inwards looking US and Roaring twenties?23:05 - Large migration and wage increase?28:20 - Actions to change trajectory?35:15 - One message to takeaway from conversation?Richard D. Wolff is Professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst where he taught economics from 1973 to 2008. He is currently a Visiting Professor in the Graduate Program in International Affairs of the New School University, New York City.Earlier he taught economics at Yale University (1967-1969) and at the City College of the City University of New York (1969-1973). In 1994, he was a Visiting Professor of Economics at the University of Paris (France), I (Sorbonne). Wolff was also regular lecturer at the Brecht Forum in New York City.Prof Wolff is the co-founder of Democracy at Work and host of their nationally syndicated show Economic Update. Professor Richard Wolff:Democracy at work: https://www.democracyatwork.info/Website: https://www.rdwolff.com/X: https://x.com/profwolffYouTube:  @RichardDWolff  WTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 13/12/2024On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming on Chief Strategist of Citrini Research. They cover Thematic Equity with a top down approach. During our conversation we spoke about the thematic equity approach on investing, review of 2024, thoughts on 2025, risk of Nvidia slowdown, return of Arkk, anti-trends, selling too early and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction1:37 - Citrini investment strategy5:13 - What drives markets?8:15 - Review of 202413:55 - Collection of trends17:05 - 25 trades for 202524:47 - Nvidia slowdown?30:20 - 2025 Risks?34:20 - Small cap vs hyperscaler?36:30 - Looking past Trump speak39:20 - Return of Arkk44:55 - Anti-trends53:37 - Selling too early59:27 - One message to takeaway?Over the past century, 40% of shareholder returns have come from 1% of all companies.Identifying these companies is oftentimes a function of investor’s early discovery of market themes & narratives. Those “megatrends” affecting not just individual companies or sectors but the entire economy.This is the kind of approach to investing utilized at Citrini Research. They attempt to highlight and demystify themes that will define the market’s distribution of returns for years to come.By incorporating macroeconomics, second-order thinking, top-down sector analysis and a lateral approach to individual equities and markets in general, they aim to discover early & expand upon these themes for their clients.It is their most firmly held conviction that narratives drive markets more than any other factor. While their strategy has been defined in many ways by many people, they are solely concerned with one thing: doing what works.Citrini -Website - https://www.citriniresearch.com/X - https://x.com/Citrini7WTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas