Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway explore the most interesting topics in finance, markets and economics. Join the conversation every Monday, Thursday, and Friday
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Mayor Matthew Tuerk explores Allentown's strategic reindustrialization, from its history as a transistor pioneer to its current role as a logistics hub for "weight-gaining industries." He details implementing industrial policy locally, innovative rezoning to integrate modern, cleaner manufacturing, and leveraging federal programs to address employment gaps and de-risk supply chains. The discussion also touches on the political complexities of data centers and the city's evolving demographics.
Since Mayor Brandon Scott took office in 2020, he's fixated on a very visible problem in Baltimore: the tens of thousands of vacant homes that dot the city. It's hard to build new houses when there are so many that sit empty and unused. And the process of tracking down owners, convincing them to sell their vacant properties, and then converting those homes into usable housing supply is a tall task. In the last few years, the number of vacant homes in Baltimore has dropped from 16,000 to just ove...
The podcast delves into the rapidly growing private market for dinosaur fossils, examining its unique structure compared to the art world. Guest Salomon Aaron explains the intricate process from discovery on private US land, through rigorous due diligence and assembly, to eventual sale. The discussion highlights the "Stan" T-Rex sale as a market inflection point, the role of "tech bros" as new buyers, and the ongoing debate about whether private ownership benefits or hinders scientific research and public access.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has highlighted the potential for long-running theoretical chokepoints to turn into reality, with dramatic results for both geopolitics and the global economy. But the hypothetical scenario that policymakers have arguably been losing the most sleep over for decades is the prospect of a major conflict between China and Taiwan. So how likely is it, and what would such a conflict actually look like? On this episode, we speak with Eyck Freymann, author of the new ...
BlackRock COO Rob Goldstein discusses the past and future of finance, highlighting megatrends like asset management growth and technology. He details BlackRock's early tech history, the evolution of its risk management platform Aladdin, and the company's dual role as an AI provider and user. The conversation delves into AI's impact on finance, the concept of a "SaaS apocalypse," and the increasing transparency in private markets.
Experts John Sheehan and Craig Manchuck from Osterweis Capital Management trace the history of private credit from pre-2008 origins through its explosive post-crisis growth, explaining how regulatory shifts and investor demand fueled its expansion. They discuss the unique fund structures, the challenges of rapid capital deployment leading to aggressive underwriting, and the implications of redemption gates and potential default rates. The conversation highlights the market's evolving risks and its significant impact on corporate financing.
This Odd Lots episode features Chris Painter and Joel Becker from METR, a non-profit dedicated to measuring AI autonomy and potential catastrophic risks. They demystify METR's viral "time horizon" charts, explaining how they gauge AI capabilities by comparing task completion times to human performance and highlighting the exponential, accelerating pace of AI progress. The discussion also delves into the unique cultural and financial tensions within the AI industry, the challenges of accurate benchmarking, and METR's role in informing the public about these rapidly advancing technologies and their societal implications.
We're living in an extraordinary moment for Latin American politics. From the ousting of Maduro to the ongoing oil blockade of Cuba to Javier Milei revving up a chainsaw at CPAC. Various leaders in different countries are taking different approaches to their relationship with the US. Each is aware that there is a high value in being close to Trump, but also each know that Trump won't be the US President forever. So how should we understand the different approaches being taken? Today we talk to J...
Google VP of Search, Liz Reid, explores the intricate relationship between AI and traditional web search, addressing how AI overviews are integrated into Google's core product. She delves into the evolving user behaviors, the shift from keyword-based queries to more natural language, and Google's continuous efforts to ensure search quality and monetize new opportunities while managing privacy and competition. The discussion highlights Google's user-centric approach and the ongoing challenge of combating vast amounts of "slop" content.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Daniel Yergin explains that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz represents a "nightmare scenario" that permanently shifts global energy and power dynamics, regardless of the war's outcome. He details the market's divergent reactions, regional impacts, and the crisis's effect on rethinking energy security and diversification. The discussion also covers the immense electricity demands of the AI industry and its ripple effects across the energy landscape.
Serial entrepreneur Brad Jacobs details QXO's significant $17 billion merger with TopBuild, a leading insulation provider, highlighting the strategic rationale, financial accretion, and expected synergies in the building materials sector. He discusses the importance of physical goods, the insulation market's dynamics, and the critical role of M&A due diligence, while also sharing insights on how AI is revolutionizing CEO productivity and corporate efficiency. The episode also touches on broader economic factors affecting the building and trucking industries.
This episode features Jack McClendon, CEO of Siena Natural Resources, who explains the complexities of the US oil industry, particularly why a significant production increase is unlikely despite calls for more oil. He delves into the impact of rising operational and capital costs, the industry's shift towards capital discipline over production growth post-shale busts, and how geopolitical events and political rhetoric influence investment decisions. McClendon also touches on the unique challenges faced by smaller, conventional oil producers and the surprising efficiency gains in drilling technology.
Joe and Tracy speak with Alex Imas, a University of Chicago professor, about why economists might be misjudging AI's impact on labor. They discuss how AI's general capabilities differ from past technologies, the importance of task-based job analysis, and the often-overlooked role of consumer demand elasticity in job creation. The conversation highlights the sheer speed of AI development, emphasizing the need for proactive public policy like UBI and exploring peculiar experiments with "Marxist robots" and AI memory.
There are a lot of things to be annoyed about in modern life. The high cost of food and housing and childcare. Dating apps that don't seem to work. The fear of AI replacing you at your job. These are all common complaints and concerns, and each of them can be traced to a specific economic phenomenon or market structure issue. Once you start thinking about the world in this way, you can't unsee it. In this episode, we speak with Planet Money co-host Mary Childs, and contributor to the podcast, Al...
It's possible that the war in Iran could reshape financial flows in significant ways. Perhaps the Gulf states will end up as less desirable places to do business. Perhaps Iran will have a tollbooth at the Strait of Hormuz. Perhaps this episode will accelerate the world's shift away from oil. It's impossible to say. But given the uncertainty, fresh questions are being raised about the existing financial world order, upon the top of which the US dollar sits. On this episode, we speak once again wi...
The war in Iran has caused the price of all kinds of commodities to surge, and that has a negative economic impact almost everywhere. But the squeeze is really being felt hard in East Asia, which is the ultimate destination for a lot of oil and gas that come out of the Gulf. And though the Strait of Hormuz may eventually re-open, and the acute pain may pass, this episode may already be reshaping the future. On this episode of the podcast we speak with Alex Turnbull, an investor based in Singapor...
It's fueling the A.I. bubble, it's coming to your retirement portfolio—and it's flashing a lot of warning signs right now. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, private credit or “shadow banking” grew as an alternative to the regulations and shared risk that institutional banks operate within. What happens if a crisis hits the trillions of dollars that are outside of those guardrails? We may be about to find out. Guest: Tracy Alloway , co-host of Bloomberg's Odd Lots podcast. https://slate.c...
Ziad Daoud, an emerging markets economist, details the lasting impacts of the Iran war on Gulf states, discussing how their efforts to maintain stability have been challenged and their relationships with major powers are shifting. The episode covers the re-evaluation of US security guarantees, the complex intra-Gulf dynamics, and the economic imperative to diversify away from oil while facing new security threats and potential reductions in global capital flows.
Joe and Tracy discuss the persistent puzzle of high stock market valuations and big tech's shift from cash generation to massive AI investments. Economist Jonathan Heathcote explains his research, which suggests that while price-to-earnings ratios seem elevated, valuations appear more reasonable when viewed through free cash flow, a metric less affected by declining labor share and historically low capital expenditures. The conversation explores the implications of the current AI boom on these trends, potential wealth inequality, and the complexities for policymakers.
When the conflict with Iran started, some of the first headlines we saw had to do with shipping insurance. Marine insurers were said to be canceling war risk coverage for vessels going through the Strait of Hormuz. Premiums were said to surge. Meanwhile, the Trump administration announced it would offer its own insurance for ships traversing the Persian Gulf, in an effort to get things moving again. So why is insurance such a crucial part of maritime trade? And how does the system actually work?...
Right now, when you think about prediction markets, you basically think about two main companies: Polymarket and Kalshi. And then when you think of what's being traded on those platforms, there's a whole range of stuff from elections to sports to real economic outcomes, to totally gonzo random stuff, like who will win the next season of Big Brother . So far, sports is where a lot of the money is. But at least in theory, prediction markets could be a popular instrument for professional, instituti...
The story of how a secret project at Google led to driverless cars on American roads. And, an answer to the question: are the robots actually safer drivers than we are? Find Part 2: “The Trial of the Driverless Car” HERE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The relationship between the US and Europe is deteriorating along both security and economic dimensions. The Trump administration has imposed tariffs, while also being sharply critical of NATO allies. So what are European leaders to do? Hope things go back to normal in the US? Or perhaps become closer with China? Our guest on this episode says the latter would be a grave mistake. This episode was recorded live on April 1 at the DC headquarters of the Council on Foreign Relations. We spoke with G...
There's obviously a lot of talk these days about AI and possible destruction of white collar jobs. Intuitively bankers might be expected to be victims of this. But before we can answer whether AI can disrupt an industry, or a line of work, we have to know what the job actually entails. What do investment bankers actually do, and why are they paid for it? To answer this question, we speak with Scott Bok, the longtime former CEO of the investment bank Greenhill. Scott is also the author of the boo...
When you consider the fact that many people don't know how and where to place a comma, it's safe to say that AI is already better than most people at writing. It's clean copy. It can be surprisingly persuasive. And sometimes, it's even informative. But there's frequently still something about it that just seems... off. Many people can tell quite quickly when they're reading AI-generated text. And beyond the style, the existence of AI generated text has all kinds of ramifications, from making it ...
Oil has shot up by a lot since the start of war with Iran. But it could still get much worse. So far, the massive disruption (due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz) has been cushioned by the drawing down of inventories and distributions from strategic stockpiles. Meanwhile, there is some oil still on tankers that has yet to be delivered. According to Bloomberg Opinion columnist Javier Blas, the potential remains for oil to go much, much higher. On this episode, we speak with Javier about th...
This week, NASA is scheduled to launch Artemis II, a mission that will send astronauts around the moon for the first time in more than 50 years. But this comes at a time when the space agency is facing some pretty big funding challenges, as well as growing competition with private players like SpaceX. In this episode, we speak with Alexander MacDonald, who served as NASA's first chief economist and is now a senior associate at the Aerospace Security Project at CSIS. We talk about why the space a...
When we last spoke to Marco Argenti, chief information officer at Goldman Sachs, we were talking about how the bank was deploying AI, including the development of its own internal tools. But that was a year and a half ago and a lot has changed since then, especially with the arrival of agentic platforms like Claude Code. So what exactly is Goldman Sachs doing with AI now? And what has its experience with the new tech been like so far? On this episode, we catch up with Marco to discuss what AI de...
The last big story right before the war in Iran started was the collapse in the relationship between the Pentagon and Anthropic, with the latter objecting to any potential use of its models in either fully autonomous weapons or domestic surveillance. Of course, this story immediately become more relevant with the start of the war, and the reporting that Anthropic's technology was in fact utilized at the start of hostilities. But what does that mean? How are these models used? And what would a fu...
Ripple effects from the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz continue to widen. There's yet another brewing shortage, this time in helium. While most people associate helium with balloons and funny voices, the element is used in a surprisingly wide variety of industrial settings, including semiconductor production, where its role in advanced lithography has been growing rapidly. But helium mining and exploration in North America has been practically non-existent for a variety of r...
