Moody’s Talks – Inside Economics

Matt Colyar and Adam “Hurricane” Kamins join the podcast to discuss this week’s inflation data and the economic impact of Hurricane Milton. The team parses the latest CPI report and debates whether inflation is “sticky” or “moderating”.  Adam discusses his work on estimating the economic damage from the recent string of devastating hurricanes. The team also discusses the potential longer-term fallout on housing and migration in storm-prone areas like Florida.  For the paper on the impact of homeowners insurance on housing affordability click hereGuest: Matt Colyar - Assistant Director, Moody's AnalyticsGuest: Adam Kamins - Senior Director, Moody's AnalyticsHosts: Mark Zandi – Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Cris deRitis – Deputy Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, and Marisa DiNatale – Senior Director - Head of Global Forecasting, Moody’s AnalyticsFollow Mark Zandi on 'X' @MarkZandi, Cris deRitis on LinkedIn, and Marisa DiNatale on LinkedIn

Mark and Cris are joined by Dante and Michael Strain, Director of Economic Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute.  Dante kicks things off with a detailed summary of the stronger than expected U.S. employment report for September. Buoyant wage growth and upward revisions to July and August’s numbers confirm that the economy remains healthy.  The discussion then pivoted to the presidential election with Michael making a strong case for status quo economic policies and divided government.Check out Michael's Strain's Book: The American Dream Is Not DeadGuest: Michael R. Strain - Director of Economic Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute (AEI)Guest: Dante DeAntonio, Senior Director of Economic Research, Moody's AnalyticsHosts: Mark Zandi – Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Cris deRitis – Deputy Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, and Marisa DiNatale – Senior Director - Head of Global Forecasting, Moody’s AnalyticsFollow Mark Zandi on 'X' @MarkZandi, Cris deRitis on LinkedIn, and Marisa DiNatale on LinkedIn

Is this the best economy ever? Given the big revisions to GDP and the steady stream of other stellar economic data, the Inside Economics team makes the case that it is.  Moderating inflation, full employment, stronger savings rates and steady corporate profits point to an economy that is stronger than consumer confidence suggests. The team also discusses the latest economic proposals from the presidential campaign and a recent opinion piece comparing Mark’s forecasts to those of Punxsutawney Phil. Editor’s note: Punxsutawney Phil has also been unfairly mischaracterized by the media. https://www.axios.com/2023/01/28/groundhog-day-punxsutawney-phil-spring-winterGuest: Matt Colyar - Assistant Director, Moody's AnalyticsHosts: Mark Zandi – Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Cris deRitis – Deputy Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, and Marisa DiNatale – Senior Director - Head of Global Forecasting, Moody’s AnalyticsFollow Mark Zandi on 'X' @MarkZandi, Cris deRitis on LinkedIn, and Marisa DiNatale on LinkedIn

Economist Martin Wurm joins Inside Economics to discuss the Fed’s rate cut earlier this week, which was larger than the IE team expected. Martin talks about the decision behind the large cut and what it means for the future path of interest rates and the forecasts for the rest of the economy. The team discusses the rate decision’s impact on the housing market and mortgage rates and ends by playing a tough stats game.Guest: Martin Wurm – Director-Economic Research, Moody's AnalyticsHosts: Mark Zandi – Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Cris deRitis – Deputy Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, and Marisa DiNatale – Senior Director - Head of Global Forecasting, Moody’s AnalyticsFollow Mark Zandi on 'X' @MarkZandi, Cris deRitis on LinkedIn, and Marisa DiNatale on LinkedIn

The Inside Economics team breaks down the latest inflation data -- August’s consumer price index. They unpack the underlying components, focusing most of their attention on the confounding acceleration in shelter inflation. “Eggflation” makes a return to the podcast as well. Nevertheless, U.S. inflation has cooled considerably, and the Fed is set to start lowering their policy rate at next week’s meeting. What will that mean for U.S. consumers and businesses? Finally, Marisa takes some listener questions and Matt reads some (mostly positive) reviews of the Inside Economics podcast.  Guest: Matt Colyar - Assistant Director, Moody's AnalyticsHosts: Mark Zandi – Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Cris deRitis – Deputy Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, and Marisa DiNatale – Senior Director - Head of Global Forecasting, Moody’s AnalyticsFollow Mark Zandi on 'X' @MarkZandi, Cris deRitis on LinkedIn, and Marisa DiNatale on LinkedIn

The Inside Economics crew gathers in Southern California for an early morning reaction to the August jobs report, which they all concur is “pretty good”. They discuss the implications of slowing job growth for the Fed’s upcoming meetings as well as the presidential election. Finally, they all give their odds for a recession occurring in the next year—Cris remains the bear of the group. Guest: Dante DeAntonio - Senior Director, Economic ResearchHosts: Mark Zandi – Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Cris deRitis – Deputy Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, and Marisa DiNatale – Senior Director - Head of Global Forecasting, Moody’s AnalyticsFollow Mark Zandi on 'X' @MarkZandi, Cris deRitis on LinkedIn, and Marisa DiNatale on LinkedIn

The Inside Economics team discusses what they found most encouraging and disquieting in the blizzard of economic releases and events of this past week. Emily Mandel, our state and local government expert, also weighs in on the fiscal health of states and how the economy is performing in states that stand to swing the Presidential election. The group also takes up listener questions; keep the Qs coming. Guest: Emily Mandel - Associate Director, Senior Economist, Moody's AnalyticsHosts: Mark Zandi – Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Cris deRitis – Deputy Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, and Marisa DiNatale – Senior Director - Head of Global Forecasting, Moody’s AnalyticsFollow Mark Zandi on 'X' @MarkZandi, Cris deRitis on LinkedIn, and Marisa DiNatale on LinkedIn

Brendan LaCerda (not Canadian) joins Mark, Cris & Marisa to discuss a plethora of topics, including the Canadian railroad workers strike, the revisions to the employment numbers, Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speech, and the Moody’s Analytics election model. The team takes a few thought-provoking listener questions on the housing market and the savings rate.  Reach out to us with any questions or suggestions at helpeconomy@moodys.comHosts: Mark Zandi – Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Cris deRitis – Deputy Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, and Marisa DiNatale – Senior Director - Head of Global Forecasting, Moody’s AnalyticsFollow Mark Zandi on 'X' @MarkZandi, Cris deRitis on LinkedIn, and Marisa DiNatale on LinkedIn

With the release of July’s consumer price index this week, the Inside Economics team discusses the current state of U.S. inflation. As they dig into the underlying details, they debate what they see as root causes. Specifically – are corporations taking advantage of consumers by keeping prices higher than they should? If so, are recent policy proposals to address ‘price gouging’ likely to be effective? Hosts: Mark Zandi – Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Cris deRitis – Deputy Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, and Marisa DiNatale – Senior Director - Head of Global Forecasting, Moody’s AnalyticsFollow Mark Zandi on 'X' @MarkZandi, Cris deRitis on LinkedIn, and Marisa DiNatale on LinkedIn

It has been a hair on fire couple weeks for global investors. Stock, bond, commodity and foreign exchange markets have been buffeted by wild swings.  No better person to discuss this with than Robin Brooks, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and formerly of the Institute of International Finance, Goldman Sachs and the IMF. Robin weighs in on the reasons for the volatility, including policy missteps by the Bank of Japan, and considers what it all means for monetary policy and the economy. For more on today's guest: Robin J Brooks - Senior Fellow at Global Economy and Development, BrookingsFollow Robin on 'X'Hosts: Mark Zandi – Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Cris deRitis – Deputy Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, and Marisa DiNatale – Senior Director - Head of Global Forecasting, Moody’s AnalyticsFollow Mark Zandi on 'X' @MarkZandi, Cris deRitis on LinkedIn, and Marisa DiNatale on LinkedIn