Simply Put

Hosted by Will Compernolle

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Aug 2026

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About the show

A podcast from FHN Financial looking at the most important things driving fixed income markets and the macroeconomy. Every episode features experts who give unique insights on topics like the regional banking landscape, commercial real estate, or how to translate Federal Reserve policy into market strategies. Tune in to better understand what’s been moving markets lately, and what to keep an eye on in the weeks and months ahead. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts

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60 recent

September 4, 202638 min

Katherine Loughead on the State of State Tax Policy

As the pandemic-era shocks of federal stimulus and domestic migration fade, some states are looking for new taxes to increase revenue while others consider tax cuts to address affordability concerns. Proposed reforms for property taxes in Florida, income taxes in Illinois, and a wealth tax in California show how the differences in states’ tax environments are widening even further. In this episode, we talk with Katherine Loughead, Vice President of State Tax Policy at the Tax Foundation, about states’ fiscal positions in the post-pandemic economy, three significant changes to state taxes that could be in the pipeline, and rules of thumb for ideal tax policy design. Simply Put: Expert perspectives on the trends influencing fixed income, banking, and the macro landscape, hosted by FHN Financial’s Macro Strategist, Will Compernolle. Tune in to better understand what’s moving the markets and what to keep an eye on in the weeks and months ahead. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

August 26, 202629 min

SPECIAL PODCAST: Brad Setser on the Efficacy of Recent Treasury Interventions

The recent increase in Treasury’s buyback operations will remove long-term USTs from the market using new short-term debt or cash from the Treasury General Account. Secretary Bessent believes the buybacks will help bring long-term yields closer to what he deems fundamentals. The move comes weeks after Treasury officials intervened to support the yen, in part from worries that Japan would otherwise sell Treasuries to buy up its currency. In this special edition of Simply Put, we talk with Brad Setser, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, about what motivated the increase in Treasury’s buyback operations, why the US helped strengthen the yen, and whether these interventions will have lasting impacts on the Treasury market. Simply Put: Expert perspectives on the trends influencing fixed income, banking, and the macro landscape, hosted by FHN Financial’s Macro Strategist, Will Compernolle. Tune in to better understand what’s moving the markets and what to keep an eye on in the weeks and months ahead. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

August 21, 202633 min

John Graham on How CFOs are (and are not) Implementing AI

The speed and magnitude of AI implementation at the firm level will help determine its overall impact on growth, productivity, and employment. Survey evidence shows CFOs’ approach to AI integration varies based on how they assess the risks and potential benefits of the innovative technology. In this episode, we talk with John Graham, Professor of Finance at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, about what’s driving CFOs’ decisions on AI spend, the impact on productivity and employment thus far, and parallels with the late-1990s desktop computer revolution. Simply Put: Expert perspectives on the trends influencing fixed income, banking, and the macro landscape, hosted by FHN Financial’s Macro Strategist, Will Compernolle. Tune in to better understand what’s moving the markets and what to keep an eye on in the weeks and months ahead. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

August 7, 202639 min

Narayana Kocherlakota on Optimal Fed Communication

Chair Warsh has communicated very little at his first two press conferences, aiming to increase policy flexibility and free markets to “play the ball, not the referee.” This is a marked change from his predecessors who viewed frequent communication as a form of transparency and helpful guidance. Some of Warsh’s desired reforms, however, are subject to FOMC approval and cannot be implemented unilaterally. In this episode, we talk with Narayana Kocherlakota, former President of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, about how the Fed approached communication through the GFC, the process for reforming FOMC procedures, and the optimal balance between monetary policy flexibility and guidance. Simply Put: Expert perspectives on the trends influencing fixed income, banking, and the macro landscape, hosted by FHN Financial’s Macro Strategist, Will Compernolle. Tune in to better understand what’s moving the markets and what to keep an eye on in the weeks and months ahead. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

July 24, 202636 min

The Lifetime Model of Inflation Expectations according to Ulrike Malmendier and Stefan Nagel

Regardless of the Fed’s commitment to restoring price stability, past price increases have had a lasting impression on households and businesses after five years of above-target inflation. People’s experiences arguably shape inflation expectations — and the path of future inflation — more than perceptions of the Fed’s resolve. If FOMC participants over-emphasize point estimates of inflation expectations, they risk overlooking the long-term costs of every month where inflation runs above 2%. In this episode, we talk with the University of California’s Ulrike Malmendier and the University of Chicago’s Stefan Nagel about how lifetime experiences shape economic expectations, the scarring impacts of the pandemic economy, and the implications for Fed policy. Simply Put: Expert perspectives on the trends influencing fixed income, banking, and the macro landscape, hosted by FHN Financial’s Macro Strategist, Will Compernolle. Tune in to better understand what’s moving the markets and what to keep an eye on in the weeks and months ahead. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

July 10, 202642 min

Teresa Walsh on the Cybersecurity Risks Facing the Financial Sector

Even as Artificial Intelligence enhances productivity, it is also increasing cybersecurity vulnerabilities across the financial industry. New technologies like Anthropic’s Mythos add to bad actors’ abilities to disrupt the financial sector through fraud and Distributed Denial-of-Service attacks. Amid these risks, individuals, institutions, and governments have tools available to limit the significant costs from cyberattacks. In this episode, we talk with Teresa Walsh, CEO and Founder of Integrated Intelligence Solutions, about how AI is empowering nefarious actors, the direct and indirect costs of cyberattacks, and how individuals and institutions can best protect themselves. Simply Put: Expert perspectives on the trends influencing fixed income, banking, and the macro landscape, hosted by FHN Financial’s Macro Strategist, Will Compernolle. Tune in to better understand what’s moving the markets and what to keep an eye on in the weeks and months ahead. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

June 26, 202623 min

Michelle Bockmann on Shipping Insurance in the Strait of Hormuz

The cost of shipping insurance in the Strait of Hormuz has surged over the last four months. Even after the US and Iran lifted their mutual blockade last week, insurers and ship operators are wary of safety in the narrow passageway and the stability of any agreement. The protracted riskiness will delay energy market normalization and push up the cost of oil transportation. In this episode, we talk with Michelle Bockmann, Senior Maritime Intelligence Analyst with Windward, about how the shipping insurance market prices war risk and how insurers view the fragile US-Iran peace agreement. Simply Put: Expert perspectives on the trends influencing fixed income, banking, and the macro landscape, hosted by FHN Financial’s Macro Strategist, Will Compernolle. Tune in to better understand what’s moving the markets and what to keep an eye on in the weeks and months ahead. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

June 12, 202634 min

Mike Ashton on How the Market Expresses Inflation Expectations

Investors often use inflation swaps and breakevens — the difference in yields between nominal Treasuries and TIPS — to deduce market participants’ inflation expectations. These measures also change from new TIPS issuance, shifting inflation risk, and a liquidity premium, however, making them imprecise gauges of estimates for future inflation. In this episode, we talk with Mike Ashton, Managing Principal at Enduring Investments, about how TIPS and swaps compensate investors for inflation, how closely they reflect inflation expectations, and what they tell us about expectations for the War in Iran. Simply Put: Expert perspectives on the trends influencing fixed income, banking, and the macro landscape, hosted by FHN Financial’s Macro Strategist, Will Compernolle. Tune in to better understand what’s moving the markets and what to keep an eye on in the weeks and months ahead. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

May 29, 202628 min

Alexis Maxwell on How Rising Fertilizer Costs Drive Food Inflation

The Strait of Hormuz’s closure has driven up prices for fertilizer and diesel, two inputs essential for agricultural production. Considering how farmers pre-buy fertilizer and crops take months to grow, the higher costs may not be fully passed on to consumers until the spring of 2027. Agricultural production will be a bellwether as the Fed waits to see the second-order effects of higher oil prices on broader consumer inflation. In this episode, we talk with Alexis Maxwell, Senior Analyst for Fertilizer with Bloomberg Intelligence, about how the war in Iran is increasing costs for agricultural production, farmers’ alternatives to conventional fertilizer, and the energy shock’s delayed impact on consumer food prices. Simply Put: Expert perspectives on the trends influencing fixed income, banking, and the macro landscape, hosted by FHN Financial’s Macro Strategist, Will Compernolle. Tune in to better understand what’s moving the markets and what to keep an eye on in the weeks and months ahead. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

May 15, 202627 min

Emanuel Mönch on the Post-Pandemic Term Premium

The term premium — investors’ compensation for holding longer-term Treasuries instead of T-bills — fluctuates with inflation uncertainty, federal deficit worries, and central banks’ balance sheets. The New York Fed’s Adrian, Crump, and Mönch model estimates the 10-year Treasury term premium is higher than before the pandemic but substantially lower than it was pre- GFC. The post-pandemic term premium will shape the path of longer-term Treasuries as bond investors consider what the new normal looks like. In this episode, we talk with Emanuel Mönch, Professor of Financial and Monetary Economics at the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, about the models estimating the term premium, what’s driven changes over the last forty years, and how it could shift under a Warsh-led Fed.