Behind the Markets Podcast

Show from 2026-08-21

Professor Jeremy Siegel joins Jeremy Schwartz to discuss Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s efforts to influence the yield curve, the implications for Fed credibility, and the market’s reaction across bonds, crypto, gold, and the dollar. Siegel also previews Jackson Hole, arguing investors need more clarity on Chair Kevin Warsh’s reaction function, while noting that rising commodity prices and continued money-supply growth could strengthen the case for higher rates later in the year. He also weighs geopolitical risks surrounding Iran, China, oil flows, and the Strait of Hormuz. (14:12) After Siegel leaves, Sam Rines and Chris Gannatti join Schwartz for a broader discussion spanning consumers, technology, and global markets. Rines assesses Walmart, Target, Ross Stores, and Redbook data, concluding that consumer spending remains resilient despite mixed retail earnings. The group explores AI-driven drug discovery, Moderna’s cancer-treatment developments, humanoid robotics, drones, and the growing overlap between defense technology and commercial applications. They also examine opportunities in Europe and Japan, renewed momentum in crypto and gold, the impact of a weaker dollar, China’s AI ecosystem, and NVIDIA’s expanding role in financing AI infrastructure. Gannatti closes with developments in quantum computing, including sensing, navigation, cybersecurity, and emerging commercial applications.

WisdomTree: https://www.wisdomtree.com/investments

Show from 2026-08-14

Host Jeremy Schwartz and Professor Siegel discuss weaker retail sales, inflation trends, strong corporate earnings and the market continuing to reach new highs. The Prof notes that some recent economic data has softened, but higher-frequency indicators are not yet pointing to a major slowdown, while lower oil prices and encouraging inflation details remain supportive for markets. He also focuses on Fed policy, arguing that while avoiding forward guidance is defensible, the Fed still needs to be clearer about its reaction function, the inflation measures it is watching and the conditions that would lead to a rate change, with Jackson Hole potentially providing that clarity. Jim Bianco joins the discussion with the Prof to break the issue into forward guidance, the Fed’s reaction function and the increasingly independent voting behavior of committee members.

(21:12) Jeremy continues with Jim Bianco, Sam Rines and Chris Gannatti to discuss their takeaways from Camp Kotok, including the massive scale of AI capital spending, the federal deficit, geopolitical risk and the changing nature of warfare as drones and lower-cost technologies challenge traditional military spending. Sam expands on defense procurement and tariffs, while Chris discusses developments in quantum computing and the roadmaps public companies are laying out toward fault-tolerant systems. Jim then walks through his current bond-market positioning, including a more neutral stance on duration, corporate bonds and mortgages, along with exposure to convertible bonds tied to the AI theme. He also explains why moderately higher rates may be consistent with a strong economy, where rates could begin to pressure equities, and why lower mortgage rates alone may not solve housing affordability. The conversation closes with global markets, Japan, rising rates overseas, currency intervention, the yen and the effect of tariffs on corporate capital flows.

About the guest: 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).

Learn More about the Bianco Total Return Index: https://www.biancoadvisors.com/

WisdomTree: https://www.wisdomtree.com/investments

Show from 2026-08-07

Host Chris Gannatti and Professor Siegel discuss the latest employment report, including weaker payroll growth, downward revisions, wage trends and what the data could mean for productivity. The Prof also weighs in on the outlook for Fed policy, oil prices, M2 money supply and unusually strong corporate earnings and profit margins. (19:50) Chris Gannatti is joined by Jon Flynn and Jeff Weniger to discuss commodities, starting with gold and the recent shift in investor flows before looking at copper and the AI data center buildout. The group explores gold’s role as a portfolio diversifier, currency intervention involving the yen, the dollar and interest-rate differentials, along with what the yield curve and economic data could signal for monetary policy. They close by discussing contrarian opportunities, including India and other areas that have seen significant investor outflows.

WisdomTree: https://www.wisdomtree.com/investments

Show from 2026-07-31

Host Jeremy Schwartz and Professor Siegel discuss the Fed’s decision to hold rates steady and what the Prof viewed as a poorly handled press conference that failed to clearly explain a defensible policy decision. The Prof also covers the sharp rotation from growth to value, strong consumer spending beneath the GDP report, rapid money supply growth and the importance of oil prices to inflation, sentiment and the market outlook. (13:50) Jeremy continues with Sam Rines, Blake Hyman and Michael Fridman to break down the month’s volatility in AI-related stocks, including hedge fund de-risking, leverage unwinds and the impact of risk management on semiconductor and memory names. The group reviews earnings and AI spending from Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Apple, debating whether hyperscaler capital expenditures are generating sustainable returns and whether enterprise demand confirms that AI is moving from experimentation into commercialization. They also discuss the outlook for memory companies, long-term supply agreements and why the broader AI infrastructure buildout may still be in its third or fourth inning. The conversation closes with Apple’s uncertain AI strategy, potential opportunities for private local models, movements in the Japanese yen, the Bank of Japan’s policy stance, tariff refunds for U.S. companies and the possibility that volatility and further leverage-related selling could continue into August.

WisdomTree: https://www.wisdomtree.com/investments

Show from 2026-07-24

Host Jeremy Schwartz and Professor Siegel discuss the pullback in mega-cap technology stocks, the market’s growing concern around massive capital expenditures and the pressure rising bond yields are putting on equity valuations. The Prof also weighs in on oil prices and renewed inflation risks, the importance of distinguishing real yields from nominal yields when evaluating the equity risk premium, the upcoming Fed meeting and the potential market impact of tariffs and tighter financial conditions. (19:29) Jeremy continues with Sam Rines, Chris Gannatti and Jeff Weniger to break down the latest tech earnings and the market’s increasingly skeptical reaction to AI-related spending, with a focus on whether higher CapEx, shareholder dilution and a more asset-heavy business model could change how investors value the largest technology companies. The group compares spending and buyback trends across large technology companies and financials while discussing Intel, Alphabet, Apple, Tesla, Nvidia, AMD and the broader semiconductor complex, along with the rapid growth of firms such as Anthropic and what that could mean for continued AI infrastructure investment. They also examine consumer spending and financial resilience data, the contrast between pessimistic economic surveys and still-healthy consumer activity, and close with a discussion of oil, interest rates, gold and bonds as potential portfolio hedges as markets watch for further geopolitical and inflation developments.

WisdomTree: https://www.wisdomtree.com/investments