Show Notes
Former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Jared Bernstein, and housing maven, Jim Parrott, join Mark and Cris to drink from today’s fire hose of events, including the SCOTUS decision striking down President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs to the 4th quarter GDP numbers. The conversation turns to how well the economy is performing through the prism of AI, housing, and jobs. It’s a veritable econ nerdfest.
More from Moody's Talks - Inside Economics
John Leer, Chief Economist at Morning Consult, joins Inside Economics to discuss the mood of the consumer. John shares some interesting nuggets from Morning Consult’s survey, including differences in sentiment across regions, how consumers are feeling about AI and data centers, the job market, the War in Iran, and what this may mean for the upcoming Midterm Elections. Matt Colyar also makes an appearance and gives the group the run-down of this week’s CPI and PPI reports, which both came in hotter than expected. But first, Mark quizzes the Millennials in the group on their knowledge of Gen Z slang words.
The global economy is being buffeted by a seemingly endless series of shocks—from U.S. tariffs and the Russia-Ukraine war to turmoil in the Middle East. Who better to explain what it all means than our colleague Gaurav Ganguly, who leads our team of international economists. The conversation begins with Gaurav acing Mark’s stock market quiz and ends with a look at what the political shift to the right in many countries could mean for the global economy.
Dante joined the Inside Economics crew to discuss the September employment report, which told a more consistent story of a soft labor market. The team also dove into the bevy of other economic data released this week, including GDP, inflation, income, and spending. Recent data revisions were a recurring theme throughout the discussion, but in the end, the balance of revisions does not fundamentally change the team’s outlook.
Wayne Best, Chief Economist at Visa and The Wall Street Journal’s Most Accurate Forecaster of 2025, joins the Inside Economics team to discuss the state of the economy with a focus on consumer spending. Despite a similar forecast for next year, Wayne is slightly more sanguine than the Inside Economics team about the durability of consumer spending. The discussion then leads to a surprising and fascinating look at Wayne’s recent research on the generational wealth transfer. Over the next 20 years, the Boomers will pass on trillions in wealth to their heirs, but it may not be the macroeconomic boon many are expecting.
Originally published on May 1st, 2026. Peter McCrory, the Head of Economics at AI juggernaut Anthropic, joins the Inside Economics team to consider all things AI and the economy. The discussion begins with how the group is using Claude in our work, then shifts to AI’s current and expected lift to productivity, and to the underappreciated economic ramifications of AI. It turns out that Lancaster PA, is turning out some great economists.