July 14, 2025 • 38 mins
Chuck Zodda and Mike Armstrong discuss the ongoing feud between President Trump and Fed Chair Powell and why this situation matters to everyone. Plunging dollar leaves American travelers with less buying power this summer. Are parents ready to keep the bank of Mom and Dad open? Why Costco is becoming Americas go to store.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Financial Exchange is produced by Money Matters Radio and
is hosted by employees of the Armstrong Advisory Group, a
registered investment advisor. All opinions expressed are solely those of
the hosts. Do not reflect the opinions of Armstrong Advisory
or anyone else. Investments can lose money. This program does
not offer any specific financial or investment advice. Please consult
your own financial, tax, and estate planning advisors before making
(00:20):
any investment decisions. Armstrong Advisory and the advertisers heard on
this program do not endorse each other or their services.
Armstrong and Money Matters Radio do not compensate each other
for referrals and are not affiliated. This is the Financial
Exchange with Chuck Zada and Mike Armstrong, Your exclusive look
at business and financial news affecting your day, your city,
(00:42):
your world. Stay informed and up to date about economic
and market trends plus breaking business news every day. The
Financial Exchange is a proud partner of the Disabled American
Veterans Department of Massachusetts. Help us support our great American
heroes by visiting DAV five KT Boston and making a
donation today. This is the Financial Exchange with Chuck Zada,
(01:06):
and Mike Armstrong.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Chuck, Mike and Tucker with you here. It's a pretty
boring day in markets, but this might be the only
one for the week, just because we do have a
ton of economic data that kicks off tomorrow along with
earning season. We got the consumer price Index, we got
the producer price Index, we got retail sales, we got
jobless claims, we got building permits, we got housing starts,
(01:31):
we got consumer sentiment. And that's just on the data side.
Over the course of this week, then we get basically
like every major bank out there reporting JP, Morgan, Blackrocks,
City Group, Wells, Fargo Bank, New York, Mellon, Bank of America, Morgan, Stanley, Goldman, Sachs, PNC, US.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Bank Court, They're all there.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
They're all there this week. That's by Thursday, and we've
also got Netflix thrown into the mix as well. So
busy week as far is expectations. It's basically the polar
opposite of last week, where there wasn't really much going
on and you could have just gone and done something
else and you would have been fine. This week. If
you're not listening to every single minute of our show,
(02:14):
you probably have a life. But we'd like it if
you'd listen. Then there's a lot going on this week,
so it might be valuable to you as well. Fairly done,
Let's talk a little bit about the Federal Reserve, or
the Federal Reserve as it's more commonly known. And so
the Federal Reserve operates out of a building, as most
institutions do, and that building was built in the nineteen thirties,
(02:39):
about one hundred years old, and there is a renovation
that they kicked off. I think four years ago was
when it was approved and three years ago is when
it started. And to be fair, it's gonna be really
freaking expensive for some reason. It's gonna be like two
and a half billion dollars. Now what do you get
for two and a half billion dollars? I don't know,
quite honestly, I don't care. And the reason why I
(02:59):
don't care is because the entire cost of the Federal
Reserve's renovation is covered by the FED itself. It's not
an appropriation from Congress. It's not something that US taxpayers
are spending money on. It is paid for out of
the Fed's operating budget, which is provided through different fees
that they charge to banks. And interests that's earned and
so on and so forth. So it's not something that
(03:21):
I particularly care about because I'm not paying for it.
Neither of you. Neither is Tucker, neither are any of
you listening, And ultimately, this is not something that really
should matter. I mean, look, if the FED wants to
renovate itself, like fine, I don't really care. Do I
think it's a waste of money? Probably, But the buildings
(03:41):
one hundred years old. So whatever, J Powell, do your thing.
But what I can tell you is this is something
that as of last week, we now have multiple members
of the Trump administration talking about potential mismanagement of this
renovation project as something that could be leading to a
(04:02):
four cause firing of J. Powell.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Either the way it's being phrased is either you are
mismanaging the project or you lied to Congress about the
project itself. I have doubts that Jay Powell is very
directly involved in the renovations of the GC and the thing.
I don't think so. But nonetheless, it is being brought
up as a potential reason for removal for cause which
(04:29):
I think would still probably end up in the Supreme Court,
but would pass a lot more muster than just a
general remover removal by the president.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
So let's let's talk a little bit about this, because
the last time that we really heard the White House
pushing on Powell it's probably like late April.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
No, I mean two weeks ago we saw the no.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
But in terms of removal. In terms of removal, yes, yeah,
like every single day, every week, there's you know something
in terms of, hey, you know, we'd like to see
lower rates. I get shure, that's that's par for the course,
that's table stakes at this point. This I guess where
I'm going on this is I'm not someone who's this
unabashed Jay Powell fan. Sure, we're fairly those those of
(05:20):
you who have listened to our show for you know,
the last five years probably recall a pretty big period
from like late twenty one through mid twenty three where
we were, you know, borderline apoplectic at what Powell was doing.
I mean, I believe Mark Fandetti famously referred to Jay
Powell as.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
And if he fails, he'll be one of the biggest
monetary whimps in history.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
A monetary whimp, which is about as aggressive as you
can get from mister Fandetti. Yeah, Okay, failure exactly. That's
that's you know, Mark talking about Jay Powell during that time.
He's like, this was not a good job done by
Jay Powell and the FED. But here's where I'm landing
at this point is whether the White House tries to
(06:04):
remove Powell for cause or without cause, doesn't matter. What
matters is the very act of trying to remove Powell
if they go that route.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
Is it the act of trying or is it the
successful removal that would be most concerning.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
No, it's the act. And quite honestly, even okay, you
want to hear like a real thought that'll wake you
up today, Sure, you want to hear a real one.
Even if they don't get rid of Powell before the
end of his term, they've already so compromised. Whoever the
next FED chair is going to be that that next
FED chair does not have any credibility in markets. That's true,
(06:41):
I agree, Yeah, because that next FED chair is going
to be viewed as such a lap dog that they're
not going to be viewed as having the independence that
they typically want to be viewed as.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Yeah, they would need to go with a very outside likelihood.
Candidate for the for the job at this stage, to
regain that credibility of that FED independence at the stage,
you have to be like a Waller pick and right like,
which is not really even in contention.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
And here's the thing. Waller would be a freaking fantastic pick.
And by the way, fits like a lot of things,
was originally nominated to the FED board by President Trump
during his first term. So it's not like you're grabbing
like some like Rando, you know, person who Trump's not
familiar with. But you do have someone who's been pretty
consistent with his message. And by the way, here's the
(07:32):
other thing about Waller, he's been basically right about everything
for the last six or seven years. Sure like he's
got a really good track record recently.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
Let's go back to why all this matters, though, Chuck,
Why it's so important, and what the market reaction not
necessarily would be, but could be. I think is where
I'm going with this, because you know, if you don't
get any inflation and you have a lap dog of
the President and the FED, that it probably doesn't matter
all that much.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
The reason why why it matters is because of Brazil,
Italy and other countries of that ILK when it comes
to monetary policy. Historically, I'm not gonna put the Argentina
one out there, because it's quite like the US is
not Argentina. But here's why it matters. If you've never
(08:22):
spent time looking at kind of emerging economies in their
central banks, you're kind of doing a disservice when it
comes to central banking, because if there's one thing that
you learn very quickly through looking at how emerging economies
have to manage their inflation and interest rates, they get
(08:43):
forced into certain situations by the market and typically have
to be really aggressive with rates in order to maintain credibility.
And the reason that it matters is because inflation becomes
a problem in those areas really, really easily, and if
you don't maintain that credibility, you could absolutely whacked the
idea that hey, we could just you know, cut interest
(09:05):
rates and you know, move all the debts short term
and that would help us out. I'm sure that the
Brazilians have thought of this a few times. I know
for a fact the Italians have thought of it a
few dozen times. And there's a reason why, as a
proud Italian, I look at Italian you know, monetary policy
and its history and Italian you know, economics in its history,
and I go, yeah, we did some really interesting things,
(09:27):
you know, back in the merchants of Venice days. But
man really haven't managed the country well fiscally and monetarily
for you know, most pretty much its entire history. So like,
take some lessons from people who have failed before you.
And so when you start talking about a central bank
that can lack credibility at the same time that there
(09:48):
are a number of institutions looking at where the US
could be from an inflation and growth perspective, not just
over the next six months, but over the next one, two, three, four,
five years, depending on how trade policy is an act
did It raises some real questions about Hey, even if you,
you know, try to push for lower interest rates, the
(10:09):
act of lowering them when you shouldn't can often end
up resulting in higher interest rates because the market forces
your hand, yeah, or higher inflation.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
I think there is a reasonable and compelling argument that rates,
the Fed's own rates right now should be lower. Absolutely
that is a reasonable argument, and my take six months,
but they could be proven absolutely correct in that fact
completely if you have a FED president and I have
(10:42):
a number of reasons why I think this won't be
all that successful because the Federal Reserve does not rule
by president. It rules via a voting system. But if
you had of a Federal Reserve president ultimately who is
convincing and successful in lowering interest rates when they really shouldn't,
the problems for the broader US economy are far worse
(11:03):
than the gains you would get from that.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Yes, so this is kind of where where we're heading
is It Sure seems like there is a movement afoot
in the last week to try to make this FED
renovation central to the idea that Jay Powell should no
longer be the head of the FED.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
And by all rights he could have been completely mismanaged
this whole renovation.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
But I have no c like maybe this thing should
have cost eight dollars, like I have no idea. I'm
not passing judgment on whether the renovation was cost effective
or a good idea or this and that, because I
have no idea. And the point is none of us do.
None of us are involved in this thing. But it
also doesn't have anything to do with Jay Powell's actual
stewardship of the FED, and as such, I can I
(11:52):
can see it for something that you know, becomes concerning
as someone who does believe that FED independence does matter
because they're always right. They're wrong quite often, and I'm
happy to point out when they are. But because if
you don't have central bank independence, I can point you
to a laundry list of countries and the problems that
have gone on there.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
And it's unconcluding the United States itself, by the way,
nineteen seventies not that independent of a FED, and we
had one of the worst decades for the economy in
US history.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Let's take a quick break here. When we return, let's
talk a little bit about American travelers overseas and what
they're finding with their spending power. And we've also got
trivia coming up next.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
Here.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
The Financial Exchange every day from eleven to noon non
Serious XM's business radio channel one thirty two. Keep it
here for the latest business and financial news and the
trends on Wall Street. The Financial Exchange is now live
on Serious XM's Business Radio channel one thirty two. Thanks
He's the Financial Exchange Radio Network. The Financial Exchange streams
(12:58):
live on YouTube. Subscribe to our page and stay up
to date on breaking business news All morning, Long Face
is the Financial Exchange Radio Network.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
Time for trivia here on the Financial Exchange on this day.
Back in nineteen sixty nine, the US officially withdrew the
five hundred dollars, one thousand dollars, five thousand dollars, and
ten thousand dollars bills from circulation. While those notes are
no longer printed, they are still legal tender. Trivia question today,
(13:34):
what is the least circulated US note? Once again? What
is the least circulated US note? Be the fourth person
today to text us at six one seven three six
two thirteen eighty five with the correct answer you want
a Financial Exchange Show T shirt Once again. The fourth
correct response to text us to the number six one
(13:55):
seven three six two thirteen eighty five will win that
T shirt. See complete content rules at Financial Exchange Show
dot com.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
There is a headline in the Wall Street Journal. It reads,
Plunging dollar leaves American travelers with less buying power this summer.
And just in case you were unsure about how the
US dollar has done in the first half of this year,
this has been the worst performance for the US dollar
(14:23):
since nineteen seventy three. In the first six months of
the year, so pretty significant. You've had a pretty significant
slide in the value of the dollar. So if you
go overseas, depending on where you go, pretty good chance
that your exchange rate is going to be worse than
it was if you've taken a trip in the last
(14:43):
couple of years to you the same location. And so
what Americans are finding if you're heading over to Europe
or if you're you know, heading to South America, you're
finding your dollar just doesn't go as far as it
used to on that vacation.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
Yeah, it seems to me like this story's kind of missing.
Like I recognize that, yes, Americans who are traveling are
going to have less spending power. I think we should
probably be focusing a little bit more on the fact
that this is the worst year for the dollars since
the nineteen seventies and just what that might imply for
US dominance and you know, the specific currency dominance that
(15:26):
the United States has always had. Now a lot of
this can be explained by the last few years of
dollar strengthening that has happened. So sure, I think that
there is something to be said there, but for the
United States to generally have some of the highest interest
rates in the world right now, at the same time
that the dollar is devaluing quite as much as it has.
(15:46):
I don't think it's alarming, but it is. It would
otherwise be quite surprising.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Well, and here's the other piece that you have to
watch out for on This is just and this is
something that takes a long time to play out here.
This is not something that is going to, uh, you know,
happen overnight. Let's take a look at Europe just as
(16:11):
an example. So let's say that I'm a European investor, Mike,
my name is no longer Chuck, I'm now Claude, okay,
And Cod wakes up on January first and says, man,
it's a good thing. I've got fifty percent of you know,
my investment portfolio allocated to US equities because they've been
(16:32):
absolutely crushing European equities for the last fifteen years. And
that's why I can get this new hat. You know.
It's it's it's been nice. Yes, it's it's been nice.
Can't wait for the same thing to happen this year.
Well through July thirteenth, uh, the European markets, okay, are
(16:54):
up significantly, I mean, depending on like exactly where you
want to look if you look just let's do just
MSCI Europe just because that's again kind of broad. You know,
European index it's up twenty one and a half percent
this year. So Cod sits there and says, oh, well, hey,
you know that the rest of my portfolio that I
kept in Europe the other fifty percent good, it's it's
(17:15):
up twenty one percent. Let's see how the American stuff
is doing this year.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
Now.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Remember Cod's from Europe, so he invests based on his
own currency, the euro, the S and P five hundred
this year so far. Again, this is through you know
yesterday is up about six percent, but relative to the euro,
the dollar is off twelve, which means if Coud wants
to convert that SMP performance back into euro he's actually
(17:42):
down six, which means half his portfolio is down six
while European markets are up twenty one. Right, And so
if Coud is you know this, this investment manager over
in Europe, he's sitting there going, wait a minute, I'm
one hundred percent inequities, and I'm trailer my benchmark by
ten percent now because I own all this American stuff. Now,
(18:05):
if that happens for you know, a couple of quarters.
Claud says, okay, this is fine, and look, investment committees
move slowly and so on and so forth. But at
some point Claud gets a tap on his shoulder from
you know, his boss, who says, Cud, what gives man
your sucking win this year? Like, you know you're you're
missing your benchmark by ten percent? Well what are you
(18:27):
gonna do? And Coud then does what every you know,
self preserving human being does, which is they try to
keep themselves alive. Okay, great, I'm gonna start liquidating the
US stuff and bring it back over to Europe because
I gotta I gotta take down my risk. That's how
he thinks about it. And so this is the longer
game that you have to watch on this, which is
(18:48):
capital flows to the US from overseas have been strong
for two reasons. The currency is strong and the returns
have been strong. If both of those things reverse at
this same time, you can deal with that for a
little bit. But eventually capital starts to be like, hey,
I need the return, I where's the beef? Like what gives?
(19:10):
And that's the thing that you have to watch over
the next several years. It's not something that's gonna show
up right now, but it's due international investors. If the
dollar continues to weaken and US markets continue to underperform,
how do those capital flows start to realign. Let's take
a quick break here, and when we return, we get
the trivia answer in Wall Street.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
Watch, bringing the latest financial news straight to your radio.
Every day, it's the Financial Exchange on the Financial Exchange
Radio Network. Time now for Wall Street Watch. A complete
(19:53):
look at what's moving markets so far today right here
on the Financial Exchange Radio Network.
Speaker 4 (19:58):
Markets are mostly quiet to kickoff the busy week is
traders react to President Trump's latest thirty percent terror thread
on the EU. In Mexico, investors are also riding for
the ramp up to second quarter earning season, in addition
to an inflation reading due out tomorrow morning. Right now,
the Dow is up by tenth of percent or forty
two points, SMP five hundred is up only two points,
(20:22):
and the Nasdaq up by a tenth of a percent
as well, or thirty three points. Russell two thousand is
completely flat. Ten year treasure yield mostly unchanged at four
point four to three percent. In crude oil is off
one and a half percent today, trading at sixty seven
dollars in forty three cents a barrel. Several crypto stocks,
including coinbased, MicroStrategy and Robinhood, are all seeing gains on
(20:44):
the day as bitcoin prices rally to yet another all
time high. Meanwhile, lab equipment and software maker Waters agreed
to combine with Becken Dickinson's biosciences and diagnostic solutions business
and a deal valued at about seventeen and a half
billion dollars. Water stock is down by twelve percent on
(21:04):
that news. Elsewhere, Fastenall posted better than expected second quarter earning,
sending shares in the industrial supply company up by two percent.
Several media outlets, including Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal
are reporting that Craft Hinds is preparing to break itself
up and spin off a large part of its business
into a new entity. Craft shares are up by about
(21:25):
two percent. Apple has offered Formula one as much as
one hundred and fifty million dollars a year for the
US rights to air races, exceeding what it currently receives
from Disney's ESPN. Apple is down by one percent today,
as for the earnings calendar this week. Tomorrow morning, major
banks including JP, Morgan, Chase, Wells, Fargo, Blackrock, and City
(21:45):
Group will report ahead of the open. Wednesday, we have Johnson, Johnson,
Bank of America, Morgan, Stanley, and ASML. Thursday, Netflix, Taiwan
Semiconductor and Pepsi, followed by Amex Charles Schwaben three m
to report on Friday. I'm Tucker Silva and that is
Walstree Watch. And the trivia question we asked in the
prior segment was what is the least circulated US note?
(22:09):
That would be the two dollar bill as of December
thirst December thirty first, two thousand and four, the two
dollar bill is the least circulated, followed by the ten
dollar bill and then the fifty dollars bill. Francis from Plimpton,
Mass is our winner today taking home the Financial Exchange
Show T shirt and we play trivia every day here
in the Financial Exchange. See complete contest rules at Financial
(22:33):
Exchine Show dot com.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Mike, do you think as Tucker Minch she talked about
Craft Hines wanting to break themselves up? Yep? Do you
think they'll name the two companies Craft and Hines? Fuck
the same thing. We are now, Hines, they are Craft.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Now it's gonna be some useless, stupid name that has
nothing to do with either of the companies.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
Okay, craft Max, Yeah, no, can we actually out on
what the names are going to be. So it's it
was acronym. No, no, no, it won't be an acronym.
It'll be like a made up word like a ken
view that he It'll be like craftisius.
Speaker 3 (23:14):
What's uh what was the ge one for nova? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Yeah, this will be like yeah, Kernova, and the other
one will be not heimlik because that that's the real word.
Do you know that it's actually not called the Heimlich
maneuver anymore? So the guy who invented which, by the way,
do you guys know the Heimlich maneuver was only invented
in the nineteen seventies, go on, what did we do
(23:41):
for the other like years of human history before then?
Apparently the guy who invented it went a little like
off the rails in his later life and started like
putting out like all these products that just didn't work
and like didn't go through medical testing. And so whether
it was the American Medical Association or someone else, it's
(24:02):
now not called the Heimlich maneuver anymore. It's just called
like it's like chess, not compressions, but something like that.
But they rebranded the Heimlich because the guy apparently had
a rough go of it at the end.
Speaker 3 (24:17):
Also known as abdominal thrust abdominal thrusts.
Speaker 4 (24:19):
That's it, yeah, but everybody knows Heimlich maneuver.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
True.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Apparently Heimlich had a rough go in his in his
later years. Is what I've learned recently.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
If somebody told me to give them abdominal thrusts, I
would have no idea what to do. It's a fair point, exactly.
I might start doing sit ups. I wouldn't, all right,
I guess if you if you insist, I don't think.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
This will work. Are parents ready to keep the bank
of mom and Dad open? I'll quote hear this piece
from Bloomberg Opinion. Young Americans are having trouble becoming fully
dependent adults, fully independent adults. Millennials who were long ridiculed
for being boomerang kids are scurried back into mom and
That's basement after leaving the security blanket of college. Know
(25:02):
a thing or two about that. It's right, we do.
But the failure to launch. Trend is continuing with gen Z,
the latest cohort of twenty to thirty year olds taking
out cash from the bank of mom and dad. Over
half the adults in the generation reported that they don't
pay for their own housing, according to a twenty twenty
four Bank of America study. In fact, parents of adult
(25:25):
gen Zers expect to give their children eighteen hundred and
thirteen dollars a month in twenty twenty five, according to
a March report by Savings dot Com.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
So let me break down that stat real quick. I'm
focusing on the half of twenty half of gen Zers
who do not pay for housing. Now, it specifies the
adults in that group, they're all if you're twenty to thirty,
you're all adults. Eighteen is adulthood, right, Yeah? Are we
classifying all this the same way? So some portion of
(25:56):
them are attending college or university and their parents are
paying for that. Presumably, it still seems like a very
high proportion of that cohort to not be paying for
their own housing.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
So it does, and it doesn't, Okay, And I guess
what I'm what I'm getting at here is like if
you look historically at the data on millennials, and again,
this is just like you're comparing apples to oranges because
it's living at home versus paying for your own housing. Sure,
(26:31):
so in general, most of the stats that I were
able to find were that anywhere from like fifteen to
twenty five percent of millennials during that same time period
we're living at home, and I'm sure another, you know,
ten percent or something we're probably getting money from their
parents during that time in order to live somewhere else.
(26:52):
Right now, when you look at basically every story that's
told about millennials financially, it's, hey, they had a really
rough go of it coming right out of college, but
they're generally like when you look at the group and
the aggregate, they're ahead of their parents at the same
time in a number of metrics now, and so like, so,
I guess I look at this and it feels like
(27:13):
this article is meant to either a scare gen X
parents of gen zs that like, oh, like something like
your kids are not doing well or you know, I
don't have any idea how gen Z is going to
be financially ten or fifteen years from now, because everything
I read in twenty eleven twelve and thirteen was millennials
(27:34):
are screwed forever, and now people are looking at millennials like, wow,
they did okay, Actually, like look at them. They're forty
now and the generation whole owns an awful lot of
real estate, has more assets than their parents did at
the same age, and is doing pretty well. So I
don't really know what to do with this piece other
than it feels like it's trying to scare people that
(27:54):
young adults are screwed, and I'm just not sure if
they are like they might be to day, but I'm
not sure. I don't know that it means anything about
where they are ten years from that.
Speaker 4 (28:03):
Yeah, changes to Medicaid occur almost every year, and if
you're not informed, your assets could be at risk, especially
if you and your spouse need nursing home care. Cushing
and Dolan are experts in elder law, and their new
guide is called Last Minute Medicaid Eligibility. It'll help you
understand the Medicaid process, which is critically important if you're
(28:23):
retired or getting close to retiring. The guide is important
information regarding numerous strategies that can protect your assets from
the nursing home. It could be your primary home, a
vacation home, or any rental property you may own. You've
worked hard to achieve wealth, so don't take chances when
it comes to protecting it. Get your copy of Cushing
and Dolan's brand new guide called Last Minute Medicaid Eligibility
(28:47):
by calling eight six six eight four eight five six
nine nine. That's eight six six eight four eight five
six nine to nine, or you can request it from
their website Legal exchange show dot com.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
The proceeding was paid for and the views expressed are
solely those of Cushing and Dolan. Cushing and Dolan and
or Armstrong Advisory may contact you offering legal or investment services.
Cushing and Armstrong did not endorse each other and are
not affiliated.
Speaker 3 (29:10):
One piece on the gen z ers and just you know,
parents paying for rent and things along those lines. I
would be interested to know, and I'm sure we could
pull this that pretty easily. National median rent versus household
income today, are we at the worst place we've ever been?
Speaker 2 (29:30):
Bet? We're keep talking.
Speaker 3 (29:32):
I bet we're fairly close there. Because that's the temptation
of this article is to buy in that, Hey, we
are heading towards a more European norm when it comes
to housing for example, where yeah, young adults do live
at home for an extended period of time, they don't
go and branch out on their own like I mean,
when I graduated college, I moved home for two and
(29:53):
a half months, and it was the statement from my
parents was you have until labor Day to find yourself
an apartment and get the hell out.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
I was in basically the same boat.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
And so my question is is that changing? Is that
actually changing I don't have the answer to. And is
it changing because of housing affordability issues? Is the second
part of that question, which I would buy more than
I did back in twenty ten.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Right, Here's the thing that I can say, having chatted
with you know a number of gen Zers that are
new to the workforce these days, what I can tell
you is that that generation does feel that it's basically
hopeless for them for a few reasons. And I'm not
saying that this is right or wrong, but I think
it's important to like talk about what's going on because
(30:40):
it's not what I experienced when you know, twenty years
ago when I was going through the same thing. The
reasons why I hear them feeling very hopeless economically, are
primarily because of three things. The first is housing costs,
just it's way more expensive as a percentage of income.
It looks like yep for them to try to either
(31:03):
rent or buy housing today then it was ten fifteen
years ago. The second piece is from a from an
employment perspective. They feel incredibly threatened by AI because they're
looking at what AI can do, and they're like, why
does a company need me? And it's a question that
(31:27):
I don't have a great answer for on that side
of things. The third piece is it kind of goes
along with both of these, which is, Okay, prices are up,
I can't save any money, so I can't build any assets.
And this, I think is partly why you see the term.
It's like, I can't remember exactly what it is, but
(31:51):
basically this is, in my opinion, why you see so
many people in their twenties turning two sports gambling sites
and zero data expiration options as you know, investment vehicles,
Because they're kind of like, I'm screwed anyways, why wouldn't
Why wouldn't I just try to go for making it big.
(32:12):
I'm not saying that that's right or wrong. I'm saying
this is true. If I were in the same positions misguided,
it might be misguided. But if I were in the
same position, I.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
Don't know that I would do anything differently with you, you know,
I'm just saying it's probably not a good thing.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
So I think that there's some stuff there as far
as it's a generation that is absolutely scared of what
the economy looks like for them, and that, to me,
is is not encouraging. Let's take a quick break. When
we return stack Roulette.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
The Financial Exchange is now available every day from eleven
to now Non Serious XM's Business Radio Channel one two.
Stay informed about the latest from Wall Street, fiscal policy,
and breaking business news. Every day. Financial Exchange is life
on series XM's Business Radio Channel one thirty two. This
is the Financial Exchange Radio Network. Find daily interviews and
(33:09):
full shows of the Financial Exchange on our YouTube page.
Subscribe to our page and get caught up on anything
and everything you might have missed. This is the Financial
Exchange Radio Network.
Speaker 4 (33:24):
This segment of The Financial Exchange is brought to you
apart by the US Virgin Islands Department of Tourism. Three
Stunning Islands, Saint Croix, Saint Thomas, and Saint John all
just a quick flight away, no passport required, just sunshine,
soft sand and that warm island vibe. Craving a break,
plan your fall escape now and experience the beauty of
(33:45):
America's Caribbean paradise, the US Virgin Islands. Book today at
visit USBI dot com. That's visit USBI dot com.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
Mike, what do you got for me for snack roulette?
Speaker 3 (33:56):
Well, I got my first ever Costco membership over the weekend,
and congrats a shop on Friday. I'm part of a
pretty exclusive club. Now and right now, Lululemon is suing
Costco over a number of their products, specifically a hooded
sweatshirt as well as a pair of pants that they
allegedly ripped off and started producing for But we're still
(34:21):
doing freeze significantly cheaper. What's that said?
Speaker 2 (34:23):
Costco ripped off its pants.
Speaker 3 (34:25):
It's pretty good. They started charging twenty dollars for a
pair of pants that goes for something like one hundred
and twenty eight dollars on lululemon side. If anyone's unfamiliar,
Lululemon tends to have some pretty expensive clothes. I think
we covered briefly before that the cheapest thing we could
find there was like a nineteen dollars pair of socks,
but nonetheless partly explains why people are seemingly so obsessed
(34:46):
with Costco. I honestly had a tough time differentiating a
whole lot between Costco and BJ's, but they do have
a lot more of those proprietary brands branded products than
Bjy's does. And also, when I saw the lawsuit announced
by Lululemon or whoever announced it against Costco, I have
to say that the first reaction that I had was, Oh, wow,
(35:08):
I gotta go check out some of these clothing items.
If they're that close that Lululemon feels the need to
sue them over the straight and effect, It's like, oh, man,
I kind of want to buy a pair of those pants.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
Right, Oh these are great. They're the same as the
ones that are six times as expensive. Oh give me
six pairs of them then, yeah, you know, like it's
kind of what it feels.
Speaker 3 (35:24):
Immediately when went through my mind. Anyway, Yeah, I could
see that's all I had. I want to talk a
little bit about beef. It's a subject that's near and
dear to my arteries. And here's the deal is, beef
prices are going through the roof. They're going parabolic, which
usually when you see that happen, you're getting kind of
(35:45):
close to the end. But it's unclear that that's the
case here. And the reason why is that you basically
have herds around the globe that are getting smaller, and
it's for various different reasons. There's some new diseases that
have popped up in a few areas.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
There are some parts of the world that for climate
related reasons, are trying to cut down on you know,
domestic beef production and things like that. But either way,
you've got smaller herds that are out there, and demand
for beef is not really growing quickly, but the herd
size is shrinking faster, and so in supply and demand world,
that means beef prices are up, in fact, up more
(36:26):
than two in the last year. Wow.
Speaker 3 (36:30):
That's that's seemingly something that's tougher to point your finger
at than the egg situation we were in earlier this
year and just snap your fingers. And you couldn't really
snap your fingers and fix the egg problem. But there
was a very clear solution of how it gets worse
before it gets better, which is basically kill off a
whole bunch of egg laying hens and and you know,
solve the problem that way. This doesn't seem quite the same.
Speaker 2 (36:52):
It's also it's a longer process to fix because unlike chickens,
which have a relatively quick turnover rate breeding.
Speaker 3 (37:02):
Process, Yeah, it's time to full size.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
Yes, it's a slower and more drawn out process with cows.
And the other thing with cows, feed costs her up
way more as well, And so it's something where like that.
It could take several years for this problem to correct here.
But lab grown beef, chuck, listen, getting back on the train.
I'm all in to try that at some point because
(37:25):
I think it would go better than the plant based beef.
Speaker 3 (37:31):
I think that lab grown beef would probably take taste
better than vegan beef.
Speaker 2 (37:37):
How does one start a meat lab?
Speaker 3 (37:39):
Either would be good.
Speaker 2 (37:41):
Can you do like a basement meat lab? Sure?
Speaker 4 (37:45):
Or you can do like a coff or something like
breaking Bad.
Speaker 2 (37:47):
Yeah, you can be like a legal version of breaking Bad.
Got it, you're running a meth lab. No, it's a
meat lab. Oh come on, how does that work? Here's
your gas mask? Don't ask questions. Stocks remained relatively calm today.
The Dow is up eighteen points, the S ANDP is flat,
the Nasdaq's up twenty nine. We're done for today. Tomorrow
is a big one, as we do get the June
(38:10):
Consumer Price Index day at eight point thirty. We'll be
discussing that and a whole lot more than
The Financial Exchange is produced by Money Matters Radio and
is hosted by employees of the Armstrong Advisory Group, a
registered investment advisor. All opinions expressed are solely those of
the hosts. Do not reflect the opinions of Armstrong Advisory
or anyone else. Investments can lose money. This program does
not offer any specific financial or investment advice. Please consult
your own financial, tax, and estate planning advisors before making
(00:20):
any investment decisions. Armstrong Advisory and the advertisers heard on
this program do not endorse each other or their services.
Armstrong and Money Matters Radio do not compensate each other
for referrals and are not affiliated. This is the Financial
Exchange with Chuck Zada and Mike Armstrong, Your exclusive look
at business and financial news affecting your day, your city,
(00:42):
your world. Stay informed and up to date about economic
and market trends plus breaking business news every day. The
Financial Exchange is a proud partner of the Disabled American
Veterans Department of Massachusetts. Help us support our great American
heroes by visiting DAV five KT Boston and making a
donation today. This is the Financial Exchange with Chuck Zada,
(01:06):
and Mike Armstrong.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Chuck, Mike and Tucker with you here. It's a pretty
boring day in markets, but this might be the only
one for the week, just because we do have a
ton of economic data that kicks off tomorrow along with
earning season. We got the consumer price Index, we got
the producer price Index, we got retail sales, we got
jobless claims, we got building permits, we got housing starts,
(01:31):
we got consumer sentiment. And that's just on the data side.
Over the course of this week, then we get basically
like every major bank out there reporting JP, Morgan, Blackrocks,
City Group, Wells, Fargo Bank, New York, Mellon, Bank of America, Morgan, Stanley, Goldman, Sachs, PNC, US.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Bank Court, They're all there.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
They're all there this week. That's by Thursday, and we've
also got Netflix thrown into the mix as well. So
busy week as far is expectations. It's basically the polar
opposite of last week, where there wasn't really much going
on and you could have just gone and done something
else and you would have been fine. This week. If
you're not listening to every single minute of our show,
(02:14):
you probably have a life. But we'd like it if
you'd listen. Then there's a lot going on this week,
so it might be valuable to you as well. Fairly done,
Let's talk a little bit about the Federal Reserve, or
the Federal Reserve as it's more commonly known. And so
the Federal Reserve operates out of a building, as most
institutions do, and that building was built in the nineteen thirties,
(02:39):
about one hundred years old, and there is a renovation
that they kicked off. I think four years ago was
when it was approved and three years ago is when
it started. And to be fair, it's gonna be really
freaking expensive for some reason. It's gonna be like two
and a half billion dollars. Now what do you get
for two and a half billion dollars? I don't know,
quite honestly, I don't care. And the reason why I
(02:59):
don't care is because the entire cost of the Federal
Reserve's renovation is covered by the FED itself. It's not
an appropriation from Congress. It's not something that US taxpayers
are spending money on. It is paid for out of
the Fed's operating budget, which is provided through different fees
that they charge to banks. And interests that's earned and
so on and so forth. So it's not something that
(03:21):
I particularly care about because I'm not paying for it.
Neither of you. Neither is Tucker, neither are any of
you listening, And ultimately, this is not something that really
should matter. I mean, look, if the FED wants to
renovate itself, like fine, I don't really care. Do I
think it's a waste of money? Probably, But the buildings
(03:41):
one hundred years old. So whatever, J Powell, do your thing.
But what I can tell you is this is something
that as of last week, we now have multiple members
of the Trump administration talking about potential mismanagement of this
renovation project as something that could be leading to a
(04:02):
four cause firing of J. Powell.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Either the way it's being phrased is either you are
mismanaging the project or you lied to Congress about the
project itself. I have doubts that Jay Powell is very
directly involved in the renovations of the GC and the thing.
I don't think so. But nonetheless, it is being brought
up as a potential reason for removal for cause which
(04:29):
I think would still probably end up in the Supreme Court,
but would pass a lot more muster than just a
general remover removal by the president.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
So let's let's talk a little bit about this, because
the last time that we really heard the White House
pushing on Powell it's probably like late April.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
No, I mean two weeks ago we saw the no.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
But in terms of removal. In terms of removal, yes, yeah,
like every single day, every week, there's you know something
in terms of, hey, you know, we'd like to see
lower rates. I get shure, that's that's par for the course,
that's table stakes at this point. This I guess where
I'm going on this is I'm not someone who's this
unabashed Jay Powell fan. Sure, we're fairly those those of
(05:20):
you who have listened to our show for you know,
the last five years probably recall a pretty big period
from like late twenty one through mid twenty three where
we were, you know, borderline apoplectic at what Powell was doing.
I mean, I believe Mark Fandetti famously referred to Jay
Powell as.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
And if he fails, he'll be one of the biggest
monetary whimps in history.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
A monetary whimp, which is about as aggressive as you
can get from mister Fandetti. Yeah, Okay, failure exactly. That's
that's you know, Mark talking about Jay Powell during that time.
He's like, this was not a good job done by
Jay Powell and the FED. But here's where I'm landing
at this point is whether the White House tries to
(06:04):
remove Powell for cause or without cause, doesn't matter. What
matters is the very act of trying to remove Powell
if they go that route.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
Is it the act of trying or is it the
successful removal that would be most concerning.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
No, it's the act. And quite honestly, even okay, you
want to hear like a real thought that'll wake you
up today, Sure, you want to hear a real one.
Even if they don't get rid of Powell before the
end of his term, they've already so compromised. Whoever the
next FED chair is going to be that that next
FED chair does not have any credibility in markets. That's true,
(06:41):
I agree, Yeah, because that next FED chair is going
to be viewed as such a lap dog that they're
not going to be viewed as having the independence that
they typically want to be viewed as.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Yeah, they would need to go with a very outside likelihood.
Candidate for the for the job at this stage, to
regain that credibility of that FED independence at the stage,
you have to be like a Waller pick and right like,
which is not really even in contention.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
And here's the thing. Waller would be a freaking fantastic pick.
And by the way, fits like a lot of things,
was originally nominated to the FED board by President Trump
during his first term. So it's not like you're grabbing
like some like Rando, you know, person who Trump's not
familiar with. But you do have someone who's been pretty
consistent with his message. And by the way, here's the
(07:32):
other thing about Waller, he's been basically right about everything
for the last six or seven years. Sure like he's
got a really good track record recently.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
Let's go back to why all this matters, though, Chuck,
Why it's so important, and what the market reaction not
necessarily would be, but could be. I think is where
I'm going with this, because you know, if you don't
get any inflation and you have a lap dog of
the President and the FED, that it probably doesn't matter
all that much.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
The reason why why it matters is because of Brazil,
Italy and other countries of that ILK when it comes
to monetary policy. Historically, I'm not gonna put the Argentina
one out there, because it's quite like the US is
not Argentina. But here's why it matters. If you've never
(08:22):
spent time looking at kind of emerging economies in their
central banks, you're kind of doing a disservice when it
comes to central banking, because if there's one thing that
you learn very quickly through looking at how emerging economies
have to manage their inflation and interest rates, they get
(08:43):
forced into certain situations by the market and typically have
to be really aggressive with rates in order to maintain credibility.
And the reason that it matters is because inflation becomes
a problem in those areas really, really easily, and if
you don't maintain that credibility, you could absolutely whacked the
idea that hey, we could just you know, cut interest
(09:05):
rates and you know, move all the debts short term
and that would help us out. I'm sure that the
Brazilians have thought of this a few times. I know
for a fact the Italians have thought of it a
few dozen times. And there's a reason why, as a
proud Italian, I look at Italian you know, monetary policy
and its history and Italian you know, economics in its history,
and I go, yeah, we did some really interesting things,
(09:27):
you know, back in the merchants of Venice days. But
man really haven't managed the country well fiscally and monetarily
for you know, most pretty much its entire history. So like,
take some lessons from people who have failed before you.
And so when you start talking about a central bank
that can lack credibility at the same time that there
(09:48):
are a number of institutions looking at where the US
could be from an inflation and growth perspective, not just
over the next six months, but over the next one, two, three, four,
five years, depending on how trade policy is an act
did It raises some real questions about Hey, even if you,
you know, try to push for lower interest rates, the
(10:09):
act of lowering them when you shouldn't can often end
up resulting in higher interest rates because the market forces
your hand, yeah, or higher inflation.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
I think there is a reasonable and compelling argument that rates,
the Fed's own rates right now should be lower. Absolutely
that is a reasonable argument, and my take six months,
but they could be proven absolutely correct in that fact
completely if you have a FED president and I have
(10:42):
a number of reasons why I think this won't be
all that successful because the Federal Reserve does not rule
by president. It rules via a voting system. But if
you had of a Federal Reserve president ultimately who is
convincing and successful in lowering interest rates when they really shouldn't,
the problems for the broader US economy are far worse
(11:03):
than the gains you would get from that.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Yes, so this is kind of where where we're heading
is It Sure seems like there is a movement afoot
in the last week to try to make this FED
renovation central to the idea that Jay Powell should no
longer be the head of the FED.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
And by all rights he could have been completely mismanaged
this whole renovation.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
But I have no c like maybe this thing should
have cost eight dollars, like I have no idea. I'm
not passing judgment on whether the renovation was cost effective
or a good idea or this and that, because I
have no idea. And the point is none of us do.
None of us are involved in this thing. But it
also doesn't have anything to do with Jay Powell's actual
stewardship of the FED, and as such, I can I
(11:52):
can see it for something that you know, becomes concerning
as someone who does believe that FED independence does matter
because they're always right. They're wrong quite often, and I'm
happy to point out when they are. But because if
you don't have central bank independence, I can point you
to a laundry list of countries and the problems that
have gone on there.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
And it's unconcluding the United States itself, by the way,
nineteen seventies not that independent of a FED, and we
had one of the worst decades for the economy in
US history.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Let's take a quick break here. When we return, let's
talk a little bit about American travelers overseas and what
they're finding with their spending power. And we've also got
trivia coming up next.
Speaker 3 (12:37):
Here.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
The Financial Exchange every day from eleven to noon non
Serious XM's business radio channel one thirty two. Keep it
here for the latest business and financial news and the
trends on Wall Street. The Financial Exchange is now live
on Serious XM's Business Radio channel one thirty two. Thanks
He's the Financial Exchange Radio Network. The Financial Exchange streams
(12:58):
live on YouTube. Subscribe to our page and stay up
to date on breaking business news All morning, Long Face
is the Financial Exchange Radio Network.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
Time for trivia here on the Financial Exchange on this day.
Back in nineteen sixty nine, the US officially withdrew the
five hundred dollars, one thousand dollars, five thousand dollars, and
ten thousand dollars bills from circulation. While those notes are
no longer printed, they are still legal tender. Trivia question today,
(13:34):
what is the least circulated US note? Once again? What
is the least circulated US note? Be the fourth person
today to text us at six one seven three six
two thirteen eighty five with the correct answer you want
a Financial Exchange Show T shirt Once again. The fourth
correct response to text us to the number six one
(13:55):
seven three six two thirteen eighty five will win that
T shirt. See complete content rules at Financial Exchange Show
dot com.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
There is a headline in the Wall Street Journal. It reads,
Plunging dollar leaves American travelers with less buying power this summer.
And just in case you were unsure about how the
US dollar has done in the first half of this year,
this has been the worst performance for the US dollar
(14:23):
since nineteen seventy three. In the first six months of
the year, so pretty significant. You've had a pretty significant
slide in the value of the dollar. So if you
go overseas, depending on where you go, pretty good chance
that your exchange rate is going to be worse than
it was if you've taken a trip in the last
(14:43):
couple of years to you the same location. And so
what Americans are finding if you're heading over to Europe
or if you're you know, heading to South America, you're
finding your dollar just doesn't go as far as it
used to on that vacation.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
Yeah, it seems to me like this story's kind of missing.
Like I recognize that, yes, Americans who are traveling are
going to have less spending power. I think we should
probably be focusing a little bit more on the fact
that this is the worst year for the dollars since
the nineteen seventies and just what that might imply for
US dominance and you know, the specific currency dominance that
(15:26):
the United States has always had. Now a lot of
this can be explained by the last few years of
dollar strengthening that has happened. So sure, I think that
there is something to be said there, but for the
United States to generally have some of the highest interest
rates in the world right now, at the same time
that the dollar is devaluing quite as much as it has.
(15:46):
I don't think it's alarming, but it is. It would
otherwise be quite surprising.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
Well, and here's the other piece that you have to
watch out for on This is just and this is
something that takes a long time to play out here.
This is not something that is going to, uh, you know,
happen overnight. Let's take a look at Europe just as
(16:11):
an example. So let's say that I'm a European investor, Mike,
my name is no longer Chuck, I'm now Claude, okay,
And Cod wakes up on January first and says, man,
it's a good thing. I've got fifty percent of you know,
my investment portfolio allocated to US equities because they've been
(16:32):
absolutely crushing European equities for the last fifteen years. And
that's why I can get this new hat. You know.
It's it's it's been nice. Yes, it's it's been nice.
Can't wait for the same thing to happen this year.
Well through July thirteenth, uh, the European markets, okay, are
(16:54):
up significantly, I mean, depending on like exactly where you
want to look if you look just let's do just
MSCI Europe just because that's again kind of broad. You know,
European index it's up twenty one and a half percent
this year. So Cod sits there and says, oh, well, hey,
you know that the rest of my portfolio that I
kept in Europe the other fifty percent good, it's it's
(17:15):
up twenty one percent. Let's see how the American stuff
is doing this year.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
Now.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Remember Cod's from Europe, so he invests based on his
own currency, the euro, the S and P five hundred
this year so far. Again, this is through you know
yesterday is up about six percent, but relative to the euro,
the dollar is off twelve, which means if Coud wants
to convert that SMP performance back into euro he's actually
(17:42):
down six, which means half his portfolio is down six
while European markets are up twenty one. Right, And so
if Coud is you know this, this investment manager over
in Europe, he's sitting there going, wait a minute, I'm
one hundred percent inequities, and I'm trailer my benchmark by
ten percent now because I own all this American stuff. Now,
(18:05):
if that happens for you know, a couple of quarters.
Claud says, okay, this is fine, and look, investment committees
move slowly and so on and so forth. But at
some point Claud gets a tap on his shoulder from
you know, his boss, who says, Cud, what gives man
your sucking win this year? Like, you know you're you're
missing your benchmark by ten percent? Well what are you
(18:27):
gonna do? And Coud then does what every you know,
self preserving human being does, which is they try to
keep themselves alive. Okay, great, I'm gonna start liquidating the
US stuff and bring it back over to Europe because
I gotta I gotta take down my risk. That's how
he thinks about it. And so this is the longer
game that you have to watch on this, which is
(18:48):
capital flows to the US from overseas have been strong
for two reasons. The currency is strong and the returns
have been strong. If both of those things reverse at
this same time, you can deal with that for a
little bit. But eventually capital starts to be like, hey,
I need the return, I where's the beef? Like what gives?
(19:10):
And that's the thing that you have to watch over
the next several years. It's not something that's gonna show
up right now, but it's due international investors. If the
dollar continues to weaken and US markets continue to underperform,
how do those capital flows start to realign. Let's take
a quick break here, and when we return, we get
the trivia answer in Wall Street.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
Watch, bringing the latest financial news straight to your radio.
Every day, it's the Financial Exchange on the Financial Exchange
Radio Network. Time now for Wall Street Watch. A complete
(19:53):
look at what's moving markets so far today right here
on the Financial Exchange Radio Network.
Speaker 4 (19:58):
Markets are mostly quiet to kickoff the busy week is
traders react to President Trump's latest thirty percent terror thread
on the EU. In Mexico, investors are also riding for
the ramp up to second quarter earning season, in addition
to an inflation reading due out tomorrow morning. Right now,
the Dow is up by tenth of percent or forty
two points, SMP five hundred is up only two points,
(20:22):
and the Nasdaq up by a tenth of a percent
as well, or thirty three points. Russell two thousand is
completely flat. Ten year treasure yield mostly unchanged at four
point four to three percent. In crude oil is off
one and a half percent today, trading at sixty seven
dollars in forty three cents a barrel. Several crypto stocks,
including coinbased, MicroStrategy and Robinhood, are all seeing gains on
(20:44):
the day as bitcoin prices rally to yet another all
time high. Meanwhile, lab equipment and software maker Waters agreed
to combine with Becken Dickinson's biosciences and diagnostic solutions business
and a deal valued at about seventeen and a half
billion dollars. Water stock is down by twelve percent on
(21:04):
that news. Elsewhere, Fastenall posted better than expected second quarter earning,
sending shares in the industrial supply company up by two percent.
Several media outlets, including Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal
are reporting that Craft Hinds is preparing to break itself
up and spin off a large part of its business
into a new entity. Craft shares are up by about
(21:25):
two percent. Apple has offered Formula one as much as
one hundred and fifty million dollars a year for the
US rights to air races, exceeding what it currently receives
from Disney's ESPN. Apple is down by one percent today,
as for the earnings calendar this week. Tomorrow morning, major
banks including JP, Morgan, Chase, Wells, Fargo, Blackrock, and City
(21:45):
Group will report ahead of the open. Wednesday, we have Johnson, Johnson,
Bank of America, Morgan, Stanley, and ASML. Thursday, Netflix, Taiwan
Semiconductor and Pepsi, followed by Amex Charles Schwaben three m
to report on Friday. I'm Tucker Silva and that is
Walstree Watch. And the trivia question we asked in the
prior segment was what is the least circulated US note?
(22:09):
That would be the two dollar bill as of December
thirst December thirty first, two thousand and four, the two
dollar bill is the least circulated, followed by the ten
dollar bill and then the fifty dollars bill. Francis from Plimpton,
Mass is our winner today taking home the Financial Exchange
Show T shirt and we play trivia every day here
in the Financial Exchange. See complete contest rules at Financial
(22:33):
Exchine Show dot com.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Mike, do you think as Tucker Minch she talked about
Craft Hines wanting to break themselves up? Yep? Do you
think they'll name the two companies Craft and Hines? Fuck
the same thing. We are now, Hines, they are Craft.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
Now it's gonna be some useless, stupid name that has
nothing to do with either of the companies.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
Okay, craft Max, Yeah, no, can we actually out on
what the names are going to be. So it's it
was acronym. No, no, no, it won't be an acronym.
It'll be like a made up word like a ken
view that he It'll be like craftisius.
Speaker 3 (23:14):
What's uh what was the ge one for nova? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Yeah, this will be like yeah, Kernova, and the other
one will be not heimlik because that that's the real word.
Do you know that it's actually not called the Heimlich
maneuver anymore? So the guy who invented which, by the way,
do you guys know the Heimlich maneuver was only invented
in the nineteen seventies, go on, what did we do
(23:41):
for the other like years of human history before then?
Apparently the guy who invented it went a little like
off the rails in his later life and started like
putting out like all these products that just didn't work
and like didn't go through medical testing. And so whether
it was the American Medical Association or someone else, it's
(24:02):
now not called the Heimlich maneuver anymore. It's just called
like it's like chess, not compressions, but something like that.
But they rebranded the Heimlich because the guy apparently had
a rough go of it at the end.
Speaker 3 (24:17):
Also known as abdominal thrust abdominal thrusts.
Speaker 4 (24:19):
That's it, yeah, but everybody knows Heimlich maneuver.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
True.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Apparently Heimlich had a rough go in his in his
later years. Is what I've learned recently.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
If somebody told me to give them abdominal thrusts, I
would have no idea what to do. It's a fair point, exactly.
I might start doing sit ups. I wouldn't, all right,
I guess if you if you insist, I don't think.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
This will work. Are parents ready to keep the bank
of mom and Dad open? I'll quote hear this piece
from Bloomberg Opinion. Young Americans are having trouble becoming fully
dependent adults, fully independent adults. Millennials who were long ridiculed
for being boomerang kids are scurried back into mom and
That's basement after leaving the security blanket of college. Know
(25:02):
a thing or two about that. It's right, we do.
But the failure to launch. Trend is continuing with gen Z,
the latest cohort of twenty to thirty year olds taking
out cash from the bank of mom and dad. Over
half the adults in the generation reported that they don't
pay for their own housing, according to a twenty twenty
four Bank of America study. In fact, parents of adult
(25:25):
gen Zers expect to give their children eighteen hundred and
thirteen dollars a month in twenty twenty five, according to
a March report by Savings dot Com.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
So let me break down that stat real quick. I'm
focusing on the half of twenty half of gen Zers
who do not pay for housing. Now, it specifies the
adults in that group, they're all if you're twenty to thirty,
you're all adults. Eighteen is adulthood, right, Yeah? Are we
classifying all this the same way? So some portion of
(25:56):
them are attending college or university and their parents are
paying for that. Presumably, it still seems like a very
high proportion of that cohort to not be paying for
their own housing.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
So it does, and it doesn't, Okay, And I guess
what I'm what I'm getting at here is like if
you look historically at the data on millennials, and again,
this is just like you're comparing apples to oranges because
it's living at home versus paying for your own housing. Sure,
(26:31):
so in general, most of the stats that I were
able to find were that anywhere from like fifteen to
twenty five percent of millennials during that same time period
we're living at home, and I'm sure another, you know,
ten percent or something we're probably getting money from their
parents during that time in order to live somewhere else.
(26:52):
Right now, when you look at basically every story that's
told about millennials financially, it's, hey, they had a really
rough go of it coming right out of college, but
they're generally like when you look at the group and
the aggregate, they're ahead of their parents at the same
time in a number of metrics now, and so like, so,
I guess I look at this and it feels like
(27:13):
this article is meant to either a scare gen X
parents of gen zs that like, oh, like something like
your kids are not doing well or you know, I
don't have any idea how gen Z is going to
be financially ten or fifteen years from now, because everything
I read in twenty eleven twelve and thirteen was millennials
(27:34):
are screwed forever, and now people are looking at millennials like, wow,
they did okay, Actually, like look at them. They're forty
now and the generation whole owns an awful lot of
real estate, has more assets than their parents did at
the same age, and is doing pretty well. So I
don't really know what to do with this piece other
than it feels like it's trying to scare people that
(27:54):
young adults are screwed, and I'm just not sure if
they are like they might be to day, but I'm
not sure. I don't know that it means anything about
where they are ten years from that.
Speaker 4 (28:03):
Yeah, changes to Medicaid occur almost every year, and if
you're not informed, your assets could be at risk, especially
if you and your spouse need nursing home care. Cushing
and Dolan are experts in elder law, and their new
guide is called Last Minute Medicaid Eligibility. It'll help you
understand the Medicaid process, which is critically important if you're
(28:23):
retired or getting close to retiring. The guide is important
information regarding numerous strategies that can protect your assets from
the nursing home. It could be your primary home, a
vacation home, or any rental property you may own. You've
worked hard to achieve wealth, so don't take chances when
it comes to protecting it. Get your copy of Cushing
and Dolan's brand new guide called Last Minute Medicaid Eligibility
(28:47):
by calling eight six six eight four eight five six
nine nine. That's eight six six eight four eight five
six nine to nine, or you can request it from
their website Legal exchange show dot com.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
The proceeding was paid for and the views expressed are
solely those of Cushing and Dolan. Cushing and Dolan and
or Armstrong Advisory may contact you offering legal or investment services.
Cushing and Armstrong did not endorse each other and are
not affiliated.
Speaker 3 (29:10):
One piece on the gen z ers and just you know,
parents paying for rent and things along those lines. I
would be interested to know, and I'm sure we could
pull this that pretty easily. National median rent versus household
income today, are we at the worst place we've ever been?
Speaker 2 (29:30):
Bet? We're keep talking.
Speaker 3 (29:32):
I bet we're fairly close there. Because that's the temptation
of this article is to buy in that, Hey, we
are heading towards a more European norm when it comes
to housing for example, where yeah, young adults do live
at home for an extended period of time, they don't
go and branch out on their own like I mean,
when I graduated college, I moved home for two and
(29:53):
a half months, and it was the statement from my
parents was you have until labor Day to find yourself
an apartment and get the hell out.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
I was in basically the same boat.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
And so my question is is that changing? Is that
actually changing I don't have the answer to. And is
it changing because of housing affordability issues? Is the second
part of that question, which I would buy more than
I did back in twenty ten.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Right, Here's the thing that I can say, having chatted
with you know a number of gen Zers that are
new to the workforce these days, what I can tell
you is that that generation does feel that it's basically
hopeless for them for a few reasons. And I'm not
saying that this is right or wrong, but I think
it's important to like talk about what's going on because
(30:40):
it's not what I experienced when you know, twenty years
ago when I was going through the same thing. The
reasons why I hear them feeling very hopeless economically, are
primarily because of three things. The first is housing costs,
just it's way more expensive as a percentage of income.
It looks like yep for them to try to either
(31:03):
rent or buy housing today then it was ten fifteen
years ago. The second piece is from a from an
employment perspective. They feel incredibly threatened by AI because they're
looking at what AI can do, and they're like, why
does a company need me? And it's a question that
(31:27):
I don't have a great answer for on that side
of things. The third piece is it kind of goes
along with both of these, which is, Okay, prices are up,
I can't save any money, so I can't build any assets.
And this, I think is partly why you see the term.
It's like, I can't remember exactly what it is, but
(31:51):
basically this is, in my opinion, why you see so
many people in their twenties turning two sports gambling sites
and zero data expiration options as you know, investment vehicles,
Because they're kind of like, I'm screwed anyways, why wouldn't
Why wouldn't I just try to go for making it big.
(32:12):
I'm not saying that that's right or wrong. I'm saying
this is true. If I were in the same positions misguided,
it might be misguided. But if I were in the
same position, I.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
Don't know that I would do anything differently with you, you know,
I'm just saying it's probably not a good thing.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
So I think that there's some stuff there as far
as it's a generation that is absolutely scared of what
the economy looks like for them, and that, to me,
is is not encouraging. Let's take a quick break. When
we return stack Roulette.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
The Financial Exchange is now available every day from eleven
to now Non Serious XM's Business Radio Channel one two.
Stay informed about the latest from Wall Street, fiscal policy,
and breaking business news. Every day. Financial Exchange is life
on series XM's Business Radio Channel one thirty two. This
is the Financial Exchange Radio Network. Find daily interviews and
(33:09):
full shows of the Financial Exchange on our YouTube page.
Subscribe to our page and get caught up on anything
and everything you might have missed. This is the Financial
Exchange Radio Network.
Speaker 4 (33:24):
This segment of The Financial Exchange is brought to you
apart by the US Virgin Islands Department of Tourism. Three
Stunning Islands, Saint Croix, Saint Thomas, and Saint John all
just a quick flight away, no passport required, just sunshine,
soft sand and that warm island vibe. Craving a break,
plan your fall escape now and experience the beauty of
(33:45):
America's Caribbean paradise, the US Virgin Islands. Book today at
visit USBI dot com. That's visit USBI dot com.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
Mike, what do you got for me for snack roulette?
Speaker 3 (33:56):
Well, I got my first ever Costco membership over the weekend,
and congrats a shop on Friday. I'm part of a
pretty exclusive club. Now and right now, Lululemon is suing
Costco over a number of their products, specifically a hooded
sweatshirt as well as a pair of pants that they
allegedly ripped off and started producing for But we're still
(34:21):
doing freeze significantly cheaper. What's that said?
Speaker 2 (34:23):
Costco ripped off its pants.
Speaker 3 (34:25):
It's pretty good. They started charging twenty dollars for a
pair of pants that goes for something like one hundred
and twenty eight dollars on lululemon side. If anyone's unfamiliar,
Lululemon tends to have some pretty expensive clothes. I think
we covered briefly before that the cheapest thing we could
find there was like a nineteen dollars pair of socks,
but nonetheless partly explains why people are seemingly so obsessed
(34:46):
with Costco. I honestly had a tough time differentiating a
whole lot between Costco and BJ's, but they do have
a lot more of those proprietary brands branded products than
Bjy's does. And also, when I saw the lawsuit announced
by Lululemon or whoever announced it against Costco, I have
to say that the first reaction that I had was, Oh, wow,
(35:08):
I gotta go check out some of these clothing items.
If they're that close that Lululemon feels the need to
sue them over the straight and effect, It's like, oh, man,
I kind of want to buy a pair of those pants.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
Right, Oh these are great. They're the same as the
ones that are six times as expensive. Oh give me
six pairs of them then, yeah, you know, like it's
kind of what it feels.
Speaker 3 (35:24):
Immediately when went through my mind. Anyway, Yeah, I could
see that's all I had. I want to talk a
little bit about beef. It's a subject that's near and
dear to my arteries. And here's the deal is, beef
prices are going through the roof. They're going parabolic, which
usually when you see that happen, you're getting kind of
(35:45):
close to the end. But it's unclear that that's the
case here. And the reason why is that you basically
have herds around the globe that are getting smaller, and
it's for various different reasons. There's some new diseases that
have popped up in a few areas.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
There are some parts of the world that for climate
related reasons, are trying to cut down on you know,
domestic beef production and things like that. But either way,
you've got smaller herds that are out there, and demand
for beef is not really growing quickly, but the herd
size is shrinking faster, and so in supply and demand world,
that means beef prices are up, in fact, up more
(36:26):
than two in the last year. Wow.
Speaker 3 (36:30):
That's that's seemingly something that's tougher to point your finger
at than the egg situation we were in earlier this
year and just snap your fingers. And you couldn't really
snap your fingers and fix the egg problem. But there
was a very clear solution of how it gets worse
before it gets better, which is basically kill off a
whole bunch of egg laying hens and and you know,
solve the problem that way. This doesn't seem quite the same.
Speaker 2 (36:52):
It's also it's a longer process to fix because unlike chickens,
which have a relatively quick turnover rate breeding.
Speaker 3 (37:02):
Process, Yeah, it's time to full size.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
Yes, it's a slower and more drawn out process with cows.
And the other thing with cows, feed costs her up
way more as well, And so it's something where like that.
It could take several years for this problem to correct here.
But lab grown beef, chuck, listen, getting back on the train.
I'm all in to try that at some point because
(37:25):
I think it would go better than the plant based beef.
Speaker 3 (37:31):
I think that lab grown beef would probably take taste
better than vegan beef.
Speaker 2 (37:37):
How does one start a meat lab?
Speaker 3 (37:39):
Either would be good.
Speaker 2 (37:41):
Can you do like a basement meat lab? Sure?
Speaker 4 (37:45):
Or you can do like a coff or something like
breaking Bad.
Speaker 2 (37:47):
Yeah, you can be like a legal version of breaking Bad.
Got it, you're running a meth lab. No, it's a
meat lab. Oh come on, how does that work? Here's
your gas mask? Don't ask questions. Stocks remained relatively calm today.
The Dow is up eighteen points, the S ANDP is flat,
the Nasdaq's up twenty nine. We're done for today. Tomorrow
is a big one, as we do get the June
(38:10):
Consumer Price Index day at eight point thirty. We'll be
discussing that and a whole lot more than
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.