About this episode
Legendary economist Dr. A. Gary Shilling, President of A. Gary Shilling & Co., an economic consulting firm and a registered investment advisor, joins Julia La Roche on episode 301 on FOMC day. In this episode, Dr. Shilling warns that the economy is cooling with weakening labor markets and stagnant job creation, yet security markets continue to rise without reflecting this underlying weakness. Despite the government shutdown limiting official data, private sector information reveals businesses are cautious about demand and inflation, while consumers face limited financial slack due to heavy student loan and credit card borrowing. Shilling believes the Fed is cutting rates because they fear a recession is on the horizon, and he cautions that "we're probably gonna wake up one of these days and find that things are really a lot weaker than we expect" - at which point markets could deteriorate quickly. He also expresses concern about the "debt bomb" - the massive accumulation of government debt now exceeding $38 trillion with no logical endpoint in sight. However, Shilling remains impressed by the adaptability and resilience of the US economy, noting how it has successfully adjusted to disruptions like tariffs that many predicted would be disastrous.This episode is brought to you by VanEck. Learn more about the VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF: http://vaneck.com/REMXJuliaThis episode is brought to you by Monetary Metals. https://monetary-metals.com/julia Timestamps: 0:00 - Introduction & welcome0:48 - Big picture macro view: economy appears to be cooling1:30 - Government shutdown: private data filling the holes2:00 - Weakening labor markets: limited new hiring2:45 - Businesses cautious about demand and inflation3:17 - Recession concerns: won't know until well into it3:45 - Security markets not reflecting economic weakness4:03 - Fed Chair Powell presser context (October 29th FOMC meeting)4:32 - Why markets are overly focused on Fed actions5:30 - Fed's tightrope walk: keeping economy above water6:25 - Are rate cuts signaling recession fears?6:34 - Fed concerned about softening labor markets7:20 - Finding hidden vulnerabilities during data blackout7:51 - Labor market concerns: limited consumer slack8:20 - Heavy borrowing: student loans and credit cards27:24 - US fiscal picture: debt north of $38 trillion27:45 - The debt bomb concept explained28:45 - Massive global debt expansion concerns29:49 - What happens when debt reaches its limit?30:23 - What's keeping Dr. Shilling up at night31:15 - Lack of concern about debt accumulation32:00 - What makes him hopeful: US economy's strength and a
