The Breakdown

A daily analysis of macroeconomics, bitcoin, geopolitics and big picture power shifts, hosted by Nathaniel Whittemore @nlw. The Breakdown is part of Blockworks.

Business
Investing
1551
The End of an Era? Why Bitcoin and MMT Won the ...
On The Breakdown’s Weekly Recap, NLW looks at the shifting sands of the global economy. He says Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole this week was an argument that an era that began in the 1970s is now closing.  At...
9 min
1552
The Anxiety Index: 4 Fear Factors Shaping the E...
Today on the Brief: Skepticism around Powell’s inflation prognostications The Tesla Stock Split Game China’s COVID-19 vaccine maker presses countries for early adoption Our main discussion: The Anxiety Index We live in an economy organized...
16 min
1553
Everything You Need to Know About Jerome Powell...
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell spoke Thursday at the annual Jackson Hole conference convened by the Kansas City Fed, which was virtual this year due to COVID-19.  In the highly anticipated speech, Powell laid out a number of key changes to...
19 min
1554
The Battle to Get A Dictator’s Seized Millions ...
Today on the Brief  The SEC changes accredited investor rules  Fintech and crypto investor Ribbit Capital starts $350 million SPAC Previewing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speech Our main conversation is with Ruben...
37 min
1555
An Unintended Consequence of Low Interest Rates...
Today’s episode of The Breakdown is an extended edition of the Brief. NLW discusses: The “COVID-19 vaccine trade” on Wall Street kicks markets higher The latest on TikTok vs. the U.S. and what it means for the U.S.-China relationship More...
16 min
1556
How Much Should We Fear Post-Crisis Debt or Inf...
Our guest today is Adam Tooze. Adam holds the Shelby Cullom Davis Chair of History at Columbia University and serves as director of its European Institute. He is known for his books “The Deluge: The Great War, America and the Remaking of the Global...
59 min
1557
Why Are Traditional Investors So Hungry for Yie...
On today’s edition of The Breakdown’s Long Reads Sunday, our selections have to do with one of the hottest topics in central banking: yield curve control.  “” The first piece is from the St. Louis Federal Reserve and is a primer on YCC,...
17 min
1558
People Aren’t Buying the ‘Great American Recove...
Today on The Breakdown’s Weekly Recap: People aren’t buying “the Great American Recovery” Let’s stop considering the economy as one thing Dave Portnoy doesn’t care about your principles DeFi is the Wild West and saved only by the fact...
12 min
1559
Winter Is Coming: Examining the Economy's Eight...
The “” is a physics issue that deals with unpredictable futures.  In a , John Mauldin argues the economy is actually experiencing an “eight-body problem.”  On today’s episode, NLW explores each of those dimensions shaping the...
23 min
1560
The Most Pro-Bitcoin Politicians in the US
Today on the Brief: Markets react to FOMC notes Taiwan blocks China streaming services Initial jobless claims back on the rise Our main discussion is a look at the politicians on both sides of the aisle who are pro-digital currencies and,...
26 min
1561
S&P 5 vs. S&P 500: The Real Story of the Stock ...
Today, NLW debuts a new format: “10 Takes in 10(ish) Minutes.”  In this analysis, he looks at 10 takes surrounding the S&P 500’s return to positive territory on the year, including: Great American comeback Market disconnect and...
18 min
1562
How Excess Capital and Low Interest Rates Resha...
Today on the Brief: Everyone turns bullish as S&P 500 nears all-time highs Emerging market currencies are floundering  holding sentiment highest in two years Our main conversation features Race Capital’s Chris McCann. Chris was...
60 min
1563
What’s Actually Happening with Inflation Right Now
There is perhaps nothing more important or contentious in macroeconomics right now than the question of inflation.  On the one hand, there is a growing concern that rapidly growing money supply and increasing central bank balance sheets will...
23 min
1564
Is Asteroid Mining Really Our Best Argument for...
Earlier this week, the Winklevoss brothers introduced Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy to .  One of the notable parts of the recap video was a discussion of how Elon Musk was set to destroy the value of gold on Earth by mining gold from...
14 min
1565
Here Comes the Most Bizarre Bull Market Yet
On this edition of The Breakdown’s Weekly Recap, NLW looks at the strange melange of realities interacting in the new emerging bull market.  On the one hand, bitcoin has found narrative relevance and technical importance in a world of social...
16 min
1566
Fortnite vs. Apple/Google is the Internet's Fir...
Today on the Brief: Jobless claims down and retail sales up The U.S. Federal Reserve is running distributed ledger technology experiments  The end of an era, as BitMEX begins KYC Our main discussion: the big battle brewing between Epic Games...
19 min
1567
Preston Pysh on Why We’ve Entered a Fundamental...
The Investor’s Podcast Network cofounder Preston Pysh last recorded with The Breakdown on Black Thursday in March. As NLW and Pysh discussed the potential of future currency crises, smashed all the way below $4,000.  In the five months since,...
102 min
1568
#SupplyGate and the Battle to Frame Crypto’s Ne...
Today on the Brief: WSJ study finds TikTok was tracking data in a way that broke Android rules The latest Core Inflation statistics  MicroStrategy stocks pops 10% after cash to bitcoin announcement Our main discussion: What’s the Ethereum...
29 min
1569
Joe Rogan for Fed Chair! Feat. Hugh Hendry
Today on the Brief: A public company has switched $250 million in cash reserves to bitcoin The latest in the vaccine rumor trade with Vladimir Putin’s propaganda play  Hong Kongers use the stock market to protest Our main conversation is with...
69 min
1570
The Latest on the Global Economy’s Most Content...
Today on the Brief: Grayscale launches national digital asset TV ad campaign Rough times for oil as Saudi Aramco sees 73% decline in revenue Kodak crashes as government grant paused amid allegations of impropriety   Our main conversation is a...
19 min
1571
How the Purpose of the Stock Market Has Changed
On this week’s Long Reads Sunday, NLW reads three pieces: - Matt Levine in Bloomberg A look at how public markets are less and less about accessing new capital and more about narrative and liquidity for early investors. - Anil Lulla on CoinDesk...
21 min
1572
The Mounting Evidence of a New Bitcoin Bull Mar...
This week’s Breakdown Weekly Recap is all about that vibe you’ve been feeling - that inescapable notion a new crypto bull market is afoot.  NLW looks at the evidence: Rising gold price Recirculation of crypto money out of zombie...
10 min
1573
11 Numbers That Tell the Story of the Economy R...
Mainstream financial media loves reporting the stock market like it's the only economic indicator that matters. On this episode, NLW breaks down 11 numbers that together tell a much more complete story, including: Record price of gold Square’s...
13 min
1574
The History, Present, and Future of Central Ban...
Today on the Brief: Better news in the jobless claims this week A new bitcoin adoption cycle? A check in on Lebanon Our main conversation is with Dr. George Selgin.  Dr. Selgin is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Cato Institute's Center for...
79 min
1575
Hedgeye CEO Keith McCullough on Stagflation, Bi...
Today on the Brief: Robinhood doubles quarterly trading revenue Square did $875 billion in revenue in Q2 - up 600% YoY ADP report: 167,000 jobs added in July (instead of expected 1.2 million)  Our main conversation is with Hedgeye CEO Keith...
38 min