This week, we're asking the question: "Is the Fed dazed and confused?" The Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce its latest interest rate decision this week. On the surface, this seems like a boring meeting. Almost everyone believes the central bank will leave rates alone. But where is the Fed going to go next? Opinions are starting to split. Lo…

This week, we're celebrating Labor Day. There's no better time to take a look at work and employment market. Lucky for us, we have some jobs data to digest. Unlucky for us: the data came in worse than expected. We take a look at the numbers say and detail what they mean for the overall labor picture. We also take some time to acknowledge the traged…

This week, we've got the big fight on our minds. Not Mayweather vs. McGregor. We've got job growth vs. the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy. The government is set to release its monthly jobs data this week. Employment growth has been strong throughout most of the year so far. We take a deep dive into the recent data, letting you know what's g…

This week, we're looking at three major themes: entertainment, sexism and shopping. That makes it a perfect week for Pretty Woman. First, entertainment: last week saw the release Disney's quarterly report. But the bigger news is the company's move away from Netflix. We take a look at the decision and at the state of Disney's business. On to sexism:…

This week, we're talking earnings again. We've gotten some big companies reporting recently. Last week alone, we got results from Facebook, Amazon and the parent of Google. But this week is the big dog. The alpha tech company. That's right: Apple is reporting. So we're taking a Teen Wolf-inspired look at leader of the Wall Street pack. And because …

Dunkirk is out this week. So we're taking as our inspiration another World War II epic: Inglourious Basterds. With that in mind, we've got some glorious basterds on the docket this week... Some of the biggest of the big names are set to report their quarterly results this week. This includes three out of the four so-called FANG companies. On tap fo…

This week, we're shaking up the format a bit. Instead of our usual tour through the darker alleys on Wall Street, we're taking a look at a little bit of business history. And in deference to Independence Day (and to cold beverages), we're going for a July-centered theme. In this episode, we detail two key days in the history of the Coca-Cola Compan…

The latest installment in Michael Bay's Transformers series is out. So we're paying tribute to the one-and-only original Transformers movie: the 1980s cartoon version. And with that in mind, we're looking at an economy that might be transforming. Or maybe its a cartoon. Updated statistics about economic growth are coming out. We'll bring you up to …

This week, with The Mummy marking another in Hollywood's unending series of sequels and unnecessary reboots, we're honoring the ancient dark magic that keeps Tom Cruise's career going. We're asking the question: is the U.S. economy undead? Earlier this month we got jobs data. The stats showed that employment growth last month was weaker than expect…

This week, with the release the fifth installment in the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise, we're climbing into the crow’s nest and scouring the horizon for threats that could hijack the economy. First, we're going to get a new job report this week. The results have been spotty recently. After a run of good reports, the labor market took on some w…

On Wall Street, no one can hear you scream... With Alien: Covenant out in theaters and Russia growing like a xenomorph in Donald Trump's chest, we're wondering what monsters might be gestating in the economy. The last GDP report showed anemic growth in the first quarter. This week, we'll get an update on those statistics. We detail how the numbers …

This week, with the release of "Guardians of the Galaxy," we're looking at those men and women who guard our financial galaxy. That is, the good people at the Federal Reserve. The Fed held interest rates steady at its last meeting, as expected. But rates are looking to move up in the near future. We'll preview what's in store for monetary policy ov…

Last week, we had administrative professionals’ day. This week, we'll get the latest employment data. It's a good time to think about jobs. We'll take a look at the upcoming jobs report. Last month was a real stinker - the worst showing in 10 months. We'll detail the current labor situation headed into the new data. We'll also check in with the Fed…

This week, we're looking at another batch of earnings reports. A large number of companies are set to release their quarterly results. Among the highlights: two of the world's largest car companies. Both Ford and General Motors are set to release their results. We'll preview those reports and take a look at some of the other big names on the docket…

The Fate of the Furious is just out and on Wall Street, that's how the earnings reports are going to start coming: fast and furious. We'll look at some of the big reports due out. This includes reports from Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Netflix. There's also some economic data due out in the next few days. We'll preview some key housing data t…

This week, we're talking retailers... Statistics on monthly retail sales are due out in a few days. We'll preview the report and detail the troubles the retailing sector has seen lately. The number of bankruptcies in the industry continue to mount. We'll put the recent problems in perspective and take a look at some of the new additions to the bank…

Baseball season is getting underway. Which means it's a time of superstition. It's time to get your garters on, breathe through your eyelids and let the mold grow on your shower shoes. And baseball has a lesson for Wall Street: never mess with a streak. This is a good week for that lesson. The jobs data is set to come out. After two straight months…

Last week was marked by breakups and family quarrels. We had the U.K. taking steps to enact Brexit - signing the divorce papers as it were. And we had the drama on Capitol Hill. Despite controlling both houses of Congress and the White House, the Republicans weren't able to get their Obamacare replacement smoothly through the House. We take a look …

This week, we're taking a break from our normal format to bring you an episode we first broadcast in the middle of last year. Usually, we take a look at what's going on in the markets and look ahead at what to expect in the near future. This week, we're going to look back - way back. Last year marked the 40th anniversery of the founding of Apple Co…

This week, like Caesar, we're contemplating the Ides of March. That's this coming Wednesday. That's also the day the Fed announces its next interest rate decision. Traders are almost completely convinced that the Fed is going to announce another rate hike. We take a look at what is fueling that certainty. We also check in on Friday's big jobs repor…

Logan is in theaters now. As a result, we've decided to pay homage to serious-minded X-men warriors. So we're looking at some of the superheroes of finance: economists and monetary policy makers... This week will see the release of the government's monthly employment data. We're coming off a big report for January. The data will show if the economy…

As Wall Street takes a long President's Day weekend to contemplate what Washington and Lincoln might have thought of Trump, we preview housing data and big earnings from the retail sector. We also take our usual tour of weirder business stories. This week, it's news that Playboy is going to publish nude photos. The newest American Girl is a boy. Ho…

Valentine's Day is on the way. And just in time for the big day, we got the release of the sequel to 50 Shades of Grey. With that in mind, we're hoping that Wall Street isn't in for some tough love this week. There's a lot of economic news set to come out. Also, a number of big companies still have to release their quarterly results. On the economi…

Two reasons we think Wall Street is like The Lion King this week: 1) America is still getting used to a new leader of its pride, and 2) Disney is going to be one of the main draws for the next round of earnings reports. We leave the Scar/Trump comparisons to you, but we look at Disney's earnings in some detail in this week's episode. We also give a…

This week, we should be talking about the Federal Reserve. After all, policy makers are meeting to make their next interest rate decision. Except this time around, there's little doubt about what the Fed is going to do. Rates are widely expected to hold steady. But we talk about the Fed anyway, looking ahead beyond this meeting to what might be in …

This episode, we're turning our attention to Hollywood! Oscar nominations are set to come out on Tuesday. We take a look at who the front runners are for the major categories. We've got a busy week on Wall Street as well. Earnings season is getting into high gear. Microsoft and AT&T lead a crowded field of earnings reports. We preview their results…

It's going to be a good week for civics lessons. We start off with a holiday for Martin Luther King day. And end up with the inauguration of a new president. In this episode, we take a look at what Wall Street is expecting from the new administration. We also contemplate the possible complications that might come up with a president who is both pro…

Christmas is over, but we've still got shopping on the brain. Last week, we got more evidence that the industry continues to change. Two of the biggest names in retailing announced some tough news. Sears and Macy's both revealed that they were closing stores and cutting jobs. Meanwhile, this week will see the release of the latest monthly stats on …

The new year is here and we're going to keep the party going for at least another week. The government is scheduled to release its monthly jobs report this week. We take a look at what to expect. We also go in depth into one of the mysteries of the last several years: how come the unemployment rate keeps falling even though job growth has been deci…

This week we're talking Star Wars. And the Fed. Rogue One is in theaters, and in the halls of the central bank, another force awakened: the Fed's rate-hike mojo is back. We give you the details of the rate hike and look ahead to what's next for interest rates. We also preview what's coming up this week. And as always, we take our tour of out-of-the…

This week, we're traveling from Europe to the U.S., taking a tour of monetary policy. The Fed is set to announce its interest rate decision this week. At this point, a rate hike is almost a foregone conclusion. But we take a look at what's in store down the road for interest rates. We also look back at last week's monetary policy decision out of Eu…

This week, we focus on oil and jobs. But then we lose focus and talk about cord-cutting, an uber for laundry and pizza delivering reindeer. The serios stuff first: For the first time in about 8 years, OPEC has reached a deal to cut production. The move pushed oil prices up last week. We take a look at some of the details of the move. Meanwhile, the…

This week, we're here to make Offbeat Wall Street great again! Donald Trump has pulled off the greatest political upset in at least the last 50 years. In honor of his upset, we're going to look at how markets typically respond to election results. No surprise: they're response to Trump's victory was not what usually happens. We'll take a look at ho…

This year's World Series has two teams that have not won a championship in decades. Between the Cubs and the Indians there is 176 years of collective futility. One of those streaks is coming to an end. The Federal Reserve has been holding rate steady for a long time. Not as long as the Cubs and Indians have been waiting for a Series title - but it'…

Halloween is on its way and Wall Street has been nervous. There's been a lot for investors to digest. Earnings season continues to roll on and in this episode, we update you on some of last week's headline makers. We also look ahead to this week, when the likes of Apple and Google are set to release their results. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve rem…

We now live in a world where Bob Dylan is a Nobel Prize winner for literature. Of course, Dylan isfamous for his changing phases. He went from folky to rock icon to Christian soldier to old crank, with probably dozens of other iterations along the way. That's a bit like the current stock market. For weeks now, we've been worried about interest rate…

Every week, we range north of the Wall, mixing with Wildlings and facing down the Night King. All in an effort to bring you the best information about Wall Street and the financial markets. This week, we're taking a break from our usual format to take a deep dive into darkness: October is the season of scary things. Not least of which is stock mark…

This week, there's dissention in the family. The Federal Reserve's policy-setting committee met last week. As expected, the Fed voted to hold off on a rate hike. But not everyone was happy. Fed Boss Janet Yellen is facing a rare level of dissention. We take a look at the decision - who's on which side and what it all means for the future of interes…

This week, we're asking the key question: have the financial markets gone through the looking glass? Down is up. Black is white. Bad data is good data. And it's all the Fed's fault. For the past few weeks, the markets have been cheering weak economic data, believing it will force the Federal Reserve to delay rate hikes until later in the year. This…

We're past Labor Day - the kids are back to school. The mornings are going to start having a nip in the air. But on Wall Street the doldrums of summer continue. Luckily, we've got football season to keep us occupied. This episode, we take a look at the evolving business model of daily fantasy sites. We don't ignore the usual Wall Street business, t…

Labor Day is around the corner...Wall Street's going to take the day off, but we're not. This gave us a perfect opportunity to look at the labor market and how its organized. It's our Norma Rae special! Or maybe better: our State of the Unions address! In this episode, we take a look at how union membership has changed in the past several decades. …

It's time to say goodbye to the Olympics... With the Rio games closing down, we thought it would be fun to look back to the first modern olympics in 1896. It was a simplier time. There were no TV cameras. No staged robberies. And Bob Costas was just entering middle age, tired of his gig as a columnist for bare-knuckle prize fighting and looking for…

This week, we've got the Olympics on our mind. The U.S. is dominating the games. NBC - not so much. The network's coverage of the games has been widely criticized. We'll take a closer look at how well NBC is really doing and whether there's anything they can do, given the current media culture. We also take our usual tour around Wall Street. The co…

This week, we're thinking about gender...and ghosts of the past. The new Ghostbusters movie came out a few weeks ago. The remake has become controversial, mostly due to the harsh reaction fans of the original movie had to the female cast. Meanwhile, around the same time as the movie's release, Hillary Clinton became the first woman nominated for pr…

This week, we have politics on our minds. The Republicans just wound down a crazy convention in Cleveland. Meanwhile, the Democrats are gearing up for their blowout this week. Every four years, both parties claim they have right program for economic growth. We're going to try to figure out who actually has the edge historically. Are Democrats or Re…

The new Jason Bourne movie is coming out next week. That got us thinking about amnesia...something Wall Street seems to have developed in recent weeks. A couple of weeks ago, investors were worried about a fragile economy, about Brexit and about looming interest rate hikes. Now the stock market is hitting new highs. Has Wall Street forgotten to be …

This week, we're taking a break from our normal format. Usually, we take a look at what's going on in the markets and look ahead at what to expect in the near future. This week, we're going to look back - way back. This year marks the 40th anniversery of the founding of Apple Computer. We're going to take a little time to tell that story - 7 minute…

This week, we're thinking about break ups. This is, of course, inspired by the good people of the U.K. They went to the polls last week to vote on whether they should break up with the European Union. We'll take a closer look at how the vote went down. (Hint: badly). We'll also take a close look at relationships in general. Of course, business is a…

Almost every Disney movie follows the same formula: in the first 2 minutes, a mother or wife dies. Or maybe a child is kidnapped or incapacitated. But from there, it's 90 minutes of mad-cap comedy and adventure. That's a little like the stock market. This week, we take a look at what markets do when faced with tragedy, such as the Pulse massacre in…