Why is gold performance underwhelming in the face of high inflation? We're hearing this question from investors, so Confluence Chief Market Strategist Bill O'Grady takes a look at gold this week and adds some color to the research discussed in our associated written report.

Recent dramatic and surprising gains by Ukraine in its war with Russia have brought political and investment implications. Confluence Chief Market Strategist Bill O'Grady and Market Strategist Patrick Fearon-Hernandez join this week's episode to discuss updates on how the war has progressed along with its impact on the ongoing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in light of Russia's weakened position.

The Federal Reserve has made no secret of its intent to curb inflation by means of interest rate hikes, even if economic pain is the result. The Fed's hope, of course, is that any slowdown or recession will be mild. Confluence Market Strategist Patrick Fearon-Hernandez joins today to discuss why present Fed policy is more likely to lead to a deeper recession than the stock market currently anticipates.

Recession fears can greatly impact investments, so it makes sense that financial markets are focused today on when, and if, a recession might occur. Confluence Chief Market Strategist Bill O'Grady offers his thoughts.

Might food be weaponized in a deglobalized world with at least two sharply divided political and economic groupings, one dominated by the U.S. and the other by China? Confluence Market Strategist Patrick Fearon-Hernandez discusses the latest in his series of reports on how deglobalization could impact investors.

When the July Consumer Price Index was released earlier this month, the stock market rallied on hopes that inflation has peaked and the Fed might be less inclined to raise interest rates. Was it a case of over-optimism? Confluence Chief Market Strategist Bill O'Grady reviews the numbers that were so well-received by financial markets and the arguments on both sides of the theory that inflation has peaked.

We return to a theme familiar to anyone who has been listening to us for a while--the decline of globalization and the implications for investors. The vehicle for our discussion today is a book that appeared for a while this year on the New York Times non-fiction bestseller list, titled "The End of the World is Just the Beginning: Mapping the Collapse of Globalization" by Peter Zeihan. Confluence Chief Market Strategist Bill O'Grady discusses why this particular book strikes a chord at Confluence Investment Management.

Bill O’Grady, Chief Market Strategist, joins host Phil Adler in looking at the second update of Confluence Investment Management’s “2022 Outlook: The Year of Fat Tails.” The focus of the discussion is on the impact of the Ukraine war and the financial markets’ discounting of a potential recession next year.

What do current levels of household debt portend for the economy and for investors? Confluence Chief Market Strategist Bill O'Grady joins us to discuss the path consumer debt followed to arrive at the level where it is today and where it fits in the investment equation.

The investment world seems more unstable these days as COVID and the Ukraine war are causing major shifts in economies and contributing to political crises for some top U.S. allies. Confluence Market Strategist Patrick Fearon-Hernandez examines the recent political events in Japan, the U.K., and Italy and discusses their common features and implications for investors.