Dan Nathan and Dan Greenhaus discuss heightened Middle East war risk and how it’s driving market moves, with the S&P 500 down near recent lows, yields near multi-month highs, the dollar firming, and crude in the mid-$90s, while stressing how difficult it is to “trade geopolitics.” Greenhaus argues markets may be underpricing escalation risk but notes the U.S. is less oil-intensive, so higher gasoline hurts sentiment more than GDP, with tax-bill refunds partly offsetting pump prices and a lasting geopolitical premium likely keeping oil above prior lows. They debate recession calls, citing payment networks’ commentary that consumer health remains solid, and discuss why headline inflation may rise while core inflation moves little, making Fed hikes unlikely as long-term inflation expectations stay anchored. They also address tight credit spreads, AI-driven capex concentration, tech valuation compression, layoffs, and private credit concerns, arguing losses are not yet systemic and gates are disclosed, while advising caution and sometimes doing nothing amid exogenous uncertainty.

Show Notes