We've heard it over and over again, Covid-19 has plunged us into a crisis like none other we’ve experienced in our lifetime. Although it is primarily a public health issue, it is also having a major impact on the global economy and financial system. Many businesses have been forced to shut down sparking debates on whether this is supply or demand shock.

Wall Street proclaims that any increase in economic activity is a good sign. However, Jim Bianco, President and Macro Strategist at Bianco Research, says a return to 90% of pre-crisis level will still not be enough to recover. Bianco Research is a Chicago-based firm that provides research and analysis for institutional finance. Jim started to take serious notice of the Covid-19 outbreak back in January. Since then he has been sharing his views on the long- term, macroeconomic consequences of the pandemic. He brings an enormous amount of clarity and insight into this issue.

Topics covered in this episode:

• Jim’s background on Wall Street and how he transitioned into research
• Why he was so early to talk about the pandemic and the crisis
• The lessons learned from this pandemic and what’s next
• What long-term economic and societal trends we can expect
• The FED: their response, the effects on the economy and where we go from here
• Jim’s views on UBI and the legitimacy of taxes if states can just print money
• The US debt problem caused by the slowing of international trade
• The US dollar as a reserve currency and how it could be displaced
• The prospect of crypto-based reserve currencies and the disruption of central banks
• How close are we to Crypto and Bitcoin becoming an asset class in the traditional finance system
• Jim’s visions for the post virus world

Episode links:

• Bianco Research
• “Is the Fed Making it Better?” Reset Everything Talk
• Jim Bianco Twitter
• Bianco Research Youtube
• WTF Happened In 1971?
• Mainnet 2020 – Messari's Flagship Crypto Event (June 1 to 3)
• Free tickets to Web 3.0 Forum (June 8 to 10)

Sponsors:

• Least Authority: Learn how Zero-Knowledge Access Passes can help you build a more privacy-minded business by disconnecting payment and user data. - http://www.leastauthority.com/zkaps

This episode is hosted by Sebastien Couture & Brian Fabian Crain. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/342