Colleagues Chris Lafakis and Steve Cochrane join Inside Economics to discuss how geopolitics is shaping the outlook and the risks to the U.S. and global economies. But first, the team reminisces about Steve’s 32 years as “employee 007” at the company and his upcoming retirement. Steve reveals his secrets for “managing up,” and Mark finds out he’s been managed all these years. The conversation then turns to U.S.-China relations and the risk of an oil price shock stemming from Israel’s attack on Iran last week. 

Guest: Chris Lafakis, Director of Climate and Energy Economics, Moody's Analytics, Steve Cochrane, Director, Chief APAC Economist

Hosts: Mark Zandi – Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Cris deRitis – Deputy Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, and Marisa DiNatale – Senior Director - Head of Global Forecasting, Moody’s Analytics

Follow Mark Zandi on 'X' and BlueSky @MarkZandi, Cris deRitis on LinkedIn, and Marisa DiNatale on LinkedIn

Questions or Comments, please email us at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you. 

To stay informed and follow the insights of Moody's Analytics economists, visit Economic View.

Samim Ghamami, Senior Economist at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, joins Mark, Cris, and Marisa to explore the rapid rise of the private credit market. With global assets surpassing $2 trillion, Samim breaks down the systemic risks posed by this opaque yet fast-growing asset class. The discussion delves into private credit’s role in middle-market lending, private equity, and new markets like infrastructure and real estate, as well as its implications for financial stability and regulation.

Access the full paper, Private Credit & Systemic Risk here: https://www.economy.com/getfile?q=2107637A-C535-4AFF-83BC-6CBA1AD1FAB9&app=download

Guest: Samim Ghamami, Senior Economist at the Securities and Exchange Commission

Hosts: Mark Zandi – Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Cris deRitis – Deputy Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Marisa DiNatale – Senior Director - Head of Global Forecasting, Moody’s Analytics

Follow Mark Zandi on 'X', BlueSky or LinkedIn @MarkZandi, Cris deRitis on LinkedIn, and Marisa DiNatale on LinkedIn

Questions or Comments, please email us at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you. 

To stay informed and follow the insights of Moody's Analytics economists, visit Economic View.

The specter of stagflation is on the rise.  While the higher tariffs have yet to translate into higher prices, the Inside Economics team and their colleague, inflation-maven Matt Colyar, argue they soon will. And weaker growth isn’t too far behind – the team’s recession probabilities are increasing again. Mass immigrant deportations, and Israel’s bombing of Iran and the resulting spike in oil prices, also point to higher inflation and weaker growth. Just how serious a threat stagflation poses depends on many factors, the least of which is whether the Fed is willing and able to stick to its inflation mandate.

Guest: Matt Colyar – Assistant Director, Moody's Analytics

Hosts: Mark Zandi – Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Cris deRitis – Deputy Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Marisa DiNatale – Senior Director - Head of Global Forecasting, Moody’s Analytics

Follow Mark Zandi on 'X', BlueSky or LinkedIn @MarkZandi, Cris deRitis on LinkedIn, and Marisa DiNatale on LinkedIn

Questions or Comments, please email us at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you. 

To stay informed and follow the insights of Moody's Analytics economists, visit Economic View.

Sharon Parrott, President of CBPP joins the Inside Economics team to consider the big package of tax and government spending provisions making its way through the legislative process. She explains why she’s not a fan, from its implications for the nation’s already dire fiscal situation to its hit to programs benefitting lower-income Americans, such as Medicaid and food assistance.

Guests: Sharon Parrot - President of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and Justin Begley - Economist and U.S. fiscal policy SME, Moody's Analytics 

Additional resources from Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

By the Numbers: House Bill Takes Health Coverage Away From Millions of People and Raises Families' Health Care Costs

2025 Budget Impacts: House Bill Would Cut Assistance for Children, Raise Costs for Families

House Republican Reconciliation Bill Would Hard Rural Households, Communities, and Economies

Hosts: Mark Zandi – Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Cris deRitis – Deputy Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Marisa DiNatale – Senior Director - Head of Global Forecasting, Moody’s Analytics

Follow Mark Zandi on 'X', BlueSky or LinkedIn @MarkZandi, Cris deRitis on LinkedIn, and Marisa DiNatale on LinkedIn

Questions or Comments, please email us at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you. 

To stay informed and follow the insights of Moody's Analytics economists, visit Economic View.

Dante joins Mark and Marisa for a rare Cris-free Saturday morning podcast to discuss the May jobs report. Given the report's weakness, the team is equally baffled by the positive news headlines and surging stock market on Friday. The team dissects the large downward revisions to the payroll numbers in recent months and whether this signals a recession ahead. They also debate whether the low unemployment rate is giving a false signal about underlying weakness in the labor market. 

Guest: Dante DeAntonio, Senior Director of Economic Research, Moody's Analytics

Hosts: Mark Zandi – Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Cris deRitis – Deputy Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, and Marisa DiNatale – Senior Director - Head of Global Forecasting, Moody’s Analytics

Follow Mark Zandi on 'X' and BlueSky @MarkZandi, Cris deRitis on LinkedIn, and Marisa DiNatale on LinkedIn

Questions or Comments, please email us at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you. 

To stay informed and follow the insights of Moody's Analytics economists, visit Economic View.

The Inside Economics crew talks about the latest tariff news, as well as the reconciliation bill making its way through Congress and the long-term macroeconomic consequences of the bill. Mark gives some rules of thumb about the tariff impact on inflation, as well as the debt-to-GDP ratio and long-term bond yields. Finally, the team answers several listener questions and plays the stats game.

Hosts: Mark Zandi – Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Cris deRitis – Deputy Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Marisa DiNatale – Senior Director - Head of Global Forecasting, Moody’s Analytics

Follow Mark Zandi on 'X', BlueSky or LinkedIn @MarkZandi, Cris deRitis on LinkedIn, and Marisa DiNatale on LinkedIn

Questions or Comments, please email us at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you. 

To stay informed and follow the insights of Moody's Analytics economists, visit Economic View.

Cliff Rossi, Professor of the Practice and Director of the Smith Enterprise Risk Consortium at the University of Maryland, joins the podcast to discuss the future of housing finance and the potential release of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from government conservatorship. The team also delves into Dr. Rossi's proposal for fixing the homeowners insurance market and explores concerns surrounding private credit.

Guest: Clifford Rossi, Professor of the Practice, Director, Smith Enterprise Risk Consortium Executive-in-Residence PhD, Cornell University

Hosts: Mark Zandi – Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Cris deRitis – Deputy Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Marisa DiNatale – Senior Director - Head of Global Forecasting, Moody’s Analytics

Follow Mark Zandi on 'X', BlueSky or LinkedIn @MarkZandi, Cris deRitis on LinkedIn, and Marisa DiNatale on LinkedIn

Questions or Comments, please email us at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you. 

Questions or Comments, please email us at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you. 

To stay informed and follow the insights of Moody's Analytics economists, visit Economic View.

The Inside Economics team is joined by our colleagues Adam Kamins and Justin Begley to play the statistics game for nearly the entire podcast. There are lots of good stats, and it’s a nice respite from all the economic drama for the long Memorial Day weekend.

Guests: Justin Begley - Economist, Moody's Analytics, Adam Kamins - Senior Director and Head of Regional Economics, Moody's Analytics

Hosts: Mark Zandi – Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Cris deRitis – Deputy Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Marisa DiNatale – Senior Director - Head of Global Forecasting, Moody’s Analytics

Follow Mark Zandi on 'X', BlueSky or LinkedIn @MarkZandi, Cris deRitis on LinkedIn, and Marisa DiNatale on LinkedIn

Questions or Comments, please email us at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you. 

To stay informed and follow the insights of Moody's Analytics economists, visit Economic View.

The Inside Economics team welcomes back Aaron Klein, senior fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution, for his fourth appearance. The episode begins with an analysis of the latest economic indicators, unpacking fresh CPI, PPI, and retail sales data. Mark then asks the team to weigh in on how recent tariff announcements have altered their economic forecasts and recession probabilities. Moody's Analytics economist Justin Begley provides a breakdown of the budget reconciliation package moving through Congress. The episode concludes with Aaron's assessment of emerging vulnerabilities and potential flashpoints in the financial system.

Guest: Aaron Klein, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution

Hosts: Mark Zandi – Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Cris deRitis – Deputy Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Marisa DiNatale – Senior Director - Head of Global Forecasting, Moody’s Analytics

Follow Mark Zandi on 'X', BlueSky or LinkedIn @MarkZandi, Cris deRitis on LinkedIn, and Marisa DiNatale on LinkedIn

Questions or Comments, please email us at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you. 

To stay informed and follow the insights of Moody's Analytics economists, visit Economic View.

Will generative artificial intelligence lead to nirvana or dystopia? Great question, which we don’t exactly answer in this week’s podcast, but we do weigh the most critical downstream effects of the technology based on recent research done by urban economists Frank Levy and Scott Abrahams. We assess how GenAI impacts the benefits of a college degree, the nation’s political dynamics, and which metro area economies will win (think Savannah) and lose (think San Francisco).

Guests: Frank Levy, Visitor in the Strategy Group of the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, and Scott Abrahams, Professor of Economics at Louisiana State University

Read Frank and Scott's recent research on Gen AI here: From San Francisco to Savannah? The Downstream Effects of Generative AI (https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4874104)

Hosts: Mark Zandi – Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Cris deRitis – Deputy Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics, Marisa DiNatale – Senior Director - Head of Global Forecasting, Moody’s Analytics

Follow Mark Zandi on 'X', BlueSky or LinkedIn @MarkZandi, Cris deRitis on LinkedIn, and Marisa DiNatale on LinkedIn

Questions or Comments, please email us at [email protected]. We would love to hear from you. 

To stay informed and follow the insights of Moody's Analytics economists, visit Economic View.