This episode picks up on new research by Odeon Capital Group’s DICK BOVE to examine the future of cryptocurrencies, in particular the most popular digital currency of them all, Bitcoin. BOVE says Bitcoin has delivered for investors but the famed bank analyst is critical of this currency as a substitute for conventional money. “This leads to the question as to whether it can actually hold its investment value if it has lost its functional value,” according to BOVE, chief financial strategist at Odeon Capital. “I would think not but we shall see.” MAT VAN ALYSTYNE questions BOVE’s outlook, arguing, for example, that it has proven to be a store of value in some instances.

Also, with host JOHN AIDAN BYRNE, this episode will ask what’s ahead for Twitter following Elon Musk’s acquisition of the social media platform for $44 billion. BOVE reminds listeners that Musk is the Thomas Edison of our age, an enterprising genius with a proven track record. VAN ALSTYNE says that stellar record augurs well for Twitter. The episode opens with news on the latest activities of the US Federal Reserve.

The US Federal Reserve has still not tightened monetary despite a stream of words to the contrary. From the biggest banks such as JP Morgan and Citi to the smaller players in the sector, this Fed liquidity is playing into their outlook and performance, according to DICK BOVE, chief financial strategist at Odeon Capital Group. “Restructuring bank portfolios is going to be very important based on an understanding that the macro environment has changed dramatically,” he says.

BOVE, who has made numerous broadcast appearances during this earnings seasons, says banks and industry commentators have constantly stressed the benefit for their earnings of rising interest rates. However, this misses the complete reason, BOVE says. "Therefore, when bank stocks did not rise sharply in the recent period of interest rate increases, the question keeps coming back: Why aren't these stocks rising when interest rates are rising," he asks. 

In this episode, the Conversation opens up with a look at the shocking war in Ukraine and the potential consequences for the West if there is no satisfactory end to the bloodbath and the loss of human life. Also, the episode examines the $43 billion bid by Elon Musk to buy the social media giant, Twitter. The panel all agree he’s undoubtedly an entrepreneurial genius, the Thomas Edison of our day. And we go deeper.

This week, the US Labor Department reported that consumer prices were 8.5 percent higher than 12 months ago, the biggest jump in prices since 1981. From rising prices for fuel, food, housing and rent, as well as a panoply of goods and services, this price surge has triggered anxiety for consumers, businesses and the Federal Reserve. ODEON CAPITAL CONVERSATIONS will take a deep dive and examine the Fed's dilemma. If the US hits a recession after interest rates are jacked up to tame inflation, will the government act in a "fiscally responsible" manner to manage spending as tax receipt decline, asks panelist MAT VAN ALYSTYNE? Alternatively, he further adds, will it take the easy money approach, printing more dollars to make up for shortfalls in spending programs?

Meanwhile, Fannie Mae is in the midst of a massive management crisis. According to DICK BOVE, chief financial strategist at Odeon Capital Group, it is larger than anything he has ever seen in a profitable company in more than his five decades of analyzing businesses. "The CEO and the Chairperson of the Board are bailing out," says BOVE. "This is more typical of what happens in a socialistic organization run by politically motivated leaders than a truly capitalistic company -- which this organization decidedly is not."

With lively arguments and contributions by BOVE, Odeon co-founder VAN ALSTYNE, and journalist JOHN AIDAN BYRNE, this episode will present a picture of the financial and structural choices now facing Fannie, the government sponsored housing behemoth. 

DICK BOVE points out that Fannie:

This episode of ODEON CAPITAL CONVERSATIONS unpacks a lot of topical material at the center of debate and analysis on Wall Street and the financial markets in today’s fast-changing markets. From the talk of recession and a major development at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to the “multiple problems” for banks and the latest sanctions on the payment of Russian debts, the conversation will debate different sides of the analysis by DICK BOVE, chief financial strategist at Odeon Capital Group.

As the brutal war in Ukraine rages on BOVE, MAT VAN ALYSTYNE and JOHN AIDAN BYRNE, will look in particular at the fresh sanctions on the payments of Russian debt in the wake of the massacre of civilians in Bucha. “I have argued for years that weaponizing the dollar may not be advisable,” according to BOVE. In this light, the CONVERSATION then takes a look again at the US dollar as the dominant global reserve currency with VAN ALYSTYNE and BYRNE countering BOVE’s long standing thesis.

Back in 2008, the US government's takeover of troubled mortgage giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two agencies established to reduce risk in the housing market, was hailed by many as a crucial step in helping to solve the pain of the subprime housing crisis roiling America. Fueled by the global financial crisis, the nation had a glut of vacant homes for sales, soaring foreclosures and rising unemployment. In these dire circumstances, the government's control of Fannie and Freddie moved forward, placing them in government conservatorship, and giving Washington 100 percent of their profits. It was a radical move. The government, in effect, had now become the nation's mortgage lender in a marketplace now estimated at $12 trillion.

Today, with the US Federal Reserve scrambling, at least in theory, to take control of a massive balance sheet and tighten monetary policy, the "nationalization" of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, still in place, raises disturbing questions for the viability of the US housing market, according to DICK BOVE, chief financial strategist at Odeon Capital Group. "This is the most outrageous and unbelievable situation I have ever seen in my 55 years in looking at companies," BOVE says in this episode, castigating the government for undermining free market values and damaging the future prospects for home ownership. BOVE contends that "dirty games" were played at the highest levels to help preserve Fannie and Freddie under government control.

BOVE is joined on this episode by MAT VAN ALYSTYNE, co-founder, Odeon Capital Group, and journalist JOHN AIDAN BYRNE. The trio will also examine broader issues in the housing market, in particular, whether it can continue to move forward with the same level of strong blockbuster sales and rising prices.•  VAN ALYSTYNE AND BYRNE see a continuation in the overall housing activity citing data and anecdotal evidence. Bove disagrees. "The rapid rise in money costs," Bove writes in a research note,  "combined with the exit of the Federal Reserve from the markets will make housing purchases un-affordable so that demand cannot be actualized."

DICK BOVE, chief financial strategist at Odeon Capital Group, has outlined how In its recent press conference, the Federal Reserve implied two adjustments in interest rates would be made in the coming months:

· The Federal Funds rate could be increased 7 times this year to what might be 2.00%

· The Federal Reserve balance sheet might be reduced in size by an unknown amount.

"Assuming this would happen," BOVE wrote to investors, "it is fair to speculate as to what this would mean to the United States financial statement and to financial statements of the Federal Reserve itself. The numbers are frightening. They imply that the Federal Reserve might not be able to pursue a course as rigorous as the one implied."

The numbers are indeed frightening, if not apocalyptic:

· Interest payments by the United States could conceivably reach the annual level of $620 billion by year end 2022, all of which would have to be borrowed in the open market.

· The real equity of the Federal Reserve, to the degree it exists, would be wiped out.

This episode will take a closer look at the implication of this soaring debt bill both for the US Federal government and the Federal Reserve with commentary and further analysis by Bove. The conversation with BOVE, MAT VAN ALSTYNE, Odeon Capital Group co-founder and managing partner, and journalist JOHN AIDAN BYRNE, will also turn to the brutal war and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine as well as to the markets and global affairs.

The recent positive move in the stock market indicates how significantly investors have insulated themselves from reality, according to DICK BOVE, chief financial strategist at ODEON CAPITAL GROUP. In support of this argument, BOVE cites some tragic developments:

"Investors [yesterday] assumed that none of this means anything," BOVE recently told investors. "The only message to take from this war is that the Fed will not meaningfully tighten monetary policy. In essence game on. Let’s go buy stocks."

BOVE asks is it possible that investors were wrong? "It is possible that Russia has now crossed every line that can be drawn," he continued. "It is possible that the west will now respond in force. It is possible that Russia has all of Europe on its knees including the United States." BOVE presents a brilliant personal example from real life to illustrate his case.

BOVE presents the "possibly not" scenario as well, in his note to investors. "The French President has now demanded an immediate cease fire," BOVE outlines. "He has now crossed a line from which he cannot step back. The situation is going to get far worse before it gets better. Investors need to at least start thinking about this."  

This episode with DICK BOVE, MAT VAN ALYSTYNE, co-founder and managing partner at ODEON CAPITAL GROUP, and journalist, JOHN AIDAN BYRNE, will also take a deep dive into the market and a closer look at how the latest global upheaval influences the course of the US dollar as the world's dominant reserve currency.

The big banks and most large regionals in the US have major technological advantages, according to DICK BOVE, chief financial strategist at Odeon Capital Group. Today, there is no non-bank financial company or Fintech—bank rivals seeking market share—that can match bank technology across the board, he says. Fintechs, however, can develop niche products that “banks should have developed.” Adds Bove: “Fintechs have a proven ability to rethink legacy businesses and redefine them.”

Still, the big banks are in the catbird’s seat by their sheer structure, scale and size. With the war in Ukraine causing the insufferable loss of human life, carnage and property damage, dividing the world into two camps, the bank sector is adjusting to the new reality. Major pools of cash that can propel them to new heights is a clear upside for big banks, Bove says. After earlier periods of modernization and major change, it's another revolution in banking in this era of robotics. This episode takes a closer look at BOVE’S research and at how the banking industry is being refashioned into tech-fueled hubs of financial and digital innovation for customers and bankers.

In this episode, ODEON CAPITAL CONVERSATIONS presents parallels in history to understand the future of the globe with the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. What does this shocking unfolding of events in Europe mean for global trade and the world economy as well as for investors and your money? This episode will ask these important questions and much more.

The invasion of the Ukraine provides clarity to the fact that there is a new Axis in place, according to Dick Bove, chief financial strategist at Odeon Capital Group. The new Axis is composed of Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, and Cuba not to mention the countries that have re-entered the Russian Federation’s orbit, he says.

Bove explains: “The words of Putin and the actions of China suggest that the goals of this new Axis are manifold:

· Create a multipolar world not dominated by the United States

· Build an economic monolith around the Belt and Road Initiative, which is now in 78 countries

· Create a new financial system more reliant on the yuan than the dollar

· Use military prowess when required. “

Bove says that the new system being posited changes the way business will be done. In the past two decades, the decision was made to pretty much open the world to global trade, he notes. “The country that could make serviceable products at low prices obtained the business. This no longer makes political sense,“ Bove says.

If the United States increases its reliance on sourcing critical goods from Axis nations, it could find itself at a terrible disadvantage in the event that Russia builds a new military machine in Western Europe or China uses the South China Sea as a national lake, according to Bove. "The United States must redevelop self-sufficiency again," he says.

With the tensions deepening in Ukraine and the invasion by Russia as the startling and grim backdrop, this episode will ask what does this all mean for investors and your money, and take a deep dive into our first four episodes that launched ODEON CAPITAL CONVERSATIONS.

Eps 1: In the eye of the financial storm, a heavily-indebted Fed, signaling interest rate rises, is 'in trouble', says Dick Bove. The conversation takes a closer look & asks the big questions

Eps 2: DEER IN THE HEADLIGHTS: FED in deep state of fear & paralysis, unable to count money supply, says Dick Bove. Fed must fight inflation, soaring debt & calm markets

Eps 3: SURGE IN AMERICAN HOUSING SLUMS: Why US landscape could soon be dotted with thousands of slum dwellings as big investors swoop up land and properties in a dysfunctional market

Eps 4: CHINA SUPERPOWER? How China, a totalitarian state, plays financial hardball in cahoots with Russia to subordinate US & become a big global player—with dominant reserve currency, according to DICK BOVE