US job growth cooled in October as the Labor Department's closely watched employment report showed the unemployment rate rising to 3.9%, the highest since January 2022, up from 3.8% in September. Employers added 150,000 jobs, half the September gains, and the smallest increase in jobs since June, according to the Bureau's establishment numbers. DICK BOVE, chief financial strategist at ODEON CAPITAL GROUP, calls the Bureau's reporting 'specious.'

Still, BOVE says the evidence points to a deterioration in the labor markets. The economy on the jobs front is 'slowing meaningfully,' he adds. MAT VAN ALSTYNE, ODEON co-founder and managing partner, says the Bureau's report shows a massive number of the jobs created were in part time employment. Many Americans are now holding multiple, part-time jobs to make ends meet, VAN ALSTYNE says. "This report is a disaster," he adds. Meanwhile, another sign of stress in the US economy comes from the latest data on auto loan sales and delinquencies.

Elsewhere, the CONVERSATION looks at the explosion in assets under management (AUM) in the wealth management industry. Some of the largest asset managers have seen a surge in money inflows. BOVE cites Bank of America which estimates industry AUM has soared $40 trillion in the past decade to a staggering $65 trillion. Where is this money coming from, BOVE asks. Joining the CONVERSATION is our host, JOHN AIDAN BYRNE.

With wars and uncertainty across the globe—and the US mired in political polarization and economic fear—the CONVERSATION casts a wide net from the US to China. China, the world's second largest economy, is showing fresh signs of weakening. The CONVERSATION asks pointed questions on the latest US economic growth numbers. US gross domestic product, surged at a 4.9% annualized pace in the third quarter, eclipsing the 4.7% estimate. Was it too good to be true? DICK BOVE, chief financial strategist at ODEON CAPITAL GROUP, explains why the headline number is a misreading of the true state of growth this past summer. Growth was milder than blockbuster. In part, that's because GDP for the third quarter is padded with inventory building.

Meanwhile, as American consumers pile on more debt, Capital One reports a rise in its customer delinquency rates. The CONVERSATION plays an electronic program that provides self-directed scenarios for hypothetically reducing America's balooning deficits, and national debt. "You have a revenue problem, where the US is going to run out of money. You have a spending problem where the US is going to run out of money," says MAT VAN ALSTYNE, co-founder and managing partner at ODEON, explaining the various options for bolstering America's fiscal health. "So, you can either cut spending, or increasing revenue, or do a combination of both." Our host, JOHN AIDAN BYRNE, urges restraint on reform of America's much cherished Social Security program. Elsewhere, BOVE offers more insight on his recent Open Letter to JP Morgan. BOVE also questions the official reason JP Morgan's CEO, JAMIE DIMON, is planning to sell one million shares of the company stock.

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The U.S. government posted a $1.7 trillion budget deficit in fiscal 2023, a significant 23% jump from the prior year. Revenues declined and outlays for Social Security, Medicare and record-high interest costs on the federal debt raced ahead. "Nobody in Washington is interested in controlling spending," warns DICK BOVE, chief financial strategist at ODEON CAPITAL GROUP. The Treasury Department said the deficit came in as the largest since a $2.78 trillion gap in 2021 padded by COVID spending. ODEON co-founder, MAT VAN ALSTYNE, expressed shock at the plunge in individual income tax collections in the current fiscal year.

Meanwhile, US car loan delinquencies are at a near three decade high, and consumers are defaulting on credit car loans at the highest pace in 10 years. Once again, some market experts are sounding the alarm for the long anticipated recession. Abroad, there is trouble in the Middle East, Ukraine and domestic tension in America. Still, the lessons of history may offer us some relief and positive hope for the future, says BOVE. Joining the CONVERSATION is our host, JOHN AIDAN BYRNE

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It's bank earnings seasons with the four big US banks and one investment bank having so far reported. The picture is positive as measured by earnings. But the underlying picture shows challenges for the banks from pressure to increase their equity to proposed new rules condemned by the industry. DICK BOVE, chief financial strategist at ODEON CAPITAL GROUP, brings us his analysis on bank earnings and the latest challenges.

Consumer spending exceeded expectation in September. Still, BOVE says the American consumer is showing signs of stress, laying out his case why spending is near a new tipping point. Meanwhile, the war between Israel and Hamas has shifted global dynamics, according to the Wall Street Journal. DICK and MAT VAN ALSTYNE, ODEON co-founder and managing partner share their views as investors wrestle with a changed and volatile environment. Elsewhere, there's the costly Green New Deal. Is it as clean as it may sound? We'll discuss. Joining the Conversation is our host, JOHN AIDAN BYRNE.

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The CONVERSATION shares some frank and timely commentary on the shocking tragedy in Israel as the world watched the deadly horror unfold. DICK BOVE, chief financial strategist at ODEON CAPITAL GROUP offers his thoughts. MAT VAN ALSTYNE, ODEON co-founder and managing partner, shares some personal history, and raises concerns about American leadership. "We need leaders who have a world vision, " he says. "What is America's role in Ukraine? Nobody could tell us! What is our goal in Israel? What is our goal in Taiwan?"

The CONVERSATION opens with a detailed examination of the latest US jobs numbers for September. With job gains wildly exceeding expectations, BOVE nevertheless explains why he is unimpressed. "I don't believe these jobs are creating any surge for the economy," he says. Our host, JOHN AIDAN BYRNE, presents some signs of green shoots in the manufacturing sector. Are these a positive start to a revival in the largely moribund US manufacturing sector? BOVE presents his outlook and analysis on US banks. "Bank stocks have been horrible performers," he says. What comes next for the unremarkable bank sector?

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DICK BOVE, chief financial strategist at ODEON CAPITAL GROUP, offers his case for what has driven the 10-year treasury yield to its highest level in 16 years. Borrowing costs are soaring. BOVE identifies the sharp reduction, over $1 trillion, in the US Money Supply for the rise in the 10-year yield. The US Treasury is feeling the ripple effects. “The Treasury is paying money to the Fed as it is losing money on its operations,” says BOVE. The CONVERSATION also discusses two opposite sides of the Fed’s latest challenges. Professor Jason Furman of Harvard says losses at the Fed Reserve don’t matter. Alex J Pollack, writing in The Hill, disagrees, describing the Fed’s accumulated operating losses “a landmark event.” BOVE explains why the losses impact the financial system in far-reaching and negative ways. “I feel the Fed is shrinking the money supply on purpose to drive up interest rates because they want the economy to slow,” says MAT VAN ALSTYNE, ODEON co-founder and managing partner.

Meanwhile, our host, JOHN AIDAN BYRNE, opens up a CONVERSATION on the phenomena of celebrity TAYLOR SWIFT as sales for her concerts and appearances have sold out. BOVE shares some personal family stories on the SWIFT monetary bandwagon. US consumers have been splurging on experiences, travel and personal indulgences as housing prices soar, and as stark signs of consumer stress emerge. Elsewhere, we discuss the realities and concerns of the Green New Deal. BOVE presents his latest research on US banks amidst the continuing crisis in the sector.

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The US economy is at a pivotal moment as the Federal Reserve reduces its balance sheeting, shrinking it by 10.5 percent, of $940 billion in the past 18 months. Banks are losing deposits, money market funds are seeing outflows. This is a turning point, says DICK BOVE, chief financial strategist at ODEON CAPITAL GROUP as the economy faces heightened risks of recession. Many analysts were puzzled as to why the US economy has dodged a recession thus far. BOVE says one explanation is that the government propped up the economy with trillions of dollars in stimulus spending. But the game has now changed. The money supply is shrinking.

“There are bright spots in the economy,” says MAT VAN ALSTYNE, ODEON co-founder and managing partner. “That is the present reality. But where are we going? That is the real question.  The subjective realities are extraordinary negative on feelings about the US economy.” The CONVERSATION looks at the impact of higher interest rates on consumers struggling on repayments and debt servicing, and shifting more of their consumption to necessities. The manufacturing sector is weak. Is Made in America the way forward?

Meanwhile, there is world disorder. Is it spreading fast? Our host, JOHN AIDAN BYRNE, poses the question, citing one analyst who paints a grim view of the so-called rules based international order.  The politics and implications of a US government shutdown is examined.  DICK BOVE has the latest on US banks. “The banks are in trouble in the US,” he says, reprising his analysis of government plans to effective shrink the banking sector. Elsewhere, volatile China is in the spotlight once again.

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How do we understand the latest media tour by Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, as she touts reasons to be sanguine on the state of the US economy, in particular the US consumer? Consumers are feeling better about their personal finances though negative, nonetheless, on the overall state of the US economy, she asserted in an interview. Jobs are being created more evenly across the nation, and in areas once starved for middle class employment, she says, crediting recent legislation out of Washington. What’s the reality? On this episode, DICK BOVE,

The CONVERSATION examines the recent comments in a fireside

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On August 29, 2023, the three major bank regulatory agencies issued a whopping 1,087-page set of new rules and regulations for the banking industry. The rules emerged following the recent failures of three regional banks, a series of events which exposed financial vulnerabilities in the sector. After a comment period, the rules are expected to take effect in January 2024.

What are the long-term implications of these new rules? Bank analyst, DICK BOVE, says the rules certainly mean reduced risk for banks. But the rules also transfer huge risks to the non-bank sector which will impact the economy negatively, he says. Meanwhile, the US government is facing fresh challenges in containing run away spending as the deficit soars, says MAT VAN ALSTYNE, Odeon co-founder and managing partner.

Elsewhere, the CONVERSATION examines the Odeon Capital Group Money Supply, which shows the Fed did not capture the actual decline early enough in the US Money Supply as measured by its own data. On the global scene, we discuss trouble in Africa's hotspots and ask why did the leaders of China and Russia skip the recent G-20 Summit in India. Joining the CONVERSATION is out host, JOHN AIDAN BYRNE.

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Many economists had widely anticipated a US and global recession for the past 12 months, a recession that never materialized. With the US Fed aggressively hiking interest rates to tamp down sky-high inflation, the view was that it would result in a sharp rise in unemployment, as well as a steady decline in economic activity. Instead, the US economy has remained resilient, inflation has declined while employers have added 3.1 million jobs in the past 12 months.

But this much anticipated recession may just have been delayed a little bit longer. And when it erupts, it could be sharp and brutual. In a new report, DICK BOVE, forecasts a debt fuelled recession within the next 18 months. BOVE, chief financial strategist at ODEON CAPITAL GROUP, traces much of the origins of this next downturn to the overwhelming surge in the US money in the early 2020s in response to the Covid 19 pandemic. A new set of dominoes, he says, are likely in 2024:

*Consumer debt rising too rapidly

*Cost of that debt rising even faster

*Continued increases in wages, debt defaults starting to mount

*Money massively stimulating consumption rather than the vital production side of the economy.

"I believe that by the middle to the end of 2024, we're going to be dealing with debt servicing problems, and that's going to crash the economy," says BOVE.

Joining the CONVERSATION is MAT VAN ALSTYNE, ODEON co-founder and managing partner, as well as our host, JOHN AIDAN BYRNE.

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