In this episode of Trends with Benefits, Ed Lopez sits down with Larry McDonald, Founder of the Bear Traps Report, to discuss the current state of financial markets. Larry dives into signals pointing to potential economic turbulence, from mounting consumer credit pressures to persistent inflation. He shares insights on the growing investor shift toward hard assets amid de-dollarization and global tensions and weighs in on how demographics are reshaping asset allocation. The conversation also touches on the future of AI, energy infrastructure, and the changing dynamics of passive investing, highlighting why reading market signals is more critical than ever.