In this week's episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-hosts Telis Demos is joined by Miriam Gottfried to tackle gold’s continued rally. They discuss the debate over whether its surge is a bet against the U.S. dollar or simply "catastrophe insurance" against a faltering AI-led stock market. Plus, with the U.S. government shutdown delaying key economic reports, investors are turning to Bank of America, Carlyle Group and likely this week’s bank earnings for clues on the economy's health.

After the break, Telis is joined by Chris Whalen, chairman of Whalen Global Advisors, and they get into this week’s coming earnings from JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and more. Whalen explains why real trouble is brewing for banks in commercial real estate and private equity. And he shares what indicators he is looking out for in their earnings this coming week.

This is WSJ’s Take On the Week where co-hosts Gunjan Banerji, lead writer for Live Markets, and Telis Demos, Heard on the Street’s banking and money columnist, cut through the noise and dive into markets, the economy and finance—the big trades, key players and business news ahead.

Have an idea for a future guest or episode? How can we better help you take on the week? We’d love to hear from you. Email the show at [email protected].

To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com

Further Reading:

Gold Prices Top $4,000 for First Time

Gold Screams ‘Debasement Trade.’ Bonds Say Otherwise.

Stocks Fall After Report Raises Concerns About AI Profitability

A New Wall Street Trade Is Powering Gold and Hitting Currencies

The Unofficial Jobs Numbers Are In and It’s Rough Out There

Big Banks Are Spinning Market Chaos Into Gold

Credit-Card Users Are Cautious Now. Rate Cuts Could Open the Floodgates.

Want to Know Where the Economy Is Headed? Look at These Banks

For more coverage of the markets and your investments, head to WSJ.com, WSJ’s Heard on The Street Column, and WSJ’s Live Markets blog.

Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter. 

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In both economics and politics, there is a widespread view that central banks should be free of political pressure, with cautionary tales around the world of what happens when politicians meddle: out of control inflation, spiraling debt crises and economic collapse.

And with the U.S. Federal Reserve's independence now under attack by President Trump, WSJ chief economics correspondent Nick Timiraos joins business and finance editor Alex Frangos, markets reporter Chelsey Dulaney and senior markets columnist James Mackintosh for our roundtable podcast exploring the impact on today’s investors, markets and the economy.

Plus, Nick details the fallout from President Trump’s attempt to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook and unpacks the historical context of what has shaped our idea of Fed independence, including the Great Depression, World War II and the high inflation of the 1970s.

And they discuss how politics can impact the Fed’s goal of regulating the economy and keeping inflation under control.

Further Reading

Fed Minutes Reveal Divide Over Outlook for Cuts

The Supreme Court Just Became the Last Line of Defense for Fed Independence

Supreme Court Allows Lisa Cook to Keep Her Job for Now

Fed Independence Reaches Its Moment of Truth as Supreme Court Weighs Cook’s Fate

Powell’s Last Stand: Balancing a Tricky Economy and Intense Political Pressure

Trump Says He Is Removing Fed Governor Lisa Cook

Appeals Court Rejects Trump Request to Remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook

Why the Market Doesn’t Care Much About Trump Firing the Fed’s Cook

Further Podcasts

The Federal Reserve Under Siege

Extreme Inflation From A to Z: Argentina

Extreme Inflation From A to Z: Turkey

Extreme Inflation From A to Z: Zimbabwe

For more coverage of the markets and your investments, head to WSJ.com, WSJ’s Heard on the Street Column and WSJ’s Live Markets blog.

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Send us an email to let us know what you think of the roundtable format: [email protected]

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In this week's episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-hosts Gunjan Banerji and Telis Demos explore how the Federal Reserve’s independence, a government shutdown and volatility around tariffs are driving gold to hit record highs. Then, does videogame maker Electronic Arts’ $55 billion buyout signal a long-awaited M&A boom? Plus, they discuss the “debasement trade” and how concerns over the U.S. dollar are also fueling a rally in bitcoin ETFs issued by firms like BlackRock. 

Then after the break, Gunjan sits down with Neene Jenkins, head of municipal research at JPMorgan Asset Management, to dive into municipal bonds, which are used to fund infrastructure, highways, sewer systems and school districts. Is higher education issuing more debt because of federal challenges? Later, they discuss the sector's resilience to government shutdowns, and Jenkins answers a key question: How likely is a recession?

This is WSJ’s Take On the Week where co-hosts Gunjan Banerji, lead writer for Live Markets, and Telis Demos, Heard on the Street’s banking and money columnist, cut through the noise and dive into markets, the economy and finance—the big trades, key players and business news ahead.

Have an idea for a future guest or episode? How can we better help you take on the week? We’d love to hear from you. Email the show at [email protected].

To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com

Further Reading

Municipal Bonds May Not Remain This Cheap For Long

Are Muni Bonds Still a Darling on Wall Street? It Depends Who You Ask

A Mystery in the High-Yield Muni Market: What Are the Riskiest Bonds Worth?

ETFs Are Flush With New Money. Why Billions More Are Flowing Their Way.

A Once Unstoppable Luxury Housing Market Is Starting to Crack

Electronic Arts Goes Private for $55 Billion in Largest LBO Ever

For more coverage of the markets and your investments, head to WSJ.com, WSJ’s Heard on The Street Column, and WSJ’s Live Markets blog.

Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter. 

Follow Gunjan Banerji here and Telis Demos here. 

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Artificial intelligence spending is hitting epic levels as Big Tech companies shell out for massive data centers to power new chatbots and other AI services. But will the spending--expected to amount to trillions of dollars in the coming years--pay off for investors?

This week on our columnists roundtable, business and finance editor Alex Frangos, markets reporter Chelsey Dulaney and senior markets columnist James Mackintosh are joined by Heard on the Street tech columnist Dan Gallagher to discuss the promise of AI. They discuss the major investment deals announced by Nvidia, OpenAI, Oracle, Microsoft and Alphabet and dig into the use of debt to finance growth, including by companies like CoreWeave, which has emerged as a key player in the data-center buildout. 

Plus, they separate fact from fiction when it comes to comparisons between AI and the dot-com bubble.

And, finally, our panel answers a question from our previous about the tax implications of buying gold.

Further Reading

Spending on AI Is at Epic Levels. Will It Ever Pay Off?

Debt Is Fueling the Next Wave of the AI Boom

What the Dot-Com Bust Can Tell Us About Today’s AI Boom

CoreWeave, Meta Enter $14.2 Billion AI Cloud Infrastructure Deal

Nvidia to Invest Up to $100 Billion in OpenAI

Nvidia Has a Problem: Too Much Money

Oracle Is the New Nvidia, for Better or Worse

For more coverage of the markets and your investments, head to WSJ.com, WSJ’s Heard on the Street Column and WSJ’s Live Markets blog.

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In this week's episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-hosts Gunjan Banerji and Telis Demos kick things off by talking about perpetual futures or “perps,” which are offering turbocharged bets on bitcoin. Next, with the September jobs report out this week, they break down what investors should be looking out for beyond the headline number.

Later in the show, Telis is joined by John Murphy, a managing director of strategic advisory at Haig Partners, for a deep dive into what the end of the EV tax subsidy this week could mean for the auto industry. Then, Murphy makes the case for why the best strategy for Ford, Stellantis and GM may be to focus on their truck businesses. Later, Telis asks: Does the end of the EV credit mean a renaissance for the internal combustion engine?

This is WSJ’s Take On the Week where co-hosts Gunjan Banerji, lead writer for Live Markets, and Telis Demos, Heard on the Street’s banking and money columnist, cut through the noise and dive into markets, the economy and finance—the big trades, key players and business news ahead.

Have an idea for a future guest or episode? How can we better help you take on the week? We’d love to hear from you. Email the show at [email protected].

To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com

Further Reading

Why Ford’s Made-in-America Strategy Hurts It in Trump’s Trade War

Ford's Big EV Dilemma

Auto Industry Takes $12 Billion Hit From Trade War

Detroit Rediscovers Its Love for Giant Gas Guzzlers

Get Rich or Get Wiped Out: Bitcoin’s Hottest New Trade

Detroit Rediscovers Its Love for Giant Gas Guzzlers

For more coverage of the markets and your investments, head to WSJ.com, WSJ’s Heard on The Street Column, and WSJ’s Live Markets blog.

Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter.

Follow Gunjan Banerji here and Telis Demos here. 

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Gold prices are up more than 40% this year, on track for their best year since 1979—when a global energy crisis fueled an inflationary shock that thrashed the world economy.

And while it's a very different economy today, with stocks hitting record highs on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, gold serves as a form of insurance for a diversified investor, particularly when facing risks such as inflation, government debt, war, and questions about the Federal Reserve’s independence under President Trump.

This week on our columnists roundtable, editor Alex Frangos and markets reporter Chelsey Dulaney are joined by senior markets columnist James Mackintosh and chief economics commentator Greg Ip to discuss what’s driving a new rush to gold, how the yellow metal compares to Bitcoin as an inflation hedge and whether it's worth buying in, through the SPDR Gold Trust ETF or by picking up gold bars at Costco.

Further Reading

Why You Should Own (Some) Gold

Gold Hasn’t Rallied This Much Since 1979

The Costco Shoppers Putting $2,000 Gold Bars in Their Carts

Gold Miners Eschew Hedging to Lap Up Sky-High Prices

A Historic Gold Rush Is Under Way, From Wall Street to Main Street

For more coverage of the markets and your investments, head to WSJ.com, WSJ’s Heard on the Street Column and WSJ’s Live Markets blog.

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In this week's episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-hosts Gunjan Banerji and Telis Demos talk to billionaire investor Cliff Asness, the co-founder and chief investment officer of AQR Capital Management. AQR is a global investment management firm known for quantitative investing, an approach that builds strategies based on data and research. Asness discusses one of the market's biggest trends: the explosion in popular ETFs designed to protect investors from downturns. But do they actually work?

Later, Asness shares why he thinks trading on Robinhood can feel more like betting on FanDuel, why the stock market has become less rational due to social media, and whether Palantir and Tesla are on the meme stock spectrum. Then, he weighs in on companies reporting earnings every six months, market froth and the bind facing the Federal Reserve.

This is WSJ’s Take On the Week where co-hosts Gunjan Banerji, lead writer for Live Markets, and Telis Demos, Heard on the Street’s banking and money columnist, cut through the noise and dive into markets, the economy and finance—the big trades, key players and business news ahead.

Have an idea for a future guest or episode? How can we better help you take on the week? We’d love to hear from you. Email the show at [email protected].

To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com

Further Reading

Funds Promising Shelter From Wild Swings Are Booming. But Do They Deliver?

Traders Are Snapping Up Bullish Bets on Tesla

In This Frothy Market, It’s Boom Times for Brokers Like Robinhood

A New Generation of ‘Buy the Dip’ Investors Is Propping Up the Market

For more coverage of the markets and your investments, head to WSJ.com, WSJ’s Heard on The Street Column, and WSJ’s Live Markets blog.

Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter. 

Follow Gunjan Banerji here and Telis Demos here. 

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The Trump family’s latest venture—a so-called “crypto treasury” stock—could generate their biggest payday through the WLFI token from World Liberty Financial, while being a potential minefield for investors. The offering follows the success of Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy, now renamed as Strategy, a “bitcoin treasury company” that accumulates bitcoin by using debt and new stock issues to keep on buying more.

Listen in on a conversation between some of The Wall Street Journal's sharpest financial minds in the debut episode of Ticker Shock as our team unpacks the trade. Ticker Shock provides insights to help finance-curious listeners connect the dots between what's happening in policy, markets and the economy to their financial lives and investments.

This week, business and finance editor Alex Frangos and markets reporter Chelsey Dulaney are joined by Streetwise columnist James Mackintosh and Markets A.M. newsletter writer and investing columnist Spencer Jakab to discuss the “infinite money glitch.” They also talk about how these sorts of tokens compare to meme stocks such as GameStop and AMC.

Further Reading

Trump Family Amasses $5 Billion Fortune After Crypto Launch

The Trumps’ New Crypto Money Maker: Deals With Themselves

Trump Brothers-Backed Bitcoin Mining Company Surges After Nasdaq Listing

The Recipe Behind the Trump Family’s Crypto Riches: PancakeSwap

The Hottest Business Strategy This Summer Is Buying Crypto

The Man Making Billions From the Wildest Bitcoin Bet

For more coverage of the markets and your investments, head to WSJ.com, WSJ’s Heard on the Street Column and WSJ’s Live Markets blog.

Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter.

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Listen in on conversations of The Wall Street Journal's sharpest financial minds. Featuring the Journal’s award-winning columnists and writers Alex Frangos, Chelsey Dulaney and James Mackintosh, the podcast provides insights to help finance-curious listeners connect the dots between what's happening in policy, markets and the economy to their financial lives and investments.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-hosts Gunjan Banerji and Telis Demos talk about Oracle's shocking more than 40% stock surge after the technology company said it won several billion-dollar contracts in its latest quarter, and what it signals about the future of the AI investment boom. Next, they explore the Federal Reserve's tricky position as it weighs a weakening jobs report against persistent inflation. Lastly, the hosts ponder how U.S. tariffs are complicating the economic outlook.

Then after the break, Telis is joined by Adoniro Cestari Neto, the head of trade and working capital solutions at investment bank and financial services company Citigroup, for an inside look at the impact of U.S. tariffs. Cestari explains how global companies are adapting their supply chains through "efficiency" to avoid passing costs to consumers. Later, Telis gets an answer to the central question: when it comes to tariffs, who really pays the price?

This is WSJ’s Take On the Week where co-hosts Gunjan Banerji, lead writer for Live Markets, and Telis Demos, Heard on the Street’s banking and money columnist, cut through the noise and dive into markets, the economy and finance—the big trades, key players and business news ahead.

Have an idea for a future guest or episode? How can we better help you take on the week? We’d love to hear from you. Email the show at [email protected].

To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices