In this episode of WSJ's Take On the Week, we jump straight into a topic on many minds: the GOP's One Big Beautiful Bill. Co-hosts Gunjan Banerji and Telis Demos are joined by Michael McLean, public policy senior analyst at Barclays, to unpack what some investors are paying attention to when it comes to the GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill. McLean explains the differing viewpoints between Washington and Wall Street and the role of a rising U.S. deficit. Plus, the hosts share and answer listener questions about tax policy asked at WSJ’s Future of Everything conference in May.

The conversation also explores what economic growth the tax and budget bill can bring and why investors and government officials alike are watching to see how this tax bill addresses concerns with Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

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 

Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Gets Slimmed Down in Senate 

The Tax Bill Would Deliver a Big Win for Private Schools—and Investors 

The Path to Record Deficits 

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.  

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

On this special episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-host Telis Demos and guest co-host Miriam Gottfried explain why the private market has its eyes on your 401(k) retirement savings account. To offer insight into what that means for retirement savers, we’ll be joined by two separate guests. The first is Holly Verdeyen, partner and U.S. defined contribution leader at Mercer, a human resources consultant and asset manager. Verdeyen shares why and how the addition of private investment assets to a retirement portfolio can affect long-term savers and what differentiates private assets from public assets like stocks and bonds.

Later on the show, we’re joined by WSJ’s retirement and personal finance reporter, Anne Tergesen, to further explore which investors are best suited for investing in private assets, and what a first-of-its-kind private credit ETF between asset managers State Street and Apollo means for investors. Tergesen lays out the additional fees and restrictions that come from putting money into private assets that investors should be aware of.

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 

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.  

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

With companies like Target blaming DEI backlash for lower sales while competitors like Costco are seeing boosts in foot traffic, how can a company’s DEI commitments affect investors with a socially conscious approach to investing? 

In this special bonus episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, guest host Miriam Gottfried is joined by Rachel Robasciotti, founder and Co-CEO of investment firm Adasina Social Capital. Adasina runs an exchange-traded fund dedicated to it called “social justice investing” that holds Nvidia, Visa, Mastercard and Eli Lily, among many other companies. Robasciotti says the companies in the fund must check the box on more than 80 metrics the firm has assembled related to racial, gender, economic and climate justice.

Robasciotti shares her views on the financial advantages of social conscious investing and how Adasina measures a company’s social impact to provide investors’ portfolios with more transparency. Plus, she shares the importance of DEI principles in light of the Trump administration's policy changes to DEI. 

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

Dive Deeper Into ESG Investing 

Don’t Call It ESG, Call It Resilience 

Boycotting Target: A WSJ Podcast Series 

Target’s Sales Dented by DEI Boycott 

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. 

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

On WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-hosts Telis Demos and Gunjan Banerji start the show by explaining how financial trading platform Robinhood’s stock may tell investors what they need to know about the markets right now. They discuss how company’s CEO, Vlad Tenev, recently visited the White House to discuss “MAGA Accounts,” President Trump’s proposal for a new tax-preferred savings account for children. Plus, with the Federal Reserve’s next interest-rate decision coming this week, the hosts share how tariffs may play a role in the question of when to cut rates. 

Later on the show, Meghan Swiber, senior U.S. rates strategist at Bank of America's investment banking arm BofA Securities, shares the latest happenings with the world’s largest bond market, the U.S. Treasury. Long-term Treasury bond yields have risen in recent months, raising concerns that U.S. or international investors are backing away from assets that are usually considered risk-free. She explains what’s going on, and how investors should think about volatility in what usually feels like a placid part of the market.

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  

‘MAGA Accounts’: What to Know About the $1,000 Child Savings Pitch in the Tax Bill 

The Case for Rate Cuts Is Growing 

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. 

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

On WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-hosts Telis Demos and Gunjan Banerji start the show by looking at why rare earth magnets remain at the center of trade talks with China. Why are business leaders like Elon Musk and Jamie Dimon critical of President Trump’s tax and spending bill, and what does it mean for bonds and the deficit? Plus, we take a look at inflation ahead of this week’s CPI report.

Later on the show, Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, gives his take on all the policy balls in the air and how where they land will affect the economy. He shares which economic barometers he’s keeping an eye on – from employment rates and immigration to inflation and consumer sentiment – and which give him confidence in a resilient U.S. economy.

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  

Automakers Race to Find Workaround to China’s Stranglehold on Rare-Earth Magnets 

Why the U.S. Economy Will Muddle Through Trump’s Tariffs. Probably. 

U.S. Economy Shows Remarkable Resilience in Face of Trade Turmoil 

What the U.S.-China Tariff Rollback Means for the American Economy 

Trump Downplays Economic Concerns as He Looks to Cut Trade Deals 

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. 

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

On WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-hosts Telis Demos and Gunjan Banerji start the show by diving into the latest tariff updates. What does the ruling from the U.S. Court of International Trade mean for investors? Plus, the co-hosts look ahead to the upcoming jobs report for insight on economic uncertainties, including what indicators may point toward a recession.  

Later on the show, David Kelly, J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s chief global strategist and head of the firm’s global market insights strategy team, explains why international markets are outperforming the U.S. and what the ongoing trade tensions mean for investors’ portfolios. He shares insights on the weakening U.S. dollar, the importance of global investment diversification, and which regions investors should keep in mind.

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  

Tariff Ruling Is a Setback for Trump but Doesn’t End Trade War 

How the Reversal of the ‘American Exceptionalism’ Trade Is Rippling Around the Globe 

As Markets Swooned, Pros Sold—and Individuals Pounced 

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.  

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

On WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-host Telis Demos and guest co-host Miriam Gottfried start the show off by diving into President Trump’s latest trade deals. They then get into the president’s push to cut drug prices and how pharmaceutical stocks reacted to the news. Telis and Miriam also talk about the slew of housing data and home-improvement stock earnings, including Home Depot and Lowe’s, expected this week and what it could tell us about the state of the housing market amid the spring home-buying season. 

Later on the show, Jim Egan, Morgan Stanley U.S. housing strategist, joins Telis and Miriam to talk about what it will take to unlock the housing market. They get into mortgage rates, home equity and what it all means for buyers, sellers and investors.

One bit of housekeeping: We’ll be on vacation next week and will be back with a new episode on June 1. 

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  

The Spring Home Sales Season Is Shaping Up to Be a Dud 

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.  

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

On WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-hosts Gunjan Banerji and Telis Demos talk about the most recent Federal Reserve meeting and Chair Jerome Powell’s wait-and-see approach. They then get into Wall Street’s latest obsession: following shipping data for indications on how the economy is faring. The co-hosts also get into what to expect from Walmart’s earnings later this week and Warren Buffett’s remarks at the recent Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. 

Later on the show, Harvard economist and former IMF chief economist Ken Rogoff joins to talk about why he thinks the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar is in decline and his new book “Our Dollar, Your Problem.” The co-hosts and Rogoff also dive into what the dollar’s waning supremacy means for consumers and investors and what it has to do with the “American exceptionalism” trade.

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

To read more from our hosts, catch up on Wall Street Is Watching This Shipping Data to Gauge Tariff Impact and Car Insurance Rates Were Ready to Drop. Then Tariffs Came Along.

What the Weak Dollar Means for the Global Economy 

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.  

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

In this special bonus episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-host Telis Demos is joined by social-media content creator and economic commentator Kyla Scanlon, who has helped transform how younger generations, specifically Gen Z, are engaging with news about the economy and finance. 

Through platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Substack, Scanlon has cultivated a dedicated audience of more than half a million people by simplifying complex economic data with creativity and humor. Recognized for coining the term “vibecession,” to highlight the disconnect between economic data and consumers, Scanlon has garnered attention from White House advisers and the Federal Reserve. 

In this episode, we’ll explore how economic trends like meme stocks (think GameStop and AMC) and cryptocurrencies are changing things for younger investors. Plus, we chat about best practices to consider when using social media for financial advice and how to avoid the “bad actors” that are spreading misinformation or scamming people.

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 t[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

The 27-Year-Old Economic Adviser for Gen Z 

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. 

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

Will the Federal Reserve cut interest rates this year? How is Fed Chair Jerome Powell and central bankers thinking about recent volatility in financial markets? Rob Kaplan, vice chairman at Goldman Sachs and former president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, joins WSJ’s Take On the Week. Co-hosts Gunjan Banerji and Telis Demos and Kaplan discuss the central bank’s tough task ahead to lower inflation. They also dive into President Trump’s recent remarks about Powell and the Fed independence debate.

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

To read more from co-host Telis Demos, catch up on Inflation Fear Is Making Some People Spend More—and Others Less.

Why Trump Decided Not to Try to Fire Jerome Powell 

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.  

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