Offbeat Wall Street

This week, like Caesar, we're contemplating the Ides of March.  That's this coming Wednesday.  That's also the day the Fed announces its next interest rate decision. Traders are almost completely convinced that the Fed is going to announce another rate hike.  We take a look at what is fueling that certainty. We also check in on Friday's big jobs report.  The numbers came in better than expected.  We go a little deeper and detail what's going on in the labor market. We've also got driverless luxury from Volkswagen that the Lady's Man would enjoy.  We've got a new product from Yahoo that seems like it’s just automated nagging.  We've got Ford printing out car parts and Subway maybe printing out chicken.  And we've got a new player in venture capital - there's some dirt on his shoulder, can you brush it off for him...

Logan is in theaters now.  As a result, we've decided to pay homage to serious-minded X-men warriors.  So we're looking at some of the superheroes of finance: economists and monetary policy makers... This week will see the release of the government's monthly employment data.  We're coming off a big report for January.  The data will show if the economy was able to follow up with more big job gains in February. The report will also be important in predicting how the next interest rate decision is going to go.  The Fed is set to make an announcement in a couple weeks and the signs have changed direction over the past month or so.  We let you know how things are looking now and what the chances are for a rate hike in the near future. And as always, we investigate some of the more heavily mutated genes on Wall Street's chromosomes. We've got some guy at Amazon shutting down a big part of the Internet with a whoopsy typo.  We've got the return of female .  We'll tell you the best place to live to lead a really

As Wall Street takes a long President's Day weekend to contemplate what Washington and Lincoln might have thought of Trump, we preview housing data and big earnings from the retail sector. We also take our usual tour of weirder business stories.  This week, it's news that Playboy is going to publish nude photos.  The newest American Girl is a boy.  Hooter's is covering up while Burger King gives out sex toys.  And an Uber might cause the next tension in your marriage.

Valentine's Day is on the way.  And just in time for the big day, we got the release of the sequel to 50 Shades of Grey. With that in mind, we're hoping that Wall Street isn't in for some tough love this week.  There's a lot of economic news set to come out.  Also, a number of big companies still have to release their quarterly results. On the economic front, retail sales data will lead the way.  We'll let you konw what to expect from the latest from those statistics.  We'll also check in with an iconic retailer that continues to suffer in new environment. We've also got Tom Brady's missing jersey.  We've got Donald Trump getting between Steph Curry and his most prominent endorser.  We've got a Cheeto priced at nearly $100,000. And we've got another game that robots are officially better than people at playing: poker.

Two reasons we think Wall Street is like The Lion King this week: 1) America is still getting used to a new leader of its pride, and 2) Disney is going to be one of the main draws for the next round of earnings reports. We leave the Scar/Trump comparisons to you, but we look at Disney's earnings in some detail in this week's episode.  We also give another long view on the Fed following last week's (predictably boring) interest rate meeting.  We also dive into the (decidedly not boring) jobs report that came out on Friday. Finally, as always, we'll roam some of the less traveled savannas on the Wall Street Pridelands. We've got corporate espionage involving self-driving cars.  We've got a Shark Tank product that doesn't work as well as its company said.  And we've got a Starbucks product that's working too well, leading to long lines and sluggish earnings.

This week, we should be talking about the Federal Reserve.  After all, policy makers are meeting to make their next interest rate decision. Except this time around, there's little doubt about what the Fed is going to do.  Rates are widely expected to hold steady. But we talk about the Fed anyway, looking ahead beyond this meeting to what might be in store later in the year. This week's Fed meeting might be a sure thing, but that's not the case with the jobs report due out on Friday.  We review the state of the labor market. And as always, we'll hitch a ride with some of the stranger drivers on Wall Street's highway. We've got Lyft expanding, Uber apologizing and sea lice affecting the price of salmon.  We've also got cows eating skittles and one big-name company looking to make the Super Bowl a national holiday.

This episode, we're turning our attention to Hollywood!   Oscar nominations are set to come out on Tuesday.  We take a look at who the front runners are for the major categories. We've got a busy week on Wall Street as well.  Earnings season is getting into high gear. Microsoft and AT&T lead a crowded field of earnings reports.  We preview their results and take a look at who else is on tap. We've also got flying cars, robot deliveries and lawsuits involving SpongeBob.  Meanwhile, the Greatest Show On Earth is shutting down after almost a century and a half in business.

It's going to be a good week for civics lessons. We start off with a holiday for Martin Luther King day.  And end up with the inauguration of a new president. In this episode, we take a look at what Wall Street is expecting from the new administration.  We also contemplate the possible complications that might come up with a president who is both pro-business and anti-trade. We also look at some recent big-name earnings reports, and preview some possible headline-grabbers due out this week.   And as always, we'll puruse some of the less-cited articles of Wall Street's constitution.... We've got delayed tax refunds, accidental Nazi footprints and new pieces for Monopoly.  Apple is apparently jealous of Amazon and Cadillac might be jealous of Apple.  And we've got the perfect job for soon-to-be-former president Barack Obama.

Christmas is over, but we've still got shopping on the brain. Last week, we got more evidence that the industry continues to change.  Two of the biggest names in retailing announced some tough news.  Sears and Macy's both revealed that they were closing stores and cutting jobs. Meanwhile, this week will see the release of the latest monthly stats on retail sales.  The report will reveal how the holiday season turned out.  We'll preview the report and take a look at the state of the industry right now. And as always, we browse through some of the more out-of-the-way racks on Wall Street. We've got trips to black holes, brave social experients and a sports team who is really very sorry that they sucked so much last year.   And we tell you about a pillow maker that got in trouble because its pillows are really half as expensive as you think they are.

The new year is here and we're going to keep the party going for at least another week. The government is scheduled to release its monthly jobs report this week.  We take a look at what to expect.  We also go in depth into one of the mysteries of the last several years: how come the unemployment rate keeps falling even though job growth has been decidedly ho-hum? And as always, we'll boogie our way through some of the more out-of-the-way discos on Wall Street. This week, we've got stories about how Amazon is turning the world into Blade Runner.  We've got robots who might sit with you and help you sort your magazines.  And we've got communist bureaucrats who can't afford yachts like we were expecting them to.

This week we're talking Star Wars.  And the Fed.  Rogue One is in theaters, and in the halls of the central bank, another force awakened: the Fed's rate-hike mojo is back.  We give you the details of the rate hike and look ahead to what's next for interest rates. We also preview what's coming up this week.  And as always, we take our tour of out-of-the-way spots on Wall Street.   A controversial advertiser is returning to the Super Bowl.  Super Mario is getting a new home in Tokyo... And SeaWorld is coming to the Middle East.  But their not bringing their killer whales.

This week, we're traveling from Europe to the U.S., taking a tour of monetary policy. The Fed is set to announce its interest rate decision this week.  At this point, a rate hike is almost a foregone conclusion.  But we take a look at what's in store down the road for interest rates.  We also look back at last week's monetary policy decision out of Europe.  The European Central Bank surprised markets with an extended easy money plan. And as always, we travel to some of the more out of the way spots on Wall Street. We try to broker a wrestling match between the future first daughter of the country and the current first daughter of the WWE.  We look at the ways a student athlete is NOT like an employee, at least in the opinion of a federal court.  We also look at Amazon's plan to sell produce without checkout lines. And we celebrate Hanukkah with some donut whoppers from Burger King.

This week, we focus on oil and jobs.  But then we lose focus and talk about cord-cutting, an uber for laundry and pizza delivering reindeer. The serios stuff first: For the first time in about 8 years, OPEC has reached a deal to cut production.  The move pushed oil prices up last week.  We take a look at some of the details of the move. Meanwhile, the government released its latest jobs report.  The numbers were pretty ho-hum, but strong enough to keep the door open to a Federal Reserve rate hike later this month.  We dig into the employment stats and look at what they mean for interest rates. We also check in with the Fed.  They released their latest econ overview last week.  We've got details on that and take a look beyond the next Fed meeting.

This week, we're here to make Offbeat Wall Street great again! Donald Trump has pulled off the greatest political upset in at least the last 50 years.   In honor of his upset, we're going to look at how markets typically respond to election results.  No surprise: they're response to Trump's victory was not what usually happens.  We'll take a look at how they responded and why that was strange. We also look at some other landmarks so far in November.

This year's World Series has two teams that have not won a championship in decades.  Between the Cubs and the Indians there is 176 years of collective futility.  One of those streaks is coming to an end. The Federal Reserve has been holding rate steady for a long time.  Not as long as the Cubs and Indians have been waiting for a Series title - but it's been a while. The Fed is meeting this week.  Pressure has been mounting for the central bank to raise rates.  It's not likely to happen this week, but an increase is likely relatively soon. We take a look at where the Fed stands and when that rate hike is likely.  We also check in with the election, with earnings season and with the economy.

Halloween is on its way and Wall Street has been nervous.  There's been a lot for investors to digest.  Earnings season continues to roll on and in this episode, we update you on some of last week's headline makers.  We also look ahead to this week, when the likes of Apple and Google are set to release their results. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve remains in view.  There's little chance the Fed is going to raise interest rates ahead of the presidential election.  But the odds remain high that a rate hike is on the way in December.  We'll peak in on the latest from the Fed and see what to expect on that front. And of course, the presidential campaign is coming into its final stretch.  There hasn't been much of direct impact on the market.  But the possiblity of a messy election is hanging over Wall Street.  Also, there's now doubts about how the Congressional elections are likely to turn out, adding to the uncertainty.

We now live in a world where Bob Dylan is a Nobel Prize winner for literature.  Of course, Dylan isfamous for his changing phases.  He went from folky to rock icon to Christian soldier to old crank, with probably dozens of other iterations along the way. That's a bit like the current stock market.   For weeks now, we've been worried about interest rates and the state of the economy.   The presidential election has loomed over all of this as well.   Now, a flood of corporate earnings reports is coming out.  Market focus will have to shift from the Federal Reserve to corporate results to the election and then probably back to the Fed in mid-November. We take a look at the twists and turns that are on the horizon, preview some of the interesting upcoming earnings and look further ahead to when the Fed will come back into view.

Every week, we range north of the Wall, mixing with Wildlings and facing down the Night King.  All in an effort to bring you the best information about Wall Street and the financial markets. This week, we're taking a break from our usual format to take a deep dive into darkness: October is the season of scary things.  Not least of which is stock market crashes.  Two of the most famous crashes in market history took place during October, in 1929 and in 1987. We look at both in detail and see if there are any signs of an impending crash now.

This week, there's dissention in the family. The Federal Reserve's policy-setting committee met last week.  As expected, the Fed voted to hold off on a rate hike. But not everyone was happy. Fed Boss Janet Yellen is facing a rare level of dissention.  We take a look at the decision - who's on which side and what it all means for the future of interest rates. We also check in on the housing market, weird patent applications from Apple, how the election might affect Christmas and how people are wasting money on premium gas.

This week, we're asking the key question:  have the financial markets gone through the looking glass? Down is up.  Black is white. Bad data is good data. And it's all the Fed's fault.   For the past few weeks, the markets have been cheering weak economic data, believing it will force the Federal Reserve to delay rate hikes until later in the year. This week, we find out whether it worked.  The Fed is going to announce its interest rate decision on Wednesday.  We give you a preview and break down the biggest stories of the past week.