Bloomberg Money: Inflation Angst Returns & Micron Millionaires

9:34Tricia Scarlata:It's just too important. We do personal finance. We do retirement. We do wealth management. And Nikki Waller and Suzanne Woolley have, without question, the essay of the day. It comes to Marlon over it. Fidelity. I was shocked at the chart, the jump condition in health care costs for retirees.

9:51Ed Yardeni:Yeah, it is absolutely. It's been rising for years. And what we're seeing is that if you are retiring this year, your health costs that you will pay out of pocket. If you're a couple, it's up to$371 ,000. That is an almost 8 % jump from last year.

10:07Tricia Scarlata:It is supposed to be almost like free, like$15 ,000.

10:10Ed Yardeni:Yeah, no, that doesn't happen anymore. And if you're a Gen Xer like David Gurra myself, you're also thinking about paying for your parents' care and saving for your kids' college tuition at the same time. So this just adds to it. We'll be working forever.

10:22Tricia Scarlata:Incredibly daunting. Yes, I agree. OK, David Gurra, thank you so much. Thank you for coming. Thank you, Tom. Next time, bring something from Red's up in me with you. Stacey Vanek-Smith, thank you so much as well. You know, I look at this and I know the theme of the show should be called Bloomberg Inflation. I mean, it should be the title of the show. But this has been a really stressful week. I mean, I'm sorry. Wednesday, it was like vibrating.

10:50Ed Yardeni:I know, but it's calmed down a little bit here on this Friday. And, you know, next week, we've got a lot to look ahead to, especially this hyperscaler earnings, because it looks like AI is driving this entire economy right now.

10:59Tricia Scarlata:And everybody involved with Bloomberg Money, retirement, wealth management, they all own it, don't they?

11:04Ed Yardeni:We all own it in one way or another.

11:05Tricia Scarlata:We're going to talk about that. We have a wonderful lineup here. Coming up, Edward Yardeni of Yardeni Research. He is definitive across the linkage of economics into the markets. He is a true decade optimist. Ed Yardeni on these Roaring Twenties. From New York City, it is Bloomberg Money.

11:26Ed Yardeni:Anyone sing Odyssey this weekend?

11:28Tricia Scarlata:You're going to go? I'm not singing Odyssey.

11:31Ed Yardeni:No.

11:31Tricia Scarlata:What about you? No.

11:33Ed Yardeni:Maybe I'll go with my turn. Thank you.

11:37Tricia Scarlata:You're listening to Bloomberg Money. Stay with us with more to come after this.

11:43Ed Yardeni:Support for the show comes from public.com. If you're actively involved in your portfolio, you probably catch yourself repeating the same actions. Buying the dip, manually sweeping idle cash, putting on a hedge. On public, you can now create AI agents that handle all these tasks on your behalf. Just describe what you want to do in plain English. Like, if the VIX hits 25, buy a put option on the S &P 500. Or if my cash balance goes above$20 ,000, move the excess into my direct index. You approve the workflow and your agent handles the rest. Monitoring the market, watching for your conditions, and executing your strategies exactly as defined.

12:22Ed Yardeni:An investing platform driven by your intent, not just your clicks. You can also get full read and write access to your account via the public API. Go to public.com slash market and fund your account in five minutes or less. That's public.com slash market.

12:38Tricia Scarlata:Paid for by Public Investing. Brokered services by Open to the Public Investing, Inc., Member FINRA, and SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors, LLC, SEC Registered Advisor. Complete disclosures available at public.com slash disclosures.

12:53Ed Yardeni:Ask yourself, what are your best people spending their time on right now? Expense reports, receipt chasing, month-end close that takes weeks. You become what you spend on, and that's not what you're building toward. Brex is the intelligent finance platform that eliminates that work before it starts. AI agents that handle the manual stuff automatically, so your team can spend their time on what actually compounds. It's time to get Brex AF. Learn more at brex.com slash AF. Amazon Health AI presents Painful Thoughts I, um, I can't stop scratching my downtown Yeah, but I'm not itching to go downtown and tell a receptionist I'm here to talk about my downtown Some things you'd rather type than say out loud There's no question too embarrassing for Amazon Health AI Chat your symptoms and get virtual care 24-7 Healthcare just got less painful

13:58Tricia Scarlata:Bloomberg Money, a perfect Friday in New York City. We had someone in from Austin and East Scarlet, 105 degrees. 105 degrees. 105 degrees, they said, in Austin. Some of the South, you know, you expect it as well. But did you get your utility bill for last month? I don't want to look at it. I looked at it last night. It's painful. Yeah. Triple digits? Afterthought had the air conditioning on 24-7 for 30 days in a row. Let's do this. Let's look at inflation. Look at our optimism within the markets. Joining us now, definitive on Wall Street, it's C.J. Lawrence. Just a few years ago, he helped invent the synthesis of economics into stock market analysis.

14:35Tricia Scarlata:Ed Yardeni joins us. Yardeni Research. Ed, we've got a one-hour conversation we're going to cram in here. I got to first go to the therapy that's needed as you go to retirement, which is you've got Max, Chloe, Cooper and Bailey at the Yardinni house. It's a four dog night. Yeah, it certainly is. It's their King Charles Cavaliers and the couch potato dogs. I love those. They're always on the couch and they're sleeping. What are the kennel feasts? I mean, the vet bill must be just like seriously. But, you know, you have to get health insurance for your dogs. I mean, it's it's that's your Bloomberg.

15:09Tricia Scarlata:Any advice? Thank you very much. Why is it here? Let me go to the chart right now. Pull up an important chart here coming out of covid in an October of 22. A guy named Ancompor in the chart area and your Denny in the economics and finance said courage by here. What did you see in October 22 that gives you continued confidence in the market? Well, October 22 was a very strange bear market. Usually bear markets are associated with recessions. There was no recession. As a matter of fact, at the time, I kept saying that we are experiencing the most widely anticipated recession of all times. That just isn't going to happen.

15:52Tricia Scarlata:It was the Godot recession, if you will. I just kept betting on the resilience of the economy. And so I kind of viewed the bear market as the aberration rather than the economy, which remained very strong. The earnings were holding up reasonably well. So I kind of viewed that as a panic attack. Now, look, there were good reasons for concerns. The Fed was raising interest rates from zero to 5.5 percent of the Fed funds rate. The bond yield was going up. Oil prices got a big spike. And yet the resiliency economy came through remarkably well. We were betting on that, and we're still betting on the resilience of the economy.

16:28Ed Yardeni:Yeah, so I want to take it to what we are seeing right now, because you said bond yields were going up, oil prices are going up. That's exactly what's happening now. The stock market has kind of slowed down a little bit. So the parallels between then and now, one could say, is noteworthy.

16:42Tricia Scarlata:Well, there's definitely parallels. But one of the big differences is earnings. We've got what I call, you know, everybody talks about FOMO, fear of missing out. I'm talking about FEMO, and that is fabulous earnings momentum. that we didn't have that back in 2022. And it was really at the end of 2022, November, that we suddenly had ChatGPT and AI revolution just starting. And the arc of this, and I just finished Justin Baer's wonderful book on Ned Johnson and, you know, the industry from Orisa 1974 forward. My basic take is we've rationalized an ownership of bonds, which has been really difficult since 22, since 20.

17:25Tricia Scarlata:One is well is the basic psychology of retirement now afraid of stocks I don't think so. I think actually quite the opposite. I think a lot of my friends are retiring We're the baby boomers. I'm still working for a living because I don't play golf So I don't know what I would do with myself. You know by the way, I get seasick on cruises My friends are all going on cruises. They used to go one every three years now. They go three a year and And I get text messages from them saying, I don't know what you're doing, but keep this market going up because we're spending money like crazy. And our net worth is going up.

18:00Tricia Scarlata:And Eric Belchunas last week, Scarlett, was brilliant on this, saying the stock market's become the American retirement system. It absolutely has. Do you know that the baby boomers have$90 trillion, trillion, not billions, trillion dollars of net worth. And by the way, there's still some people left from the so-called silent generation older than the baby boomers. They have$20 trillion. So we're talking over$100 trillion of retirement net worth assets for the largest generation ever that is retiring.

18:32Ed Yardeni:Are they going to use that? Are they going to actualize that? Or are they going to just pass it on to their ass?

18:37Tricia Scarlata:Well, you know, the kids didn't listen and we didn't like their friends and they were noisy. So why leave them anything? Just spend like crazy. But look, a lot of people have been talking about the K economy, that the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer. I think that's missing what's really going on, and that's the demography. We've got a very, very well-off baby boom generation, and they're helping their younger children and grandchildren. The affordability crisis is really old versus young. Retiring people, they don't really care if the Fed tightens. Retiring people really don't care much about the labor market because they're retired, all they really care about really is the stock market.

19:18Tricia Scarlata:How should our audience of retirement, of personal finance, how should they synthesize the Fed madness? You and I remember when Arthur Burns had smoke coming out of the pipe and we interpreted that. Now we've got this parlor game. How does Ed Yardini filter that if it's for long-term investment? Well, I think you focus on the economy. If you believe in the resilience of the economy, if you believe that the labor market is in balance. We've got a 4.3 percent unemployment rate, which is awfully good. We have an inflation problem. The Fed is going to have to probably raise interest rates at least once, maybe a second time, maybe even a third time, according to where the two year treasury note yield is right now.

20:01Tricia Scarlata:I think you kind of grin and bear it and try to enjoy your retirement life because I think the market will continue to defy the bears because the economy will continue to defy the pessimists.

20:16Ed Yardeni:You were saying that the boomers don't care about the Fed raising rates. They're going to enjoy their retirement. I'm not a boomer. I'm a Gen Xer. So I got to work for longer. And I'm wondering whether a higher for longer interest rates means that I have to rethink, reassess, pivot my investment strategy.

20:31Tricia Scarlata:Well, the short answer is yes. But I'm not a big fan of the higher for longer idea about interest rates. I think interest rates are back to normal. In other words, 4 % to 5 % 10-year Treasury bond yield is a sign of a very healthy economy. It's a yield that made sense before the great financial crisis. The aberration, higher for longer implies we're going to be going back to closer to zero interest rates. This is it. That was the abnormal. 6, 6.5%, 7 % mortgage rates came awfully high to a lot of people compared to what? compared to where they were when the economy wasn't doing so well. Ed, I know that you're seeing the odyssey.

21:11Tricia Scarlata:I guess it's tonight you're going to see. On Friday, today. They don't know that you were writing a newsletter in Sparta a few years ago. We all know that after the 1920s, Roaring Twenties, it wasn't pretty. What happens after the Yardeny Roaring Twenties of this 21st century? Yeah, I'm trying to sort that out now. No, I think that if the roaring 2020s works and then in other words, that the economy doesn't have a recession, the stock market continues to go up. I've got 10 ,000 on the S &P 500 by the end of the decade. If that works, there's no particular reason why it couldn't be the roaring 2030s.

21:52Tricia Scarlata:As a matter of fact, talking about a decade is roaring. That's what the stock market usually does during decades. There's only been a few decades where the market was just kind of flat, where it was a nothing kind of environment. And certainly that was the 1930s were terrible. And the 1970s were no picnic. And then the period around the great financial crisis was. So we've had we've had decades where you made nothing. But there have been lots of decades where the market's done very well, not just the 1920s. be nice to the 1970s. We had Bob Seger. And so we got through it somehow. And you're with us and we'll continue with this.

22:35Ed Yardeni:You're bullish on the equity market. You've long been bullish on the equity market. You talk about boomers, this generation that is feeling pretty good with the gains that they've seen. What would surprise other people about how you spend, how you save money, given what has happened?

22:49Tricia Scarlata:Well, I found over the years that I can't really trade. I can't really manage my own money because I'm too busy doing my day job. And the other thing is, there's kind of a conflict of interest if my portfolio suddenly is sinking and turns me pessimistic, and then I'm writing pessimistic, and it's kind of just reflecting my own personal angst. So I try to basically stay in ETFs and keep things somewhat liquid, also have stocks and bonds, but mostly in an ETF portfolio.

23:23Ed Yardeni:How far out do you go? How colorful do you get with your ETFs?

23:26Tricia Scarlata:Well, you know, as I get older, I don't need bonds that go for 30 years. So maybe I should do that. I think you should consider the triple leveraged all cash fund. That would be secure. Yeah, but basically, I believe in the market. I believe that the S &P 500 has been awfully good. And even better has been the NASDAQ 100. technology has been a leading sector in our economy.

23:54Ed Yardeni:Okay, so it looks like growth all the way for Dr. Ed Yardeni.

23:56Tricia Scarlata:Yeah, and I think, you know, a lot of these so-called Trump accounts probably will get invested that way.

24:01Ed Yardeni:All right, Ed Yardeni of Yardeni Research.

24:08Tricia Scarlata:Bloomberg Money, good afternoon, everyone. Tom Keene and Scarlett. We've got to do a data check. It's not as frenzy as Wednesday or Thursday, but, you know, there it is.

24:16Ed Yardeni:It's calmed down quite a bit. In fact, we started the day kind of unchanged, and now we're at session highs. The S &P 500 gaining two-thirds of 1%. For the week, however, we're still looking at two straight weeks of losses, and the VIX coming down to 17.5.

24:28Tricia Scarlata:John Gallup had seaport. He had 34%, I believe it is, of SPXs next week. Huge, huge, huge, huge number. Cross asset is the way we roll. We look at equities, bonds, currencies, commodities. Oil pulls back. That's American oil from a 92 back to 88. DXY pretty much solid or strong dollar. Watch again over the weekend. And again, equity markets are up today.

24:52Ed Yardeni:All right. Well, you know, the thing that so many families save for higher education, it's in trouble. Costs are out of control. Schools are closing and Americans are increasingly questioning the return on investment of a college degree. This was the thrust of a Bloomberg news story written by Liam Knox, our education policy reporter who finds himself in New York. So we brought him in. Thank you so much, Liam. Thanks for having me. So I want to focus on grad school programs, which you recently wrote about. Masters and PhD programs are in even bigger trouble than college programs as a whole. Why is that?

25:23Ed Yardeni:There are many factors to that, but right now, chief among them is President Donald Trump. The Trump administration has been working to reshape higher education in general, but a kind of perfect storm of political threats has hit master's programs and PhD programs especially hard. There's the crackdown on student visa applicants and international students who make up a disproportionate amount of grad students in this country compared to undergrads. There is the curtailing of federal research money and the huge historic uncertainty around that relationship between the federal government and research universities, which are hitting grad programs, especially hard PhD programs in particular, but also master's programs, particularly in STEM fields.

26:07Ed Yardeni:And then there's also new strict limits on federal lending for grad students who used to be able to borrow practically unlimited amounts of money to attend grad school and are now going to have some pretty strict new caps on that lending. And a lot of people say that it was those uncapped loans that kind of fueled the rise of grad school programs, making them the cash cow for universities. I actually recently sat down with Ken Ruggiero of Ascent Funding about student borrowing from the private loan perspective because they're a private lender. Let's take a listen. In about 50 to 75 percent of the student situation, The private sector can support the student with all the borrowing they need at rates that are either a little less than the current federal loan or a little bit higher than the federal loan.

26:53Ed Yardeni:Why is there a difference in the rate that some private lenders would charge versus the federal government? The federal government doesn't pull credit. Credit is priced relative to the expectation of repayment. So when there's a high expectation of repayment, then we can give very, very low interest rates, lower than the federal government. OK, so the economics are clearly changing for a grad school. What are the schools themselves doing in response to this? How are they dealing with this? Some of the wealthiest schools are able to kind of be more flexible. And some of them are actually setting up their own federal loan programs, rather their own loan programs to replace federal lending streams.

27:33Ed Yardeni:Yale did this. UPenn did this. I believe Harvard is doing it. Others are going to be hedging by enrolling more undergraduate students, the ones that can do that, that have deep applicant pools, big brand names, money to expand physically their campuses. Columbia is doing this, the University of Chicago, Dartmouth College, other schools that don't have the same kinds of brand name recognition. They're setting up online programs, cheaper programs and things like AI. But a lot of colleges are stretched too thin to really adapt and are going to really feel this hit them very hard financially. All right.

28:07Ed Yardeni:They're going to have to come up with some solution. Liam Knox, thank you so much. Our education policy reporter, normally in Washington, but here in New York for the day.

28:14Tricia Scarlata:Came into the office. He did. Massive work from office. It's a whole new thing. We appreciate it. We appreciate it. When we put Bloomberg money together, one of the first names I said is we have to have Tricia Scarlatta on. She's head of education savings at J.P. Morgan. boring like articles in 529s in this. She brings an energy and verve to this agony like no one I know. We're thrilled she could join us today. Why is Wellesley$100 ,000 room board and tuition?

28:46Ed Yardeni:You started so nicely, Tom. I think, look, because people want to go there, because everybody sees kids on social media having a great time, and every kid wants to experience the same thing. When there's demand, there's demand. People will pay.

28:59Tricia Scarlata:So there's a top 100 schools, a top 250 schools.

29:02Ed Yardeni:There's a top everything school. Don't you read? If you read, you could see there's top party schools. There's top schools for degrees and there's top schools for experiences. So the competition is out there and there are people that pay.

29:15Tricia Scarlata:I mean, a school like Cornell or Wellesley, Scarlett, you look at it, what, 20 applicants and one gets in.

29:20Ed Yardeni:I mean, I think that ratio is a lot smaller than that. I think it is a lot smaller. Yeah, it's that's nowhere close. OK, my question is, given how much Wellesley or Cornell costs right now, 529 plans are meant to help people save to pay up for that. Do we need the 529 plans to do much more than what they're currently built to do? No, I think if you're doing it the right way, I think what's the right way? The right way is starting as early as possible. Right. And so that's the problem is, is that most people just avoid it. And look, the also problem is life is expensive and it's hard to balance all these things.

29:52Ed Yardeni:Retirement, saving for emergencies, saving for college. But if you start early and save often, you can do it. But the issue is people don't start early enough. They don't actually save and invest early enough. So I do think that they can help you get there for sure. I think the responsibility of parents, though, is also being realistic. Know what you can afford. Not everybody has to go to Wellesley.

30:20Tricia Scarlata:Not everybody has to go to the fancy schools.

30:22Ed Yardeni:Exactly. There's plenty of options.

30:24Tricia Scarlata:What's the average school cost if we're talking about the drama of$100 ,000 at NYU Wellesley? What's the average cost in America?

30:30Ed Yardeni:So average private school today, they say, is$65 ,000. $65 ,000. That's assuming somebody's getting paid.

30:37Tricia Scarlata:We went out. We did a very careful survey here. Went out on the street. We dragged into the studio someone to talk about the future 18 years out. Let's listen.

30:47Ed Yardeni:For me, I have a six month old son. Congratulations. Thank you. And the team, college savings team was calculating for me how much it could cost in 18 years to send him seven figures to my alma mater pen. And they estimate it could cost$800 ,000. I think separating right, you have your retirement money, which is still really important to continue saving for. What we see is a lot of families end up actually using their retirement money.

31:13Tricia Scarlata:They borrow from it because$800 ,000. And I mean, you know, it's Gabriel Santos, of course, a force of JP Morgan is as well. So when you start, how do you start?

31:24Ed Yardeni:Well, you well, if you want to pay for$800 ,000, you've got to be saving a couple thousand dollars a month. It's a lot of money. So how do you start? You start, like I said, when the baby's born. 29s of programs. Yeah. And I think you start when the baby is born. If you're expecting, look, my most favorite clients are the ones that are actually starting before they have a child, you know, and actually putting money away before they have a child. Forget the wedding gifts. Just give us money for the kids. I'll tell you. It's so true. So really. But here's the thing. You don't need to save 100 percent.

31:54Ed Yardeni:Anything that you're putting away and investing is going to be less in debt in the future.

31:59Tricia Scarlata:What you just heard there, folks, with Tricia Scarlatta, bronze it. This idea of saving for it all, particularly if you have multiple children. like you do like oh you think that's funny bronze that you don't have to do it all you don't have to

32:13Ed Yardeni:do it all but be educated understand like you mentioned earlier the return on investment you know think about what is the return what is the degree i'm not saying one degree is less valuable than another but monetarily there are differences so so really go into it understanding what is the cost of this institution what is the return going to be on that cost right and look at state schools There's plenty of options. Kids also go half the time. They'll do start the first two years in a community school and then do another.

32:43Tricia Scarlata:California, that's what they do. I know.

32:45Ed Yardeni:Well, it's a changing world. Half the cost. It's half the cost. If you do that, no one cares where you went. They just want to know where you got your degree from. So this month also saw the introduction of the Trump accounts for babies. Does that change a saving hierarchy for parents? I mean, which do you prioritize if you can't put money into both? So that's a really great question. I think a Trump account should be looked at as a wealth building account, an early retirement plan. It should not really be looked at for an education savings plan. So for those who are going to get that seed money, you absolutely want to get that free money, that$1 ,000.

33:18Ed Yardeni:Today, there's about 1.7 million people who have already gotten that, right? And so there's a lot more that are eligible. So you want to get that seed money for sure. But for people that have to make a choice between do I put money in a Trump account for education or do I go 529? In my opinion, you go 529 because of the tax benefits for sure.

33:39Tricia Scarlata:And then there's down the road. Let's look at Tricia Scarlatta writing in January here. It's a money must read for you this afternoon. One in six, they owe federal student loans with an average of thirty nine thousand four hundred. it's$445 every month could go for other financial priorities. That's the reality. And some of those numbers are much higher for people.

34:01Ed Yardeni:People are just putting off a lot because they have this debt. So you're graduating college, you're earning an income, you can't move out, you can't move forward in life because you have this. And then you have, you know, parents who take on debt, take on more debt typically than the child, and they're delaying their retirement. So another question here about 529, because I think there's a lot of misconceptions and misperceptions about it, too. It's a lot more flexible than people realize. I mean, Tom can use it for his grandchildren, too. You absolutely can. And another difference between a Trump account and a 529, a Trump account has to be opened by a parent or a guardian.

34:33Ed Yardeni:529 account, anyone can open the account. I can open one tomorrow if I wanted to go back to school. Yes. And you can open one for my kids if you'd like. So, I mean, look, I think a lot of flexibility. And again, I think the misconception is that it's only for two and four year institutions. It's much wider now.

34:47Tricia Scarlata:I just believe that Tricia Scarlatta has a statistic. How many people pay full boat?

34:54Ed Yardeni:Yeah, it's about 40 ish percent, probably 100 percent of our audience.

34:59Tricia Scarlata:Yes, because, you know, you look at the FAFSA and you go, you're kidding me. And so then there you are. And if a kid can't put the puck in the net, like you mean, you were full boat at Cornell for hockey, right? Oh, clearly, clearly. But if you can't put the puck in the net, it's full boat. It's full boat.

35:17Ed Yardeni:It really is. And a lot of these schools, they, you know, you get you get schools like Villanova, Boston College. They don't need to give any money because there are so many people lined up that want to go there. So the University of Michigan, you know, all those schools, they don't need to give them.

35:31Tricia Scarlata:They just want to go to Villanova because of Jalen. I mean, there's no other reason.

35:35Ed Yardeni:Yeah. I mean, you know, I wanted to go to Villanova, too. I didn't.

35:38Tricia Scarlata:What's the number one question you get on a road working for J.P. Morgan? What's the number one question in seminars you get?

35:44Ed Yardeni:Interesting. Now it's about the Roth IRA. Everyone asks about the Roth IRA. So people don't save enough and invest enough in a 529 account, but they're always so worried that I'm going to have too much money in the account. Why is that? That is the biggest fear. I'm going to have too much money, yet I don't put enough money away, but I'm worried I'm going to have too much. Then what are my options? So now it really has helped us having the flexibility of the Roth IRA rollover. So that this year is the biggest question is, okay, if I'm overfunded, what can I do? And people feel much better that they could do the rollover to a Roth.

36:15Ed Yardeni:This speaks again to the misperceptions and misconceptions out there about all of this. People are so afraid that they're going to put this money away and the kid's not going to go to school. Reality is 70 % of kids go to school. And like you said, it's not just two and four-year institutions. You can submit your PhD in economics. You can go back. We'll open up a 529 for you.

36:33Tricia Scarlata:I need a 529. The biggest problem is a 529 used to be terribly restrictive. Fossils like me don't realize how constructive it is now.

36:42Ed Yardeni:Correct. And when you think about a qualified withdrawal, I always use this as an example. Every child's qualified withdrawal is going to be different. I have a child who's a musician going for music. A qualified withdrawal for him is the pedals for his equipment, is the production because he's a music major. But then if I got an econ major, I can't use as a qualified withdrawal a guitar. But it is going to be what that child needs to get the degree is a qualified withdrawal. It could be books for sure. It could be computer. It's equipment. So think it's very expansive.

37:16Tricia Scarlata:Your child needs the Eventide H9 pedal. You need a new H9 pedal. It's exquisite.

37:23Ed Yardeni:You've had Mike Conrath on. We go to Mike all the time. He's an incredible guitarist, and he tells us what he doesn't need. Trisha, thank you so much for joining us today. My pleasure. Trisha Scarlato of J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Coming up on Bloomberg Money, the money, the man, the muse. why people are digging deep into their pockets and splashing the cash to see the Odyssey. You're going to go this weekend, right?

37:46Tricia Scarlata:I'm not going this weekend, but I got to admit, across a cross-section of people, what a huge buzz.

37:51Ed Yardeni:I loved it, and I wasn't expecting to love it. This is Bloomberg Money. But Robert Pattinson speaking in an American accent. That was odd.

37:58Tricia Scarlata:I'm not.

38:06Tricia Scarlata:You're listening to Bloomberg Money. Stay with us with more to come after this.

38:29Ed Yardeni:your behalf. Just describe what you want to do in plain English, like if the VIX hits 25, buy a put option on the S &P 500. Or if my cash balance goes above$20 ,000, move the excess into my direct index. You approve the workflow and your agent handles the rest. Monitoring the market, watching for your conditions, and executing your strategies exactly as defined. An investing platform driven by your intent, not just your clicks. You can also get full read and write access to your account via the public API. Go to public.com slash market and fund your account in five minutes or less. That's public.com slash market.

39:08Tricia Scarlata:Paid for by Public Investing. Brokered services by Open to the Public Investing, Inc., Member FINRA, and SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors, LLC, SEC Registered Advisor. Complete disclosures available at public.com slash disclosures.

39:22Ed Yardeni:If your best finance people are doing expense reports, chasing receipts, or spending time on month-end close, it's time to get Brex AF, a gentic finance that eliminates that work before it starts. Learn more at brex.com slash AF.

39:38Tricia Scarlata:Amazon Health AI presents Painful Thoughts.

39:43Ed Yardeni:Why did I search the internet for answers to my cold sore problem? Now I'm stuck down a rabbit hole filled with images of alarmingly graphic sores in various stages of ooze. I can clear my search history, but I can never unsee that. Don't go down the rabbit hole. Amazon Health AI gets you the right care fast. Healthcare just got less painful. Bloomberg Money is your destination for personal finance. It's a cross-platform effort that extends beyond your TV, including our new digital hub at Bloomberg.com slash money. And Tom, one of the highlights this week is about the Odyssey, the movie. It's got to be.

40:22Ed Yardeni:And how some people are spending thousands of dollars to watch it in its full IMAX splendor.

40:26Tricia Scarlata:Amazing. I mean, I know IMAX from long, long ago, but people say this is the IMAX. You have to see it.

40:32Ed Yardeni:Well, this was the first movie that was built with IMAX in mind. So joining us now to discuss is Bloomberg Money reporter Sarah Foster. And Sarah, you guys went out and talked to a whole bunch of people who figured this out a year ago and booked their tickets in advance to see this on IMAX. My colleagues, Michelle Imponza, Micah Barkley, they really tracked down some big spenders here. Some people were willing to spend$500, travel cross-country to see this, as Chris Nolan intended. Others were even telling stories about how they were staying up all night, going 24 hours without sleep. What this really shows me is that when you have these big cultural events like this, young people in particular really are down to spend big and to just be in the moment.

41:17Tricia Scarlata:It's about this experiential thing, which I just get. I mean, it's beyond me. But the answer is people like FIFA, like the World Cup or like this. People like being together. They like being together. They want to spend some money to do it right.

41:28Ed Yardeni:Right. And they want to be able to hear the waves crashing in the movie. Again, in its full IMAX Splendor because it's loud. It's like this spectacle. I think there's even something to be said about this new version of luxury. You know, only 25 theaters in the U.S. can show it the way Chris Nolan intended. Only 41 worldwide. You know, it's almost a three-hour runtime for a movie. Is it three hours? You can be there and see it. You know, you're one of the new people.

41:52Tricia Scarlata:So when you saw Scarlett, were you dragging here? Were you like, you know, two hours, 30 minutes more?

41:56Ed Yardeni:I was a little skeptical. I went in there. I had to have a drink beforehand because I was like, I don't know if I can't do this.

42:01Tricia Scarlata:Okay, can you make a banner, please? Foo. At the Odyssey. had to have a beverage of her choice.

42:07Ed Yardeni:Had to have a drink ahead of time. But I sat there through the whole thing and it was great.

42:10Tricia Scarlata:Our books for the week. This is a joy and an honor. You go to college. If you're ever so lucky, you have a professor that can get it done. Barry Strauss is definitive at Cornell and you had him in class. What is it like to have the giant Barry Strauss lecturing you on the Trojan War?

42:28Ed Yardeni:You know, it was pretty cool because I did not know about him beforehand. I took a class with him and another professor where they compare the Korean War and the Peloponnesian War. So it was like this cross historical analysis. It was really, really interesting. And then you picked that book. So I know you picked it out of the blue,

42:44Tricia Scarlata:but folks, I can't say enough about if you want to learn about this beyond Matt Damon's good looks, the answer is Professor Strauss of Cornell hones a high ground.

42:53Ed Yardeni:Absolutely. And his book separates reality from myth, right? Helena of Troy was a catalyst myth. Reality is about control of shipping routes in the Aegean scene, which Matt Damon actually says to Anne Hathaway in the movie. They kind of whisper it, but it's there. So I just gave you a spoiler. Your book is tied to the Odyssey and to Homer. My book of the week is about Homer. Homer Simpson and his family and the people who created the show and wrote for the show, like Conan O 'Brien. It's called Stupid TV, Be More Funny, How the Golden Era of the Simpsons Changed Television in America Forever. Are you a Simpsons fan?

43:26Ed Yardeni:I am a Simpsons fan. It's hard not to be.

43:28Tricia Scarlata:It's amazing how people are or they're not. Are you not a Simpsons fan? Oh, no, I'm a huge fan. I think the craft there, I could go on all day about this. But, you know, I mean, I think it's interesting. I was looking up Homer and they thought on AI, they thought I wanted Homer Simpson.

43:45Ed Yardeni:And they would be right. That's what I picked. Who's your favorite Simpsons character?

43:50Tricia Scarlata:I you could go all day about it. I think I like the soccer ones. We do the we do the football ones on the soccer. I mean, it's great. And I think you could do both, frankly. The heart of the matter is you can do Homer Simpson and Homer from a few years ago with Odyssey as well.

44:06Ed Yardeni:Homer Simpson is most people's favorite character. Mine is kind of a tendential because it's a world building exercise, the Simpsons. I liked Patty and Selma, Marge's older sisters. Oh, yeah, they were funny. Yeah. And there they are at Orlando Universal. The expression is priceless, Tom.

44:22Tricia Scarlata:They look like we're in the Bloomberg money planning meeting on Tuesday. That's what it looks like.

44:29Ed Yardeni:Sarah, do you have a favorite Simpsons character? Definitely Lisa. Oh, yes. I identify with Lisa. She's ahead of her time. Very similar to her. Lisa, by the way, predicted that Donald Trump would become president, too, or the Simpsons did overall. So, you know, there's a lot of true telling in the Simpsons. Sarah Foster, thank you so much. Sarah, thank you. Bloomberg Money reporter Sarah Foster. And for the latest reviews and recommendations from Bloomberg, subscribe to the On Books newsletter.

44:56Tricia Scarlata:Welcome back to Celebrity Lodestone. It's Tom Keene with Scarlet Fruit. We've been talking about some of the people that like to listen to us on the radio, Scarlet in the morning, and myself as well, and of course here on television. And it's just sort of like humbling. Like they want to know about economics, finance, personal finance, and also wealth management.

45:17Ed Yardeni:So you get a lot of people emailing you out of the blue who like I follow on Celebrity News.

45:22Tricia Scarlata:What's great, one day I'm at JFK, and I'm by the luggage ramp next to this girl, and everyone's looking at me and then I figured out they weren't looking at me. I'm standing where this woman and everybody's like, you know, it's Emily Blunt. And I was the only one in the terminal who didn't know who she was.

45:39Ed Yardeni:Oh my gosh. All right. Well, there you go. Maybe you'll see Emily Blunt this weekend. Maybe you'll see, you know, another celebrity like Matt Damon this weekend. Let's look ahead to the weekend and to next week. Bloomberg this weekend's Lisa Mateo joins us now in studio. What do you have your eye on? Yeah, we're looking at Comic-Con. Okay. This is huge. This is the nation's largest. Emily Blunt will be there. Emily Blunt. I don't think she'll be there. But some of your favorite, maybe a Chris Hemworth, maybe a whoever. But you have all these folks. Okay, so we're not just talking comics, right?

46:08Ed Yardeni:We're talking TV. We're talking gaming. Gaming is huge for these. You have all these people dressed up. Cosplay is, of course, a big thing for it. So they're coming out, and they're going to this. It started yesterday in preview, so the big day is today through Sunday. So it's a big thing. Tickets are, like, you know, about$85 or so. But the thing is, they sell out. So now on the secondary market, they're going anywhere from$500 to like$1 ,000. So it's a big problem. But it's also good for downtown San Diego. They're going to get a big boost economic there. People going to restaurants everywhere for the parties in the area.

46:40Ed Yardeni:Did you say John Cena was going to be there? I heard a rumor.

46:43Tricia Scarlata:I saw that. I heard a rumor.

46:44Ed Yardeni:You think? You think?

46:45Tricia Scarlata:I think I saw the list for San Diego. It's a big thing. I mean, San Diego is the biggest one, right?

46:51Ed Yardeni:It is the biggest one. I've been to the New York one. I've covered it a number of times. There may or may not have been a Wonder Woman costume involved. It is a good time and it's good to see not just it's not just kids. It's the adults who come out to it. So it's a good time.

47:05Tricia Scarlata:We just talked about education on the show Bloomberg Money. And I know, Lisa, you've been through the gauntlet of education here in the last 12 months. What was the biggest surprise getting a cherub on the path to college?

47:18Ed Yardeni:I think the biggest surprise was just how much it was going to cost. I mean, the cost of it was ridiculous. It overwhelms everything. And looking at the number of scholarships, like doing all the research into that and then finding, you know, having to talk with your kid. Like, here's the reality. Here's where you want to go. Here's where we can go. And I think that is the toughest conversation, but it has to be had. Yeah, most definitely. All right. We also have earnings. And I know we've talked a lot about the hyperscaler results. But there's a bunch of companies that are going to tell us how the consumer is doing.

47:45Ed Yardeni:Of course. And that's why we want to look to the consumer ones because the big list would be too much to get into. So if you start with Tuesday, we start with Coca-Cola and then we go to Visa. So that's for Tuesday. If we go to Wednesday, Procter & Gamble. We have Microsoft and Meta as well. Thursday, we have MasterCard, Apple, Amazon, Friday, Colgate, Palmolive, Chevron and Exxon. So two big oil prices. Oh, Chevron and Exxon, they're raking it in right now with oil prices the way they've been.

48:07Tricia Scarlata:They've got to be. And refinery products as well. To me, actually, inside baseball, the theme here this week of refinery products up is the story for next week.

48:17Ed Yardeni:Well, we will, I mean, especially with oil prices. It's a way for Bloomberg money. Up and up and up. No, it's actually squarely in the heart of Bloomberg Money with oil prices where they are. Lisa, thank you so much. Lisa Mateo, of course, on Bloomberg this weekend, every Saturday and Sunday morning, starting at 7 a.m. Eastern time. That does it for Bloomberg Money. This is Bloomberg. I still get a drink of more choice. Yeah. I heard about that. You had to have one.

48:44Tricia Scarlata:This is the Bloomberg Money Podcast, bringing you a smart look at the forces shaping your financial life. I'm Tom Keen with Scarlet Fu. You can watch the show live on Bloomberg TV every Friday at noon Wall Street time. Subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen. And as always, on the Bloomberg Terminal and the Bloomberg Business app.

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50:22Tricia Scarlata:The Hulu original series Furious is now streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+. Starring Emmy Rossum as Alice Black, Furious follows a rookie FBI agent on the hunt for Catherine,

50:33Ed Yardeni:played by Lola Petticrew, a mysterious and calculating female serial killer.

50:38Tricia Scarlata:While Alice upholds justice, Catherine kills for it, terrorizing the rich and powerful men of New York in her pursuit of vengeance. With secrets that change everything, Alice discovers there's a thin line between hunter and prey. Watch the Hulu original series, Furious, on July 27th. Streaming on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus for bundle subscribers. Terms apply.