Below is our world-renowned Demographer Neil Howe's latest weekly podcast. Neil discusses newsworthy market events that will prove the most timely, topical and consequential in the week ahead.
He talks through the news looming largest on his radar screen to keep your investing laser focused and confident. This free webcast compliments his in-depth research product Demography Unplugged.
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In this latest issue of my weekly podcast, we discuss the latest news on vaccines. The FDA reports that the Moderna vaccine is "highly effective" after examining the trial data. They are expected to give emergency approval by Friday. The Moderna vaccine is easier to handle than the Pfizer vaccine because it does not need to be stored at antarctic temperatures. This will be key to supplying rural communities.
The US is likely to enter an accelerating recovery in 1Q + 2Q. How quickly is open to debate. The biggest economic danger maybe something unexpected politically after Biden steps into the White House. But if we're looking at something purely endogenous to the economy, I would say rising inflation rates along with an even more rapid rise in inflation expectations.
There is a renewed rise of the political right in Italy. Matteo Salvini's Lega party shows declining support, but that decline is being more than made up for by the rise of a new young leader, Giorgia Meloni (age 43), who is leader of The Brothers of Italy. Their motto: "God, family, and fatherland." It's now the third most popular party behind the center-left Democracy and Lega. Meloni is savvy, clever, and nuanced--unlike Salvini. She supports subsidizing a higher birthrate, using the Italian navy to intercept refuges, and denying birth citizenship to immigrants.
With avid fandom declining among teens and young adults, the pro sports world is redoubling its efforts to hook the next generation. Execs are hoping that sports betting will do the trick, along with more short-form videos and behind-the-scenes looks at the players.
Political pressure to cancel student debt is mounting—and so are the tensions surrounding the idea. Economists, activists, and policymakers are deeply divided over debt forgiveness and disagree on whether it would help or hurt the economy.
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ABOUT NEIL HOWE
Neil Howe is a renowned authority on generations and social change in America. An acclaimed bestselling author and speaker, he is the nation's leading thinker on today's generations—who they are, what motivates them, and how they will shape America's future.
A historian, economist, and demographer, Howe is also a recognized authority on global aging, long-term fiscal policy, and migration. He is a senior associate to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C., where he helps direct the CSIS Global Aging Initiative.
Howe has written over a dozen books on generations, demographic change, and fiscal policy, many of them with William Strauss. Howe and Strauss' first book, Generations is a history of America told as a sequence of generational biographies. Vice President Al Gore called it "the most stimulating book on American history that I have ever read" and sent a copy to every member of Congress. Newt Gingrich called it "an intellectual tour de force." Of their book, The Fourth Turning, The Boston Globe wrote, "If Howe and Strauss are right, they will take their place among the great American prophets."
Howe and Strauss originally coined the term "Millennial Generation" in 1991, and wrote the pioneering book on this generation, Millennials Rising. His work has been featured frequently in the media, including USA Today, CNN, the New York Times, and CBS' 60 Minutes.
Previously, with Peter G. Peterson, Howe co-authored On Borrowed Time, a pioneering call for budgetary reform and The Graying of the Great Powers with Richard Jackson.
Howe received his B.A. at U.C. Berkeley and later earned graduate degrees in economics and history from Yale University.
