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.

CLICK IMAGE BELOW TO LISTEN ON DEMOGRAPHY UNPLUGGED

NEW PODCAST: Housing, Mutations, and Why Europe Thinks America is "Broken" (1/27) - demoimage

Click HERE to listen on Apple Music 

Click HERE to listen on Spotify

. . .

In this latest issue of my weekly podcast, we discuss the threat of Covid-19 adaptive mutations. Moderna-NIH just released their new study on the effectiveness of the Moderna vaccine against the South African mutation. Yes, the vaccine protects against the new variant, but the antibodies' strength is reduced by 4 to 6X. This is the first sign that vaccines will most likely need to be updated in the future. 

Suga's public approval plummets. The Japanese PM's approval rating has fallen from 74% in September to 42% in January. This is the result of pandemic missteps, a slow vaccine rollout, and lack of charisma. Come the September elections, his party may look for a replacement. 

Conte resigns. After surviving a confidence vote in parliament but failing to secure a majority, PM Giuseppe Conte has resigned in attempts to create a new government. If he fails, the two largest parties will be given a chance to make their own government. But if they too fail, it will trigger new nationwide elections. Salvini can't wait.

Tensions over Taiwan heat up. Over the weekend, China flew eight H6K bombers near Taiwan's airspace, making it the 20th flyby this month. The Biden administration publicly declared support for Taiwan and moved the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt into the South China Sea. Taiwan remains a lively flashpoint between Xi-led China and Biden-led America. 

Protests break out in Russia. Over the weekend, jailed opposition leader Alexie Navalny released a YouTube documentary accusing Putin of using government funds to build a pleasure palace on the Black Sea. This led to widespread protests throughout the country; over 40,000 demonstrators took to the streets of Moscow. In an unprecedented move, Putin held a press conference to deny the accusations.

Most Europeans now believe the U.S. political system is "broken." New data show that Europeans are turning away from their traditional transatlantic security ties and, in the event of a conflict between America and China or Russia, would prefer to remain neutral.

*  *  *

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.