Simply Put

• Tom Moerenhout on How Rare Earths Shape Trade Agreements

  A set of elements called “rare earths” have been at the center of many international trade negotiations this year. Crucial to producing certain industrial and consumer products, rare earths can take more than a decade to discover and are expensive to refine. China’s dominant position in the global supply of rare earths is giving it leverage as US trade policies seek to redefine the international economy. In this episode, we talk with Tom Moerenhout, Professor at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs, about the importance of rare earths in the modern economy, their impact on international trade negotiations, and how the US can improve the resilience of our supply chain for rare earths.

  --------  

  33:02

  --------

  33:02
• Sue Spence on US Manufacturing in 2026

  The ISM Manufacturing survey has shown US firms have struggled to plan long-term amid this year’s fluid tariff policy landscape. Economic uncertainty and the lingering risks of policy reversal are limiting manufacturers’ confidence in making big investment or hiring decisions. Meanwhile, AI promises to increase demand for some manufacturing sectors while revolutionizing the production of others. In this episode, we talk with Sue Spence, Chair of the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, about how tariff policies are influencing manufacturers’ long-term planning, AI’s impact on the operations and demands for manufacturing, and what worries manufacturers most heading into 2026.

  --------  

  32:44

  --------

  32:44
• Steve Parente on How the OBBBA Will Impact Rural Hospitals

  Rural hospitals utilize various forms of public support to increase healthcare availability in areas with low population density. The OBBBA pairs spending cuts to these hospitals with incentives designed to increase efficiency and minimize waste. As populations shift and federal funding decreases, state governments will have to decide how to respond. In this episode, we talk with Steve Parente, Professor in the Department of Finance at the University of Minnesota, about the structural challenges facing rural hospitals, how federal policy changes will affect their financial support, and how state governments are positioned to fill any funding shortfall.

  --------  

  33:37

  --------

  33:37
• LIVE with FHN Financial Economics

  FHN Financial forecasts the economy will remain resilient next year and inflation will trend towards 2%, allowing the Fed to cut rates by 75bp in 2026. The outlook could nonetheless shift from several structural economic changes. The risk of eventual tariff pass-through to consumer prices will linger in the background, AI-fueled investment has buoyed the 2025 economy without much job growth, and the FOMC may struggle to reach consensus next year as policy normalization continues under a new Fed Chair. This episode is a recording of the economic roundtable at FHN Financial’s 2025 annual seminar in Nashville with Chief Economist Chris Low, Senior Economist Sophia Kearney-Lederman, and Economic Analyst Mark Streiber.

  --------  

  52:16

  --------

  52:16
• Bill Beach on the Challenges Facing Economic Data Collection

  Recent revisions have cast doubt on the reliability of the government’s economic statistics. Budget cuts and job vacancies at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) have exacerbated pre-existing issues from low initial survey response rates and the difficulty of identifying economic inflection points in real-time. Striking the right balance between timeliness and precision is essential for investors and the Fed to make well-informed decisions. In this episode, we talk with Bill Beach, Commissioner of the BLS from 2019-2023, about the process behind BLS data collection, why recent revisions have been so large, and different ways to improve government data.

  --------  

  45:19

  --------

  45:19

More Business podcasts

Trending Business podcasts

About Simply Put