Lots More With Scarlet Fu and Corey Cantor

Joe Weisenthal (0:00)

Scarlet, when was the last time we co-hosted Anything Together?

Scarlet Fu (0:04)

Oh man, before the pandemic. I know.

Joe Weisenthal (0:07)

That's a long time ago.

Scarlet Fu (0:08)

I know, it's like a lifetime ago. You have like grown up children now.

Joe Weisenthal (0:13)

You have, do you have kids in college now?

Scarlet Fu (0:15)

Yeah, my older one's in college, my younger one is applying to college right now.

Joe Weisenthal (0:19)

That's crazy.

That is so crazy. I've known you for like nine years.

Scarlet Fu (0:23)

I know, I know, it is insane. From that perspective, you're absolutely right.

Joe Weisenthal (0:30)

I did a deadlift, one, two, three.

Scarlet Fu (0:32)

Hegemony. Hegemony, barges.

Joe Weisenthal (0:37)

This is an after school special, except.

Scarlet Fu (0:39)

I've decided I'm gonna base my entire personality going forward on campaigning for a strategic pork reserve in the US.

Joe Weisenthal (0:45)

Where's the best squid ink pasta?

Scarlet Fu (0:46)

These are the important questions. Is it robots taking over the world?

Joe Weisenthal (0:49)

No, I think that like in a couple of years, the AI will do a really good job of making the Odd Lots podcast.

And people will think, I don't really need to listen to Joe and Tracy anymore. We do have the perfect guest.

Scarlet Fu (1:05)

Well, in the meantime, this is Lots More.

Joe Weisenthal (1:07)

A weekly chat about whatever's on our minds.

Big week today. I feel like this was like a big week for all of the topics that we typically talk about on the Odd Lots podcast or Lots More because it's a big macro week with the Fed and when people are listening to this, the jobs report, and then there's just like tons of news every day on things related to EVs. I guess all of the auto worker strikes, they're all over, aren't they, Corey?

Corey Cantor (1:39)

Yeah, they're all done. Honestly, as soon as one signs a deal, it's amazing how quickly they all follow, right? Ford was like a week ago, and then you got Stellantis two days after that, and GM two days after that.

Scarlet Fu (1:49)

Are we taping already?

Joe Weisenthal (1:51)

I guess we are taping, yeah. There's no intro.

For those who are, Tracy is on vacation, you know, typically speaking, when Tracy goes on vacation, the market tanks and some new-

Scarlet Fu (2:06)

You've plotted this out?

Joe Weisenthal (2:07)

No, yeah, this is just always how it is, or maybe it seems like it, but it's actually the exact opposite so far this week, and actually the stock market, especially after the Fed yesterday, which I guess was perceived as dovish, is surging.

Scarlet Fu (2:20)

Did you read it as dovish, Joe?

Joe Weisenthal (2:22)

You know what, I read it as boring. No, I'm serious.

Scarlet Fu (2:26)

But the reaction is anything but boring.

Joe Weisenthal (2:28)

By the way, since I mentioned Tracy is on vacation, we have Scarlet Fu in the studio, who I co-hosted TV with for years, and Corey Cantor of BNF, who we've had on to talk about EVs, so I feel the three of us, we can have a chat and talk cars, Fed, and jobs. Sounds good. And maybe there's some crossover.

Corey Cantor (2:47)

Sounds great.

Joe Weisenthal (2:49)

Did you read it as dovish, Scarlet? What was your take on the Fed?

Scarlet Fu (2:52)

I didn't hear anything that he didn't already say already, or other Fed officials haven't said already, but I suppose the fact that he wasn't more hawkish is something that the market took comfort from.

Joe Weisenthal (3:03)

Well, one thing that was interesting is, it's always with these things that tone, obviously, but one thing that I thought was kind of striking, there was a question about University of Michigan inflation expectations, which actually jumped in the latest reading for whatever reason, maybe gasoline, I don't know. Actually, gasoline is down, so probably not that.

A year ago or a year and a half ago during the heat or the peak of when they were raising rates really aggressively, meeting after meeting, they pointed to that as one of those things that was like, this is a big deal. We have to hike because inflation expectations are getting really picking up and this is really important to us. Yesterday, he was asked about the same thing, inflation expectations and surveys, he's like, you know, it's kind of noise.

And so to me, that was the question that's told a lot about where Powell's head is at, that here's this data point that could easily be used to like justify hawkishness, more rates, more vigilance. And he's like, one month, it's sort of noisy, you can't put too much stock on one survey. And to me, that sort of was the defining question, I guess, of the defining interaction.