WTFinance

• Is China Winning the Trade War? with Shaun Rein

  Interview recorded - 4th of November, 2025On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming on Shaun Rein. Shaun is the Founder and Managing Director of the China Market Research Group (CMR), the world’s leading strategic market intelligence firm focused on China. During our conversation we spoke about what is happening on the ground in China, the tariff strategy, consolidation in Chinese manufacturing, secular shift in US excellence, End of the American Empire and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction1:49 - What is happening in China?5:29 - Second order tariffs9:42 - Tariff strategy13:11 - China trade unfairness18:04 - Consolidation of China21:19 - More upside in China?23:59 - Secular shift?26:22 - Trade war ending?29:59 - End of the American Empire?Shaun Rein is the Founder and Managing Director of the China Market Research Group (CMR), the world's leading strategic market intelligence firm focused on China. He works with Boards, billionaires, Heads of States, CEOs and senior executives of Fortune 500 & leading Chinese companies, private equity firms, SMEs and long/ hedge funds to develop their China growth, political and investment strategies. Rein authored the international best-sellers "The War for China's Wallet: Profiting from the New World Order," "The End of Cheap China"​ & "The End of Copycat China."​ Publishers Weekly named "Cheap"​ a "Top 10 business book for 2012." The Financial Times called "Copycat"​ "Intriguing" and said of Wallet: “Mr. Rein’s insider tales of what it takes to work in contemporary China are insightful...a toolbox for those who want to work with Chinese companies make it a worthwhile read.”Rein is regularly featured in the Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times. His op-eds have appeared in the New York Times. He frequently appears on CNN, BBC, MarketPlace, CNBC, Bloomberg, PBS and MSNBC. Rein formerly taught executive education classes for London Business School and was a weekly columnist for CNBC and Forbes. He also wrote a column for Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Rein is one of the most sought out keynote speakers focused on innovation, consumer trends and the economy in China.Shaun Rein - Website - http://www.cmrconsulting.com.cn/xsyX - https://x.com/shaunreinYouTube -  @shaunrein4708 WTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4X - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseasThumbnail image from - https://basc.berkeley.edu/the-u-s-china-trade-war-whats-next/

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• The Stock Markets Hidden Ponzi Scheme & Shifting Geopolitical Order with Michael Green

  Interview recorded - 4th of November, 2025On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Michael Green. Michael is the portfolio manager & chief strategist of Simplify. During our conversation we spoke about his outlook on the economy, the government shutdown, next FED chair, tariffs, geopolitics and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction1:45 - Outlook on the economy?4:35 - Government shutdown6:03 - Credit spreads increasing?8:39 - FED actions10:17 - Next FED chair?13:15 - Trump communications14:37 -Tariffs18:05 - Capital flight19:12 - Geopolitical play23:15 - Chinese missteps24:55 - Shift of the US Empire27:30 - Political institutions29:28 - Strategic investments31:55 - One message to takeaway from conversation?Michael has been a student of markets and market structure, for nearly 30 years. His proprietary research into the shift from actively managed portfolios and investment funds to systematic passive investment strategies has been presented to the Federal Reserve, the BIS, the IMF and numerous other industry groups and associations.Michael joined Simplify in April 2021 after serving as Chief Strategist and Portfolio Manager for Logica Capital Advisers, LLC. Prior to Logica, Michael managed macro strategies at Thiel Macro, LLC, an investment firm that manages the personal capital of Peter Thiel. Prior to Thiel, Michael founded Ice Farm Capital, a discretionary global macro hedge fund seeded by Soros Fund Management. From 2006-2014, Michael founded and managed the New York office of Canyon Capital Advisors, a $23B multi-strategy hedge fund based in Los Angeles, CA, where he established their global macro strategies, managing in excess of $5B of exposure across equity, credit, FX, commodity and derivative markets.In addition to his work as a market theorist and portfolio manager, Michael has been noted for his work as a public speaker and financial media participant. He is a graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a CFA holder.Michael Green - Substack - https://www.yesigiveafig.com/Twitter - https://twitter.com/profplum99LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-green-9a15142/Simplify - https://www.simplify.us/WTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseasThumbnail image from - https://finance.yahoo.com/video/3-drivers-behind-mondays-market-133332442.html

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• Credit Collapse As System Loses Control! with Michael Pento

  Interview recorded - 31st of October, 2025On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Michael Pento. Michael is the President & Founder of Pento Portfolio Strategies. During our conversation we spoke about his outlook for the economy and markets, the FED expanding their balance sheet, what this means for the 3 bubbles, Financial repression, whether markets will go higher and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction1:15 - Outlook on the economy and markets2:52 - FED expanding balance sheet7:42 - Debt bubble9:35 - Increase income15:40 - Financial repression18:15 - Markets going high20:28 - One message to takeaway?Michael Pento serves as the President and Founder of Pento Portfolio Strategies (PPS). PPS is a Registered Investment Advisory Firm (RIA) that operates like an actively managed fund without all the expenses. The Model Portfolio uses a proprietary macroeconomic model to determine when and how to invest across an inflation/deflation and economic cycle spectrum. The 20-component model is used to determine the two most important factors when it comes to successful investing: the second derivatives of growth and inflation.Michael Pento - Website - https://pentoport.com/Twitter - https://twitter.com/michaelpento?lang=enLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-pento-a1882917b/WTFinance Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatsea

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• Households Struggling as Economy Strangles Consumption with Bob Elliott

  Interview recorded - 27th of October, 2025On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Bob Elliott. Bob is the Co-Founder & CIO of Unlimited Funds. During our conversation we spoke about his outlook on the economy, the AI boom, why households are struggling, Stagflation, markets and more. I hope you enjoy! 0:00 - Introduction0:45 - Outlook on the economy?3:45 - AI boom6:50 - Employment10:18 - Economic data not making sense11:56 - Government shutdown15:36 - Stagflation17:17 - FED actions19:20 - US the strongest economy?20:30 - What does this mean for markets?24:40 - Bond yields26:00 - Losing control of bond market28:57 - Other assets?30:54 - One message to takeaway?Bob Elliott is the Co-Founder, CEO & CIO of Unlimited, which uses machine learning to create index replication ETFs of 2&20 style alternative investments like hedge funds, venture capital & private equity. Prior to founding Unlimited, Bob was a Senior Investment Executive at Bridgewater Associates where he served on the Investment Committee (G7) and created investment strategies across equities, fixed income, credit, exchange rates, and commodities, including many used in the flagship Pure Alpha Fund. He also built and led Ray Dalio’s personal investment research team for almost a decade. He’s the author of hundreds of Bridgewater’s widely read Daily Observations and directly counselled some of the world’s foremost policy makers and institutional investor on economic and investing issues. Bob has also served as an advisor and executive at several startups including CircleUp, an investment company focused on early-stage consumer brands. There he revamped the investment strategy for the company’s $150mln venture funds leveraging big data approaches to improve decision making. He was also the co-founder of GiveWell, a startup charity evaluator which now directs more than $500mln in annual contributions. Bob holds a BA in History and Science from Harvard. Bob Elliott - Website - https://www.unlimitedfunds.com/X - https://twitter.com/bobeunlimited?s=21&t=bEWfVJjh6KcziPA0zpyEPALinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ttoillebobWTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4X - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

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• Liquidity Shortage Squeezing the Economy with Michael Howell

  Interview recorded - 17th of October, 2025On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Michael Howell. Michael is the Founder & Managing Director of CrossBorder Capital.During our conversation we spoke about the current liquidity outlook, what is happening in China, whether Main Street and Equities can continue to go up and more. 0:00 - Introduction0:19 - Current outlook on liquidity markets25:20 - China31:14 - Cycles speeding up? 32:50 - Main Street and equities going up? 36:50 - One message to takeaway?Michael Howell is CEO of CrossBorder Capital, a London-based FCA registered, independent research and investment company that he founded in 1996. Previously he was Head of Research for Baring Securities and Research Director of Salomon Brothers Inc, the US investment bank. The liquidity methodology he pioneered monitors cross-border flows and Central Bank behaviour across some 80 countries world-wide. Liquidity flows are a central part of CrossBorder Capital's asset allocation advice, which is currently provided to major global investors, including institutional asset managers, government agencies, Central Banks and endowment funds. Michael has been in financial markets since 1981 and is a regular conference speaker and media commentator. He graduated from Bristol and London Universities with a finance doctorate, specialising in Fixed Income.Michael Howell -Website - https://crossbordercapital.com/X - https://twitter.com/crossbordercapLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-howell-357b1416/?originalSubdomain=ukWTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4X - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

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