WSJ's Take On the Week

Everyday traders have come a long way from the meme-stock frenzy of 2020. Armed with zero-commission trading apps, option contracts and dip-buying habits, retail investors have evolved into a market force.

In this episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-hosts Telis Demos and Miriam Gottfried are joined by WSJ markets reporter Hannah Erin Lang and Scott Rubner, head of equity and equity derivatives strategy at Citadel Securities. They analyze how retail buyers serve as a crucial buffer against market volatility—stepping in to purchase stocks during major tech selloffs and Nasdaq corrections while institutional investors sell. They examine retail trading behaviors across the S&P 500, key market indicators, and how everyday investors are reshaping market dynamics.

Editor’s Note: This episode was recorded prior to the Nasdaq correction that occurred on Thursday, Nov. 5.

This is WSJ’s Take On the Week where co-hosts Telis Demos, writer for WSJ’s Heard on the Street, and Miriam Gottfried, WSJ’s investing and wealth management reporter, cut through the noise and dive into markets, the economy and finance—the big trades, key players and business news ahead.

Have an idea for a future guest or episode? How can we better help you take on the week? We’d love to hear from you. Email the show at takeontheweek@wsj.com.

To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com

Further Reading

Wall Street Gets $2.5 Trillion AI Reality Check With Historic Rout of Tech Stock

Retail Investors Bought the Dip Yesterday

He’s Letting AI Agents Invest His Money. They Even Have Names.

Everyday Traders Go From Fringe Players to Dominant Market Force

For more coverage of the markets and your investments, head to WSJ.com, WSJ’s Heard on The Street Column, and WSJ’s Live Markets blog.

Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter.

Follow Miriam Gottfried here and Telis Demos here.

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In this week's episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-hosts Miriam Gottfried and Telis Demos dive into the shifting credit markets financing the massive artificial intelligence build-out, examining how tech giants like Amazon, Meta, and Alphabet’s Google—alongside major investors like Blackstone—are funding the boom. They ask: Are sinking AI bonds and tech stock selloffs a sign that investor demand for computing power is cooling, or is it just a temporary market recalibration?

WSJ Heard on the Street writer Asa Fitch joins the show to break down the highly leveraged businesses funding the AI computing revolution. Fitch analyzes the financial mechanics of companies like CoreWeave, which lease AI computing power to other companies. Plus, they break down why heavily-indebted tech infrastructure is causing market anxiety, and why giants like Nvidia are banking on CoreWeave to survive.

This is WSJ’s Take On the Week where co-hosts Telis Demos, writer for WSJ’s Heard on the Street, and Miriam Gottfried, WSJ’s investing and wealth management reporter, cut through the noise and dive into markets, the economy and finance—the big trades, key players and business news ahead.

Have an idea for a future guest or episode? How can we better help you take on the week? We’d love to hear from you. Email the show at takeontheweek@wsj.com.

To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com

Further Reading

See How Anthropic Arrived at Its Mind-Boggling $40 Trillion Market Opportunity

Why Anthropic’s Rivals are Rooting for its IPO

Meta Plans up to $95 Billion in Financing to Power Its AI Growth

Two AI Chipmakers Make Up 34% of America’s Earnings Boom

Meta’s Muse Is Going Gangbusters. But Where Is the Payoff?

Why Nvidia Needs CoreWeave

For more coverage of the markets and your investments, head to WSJ.com, WSJ’s Heard on The Street Column, and WSJ’s Live Markets blog.

Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter.

Sign up for the WSJ's free AI & Business newsletter.

Follow Miriam Gottfried here and Telis Demos here.

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Could artificial intelligence surpass the internet in its transformative power? Jonathan Kanter, former assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice under President Joe Biden, suggests it might and talks about the challenge of creating effective regulation—offering insights on shareholder value, company valuations, and overall market impact.

On this week's episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-hosts Telis Demos and Miriam Gottfried examine the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence and the complex path toward regulating it. They discuss with Kanter why meaningful AI oversight relies on a functional Congress, how the Supreme Court's "major questions doctrine" creates hurdles for regulatory agencies, and why ensuring AI safety carries even higher stakes than regulating the early version of the internet.

But first, our hosts analyze SpaceX’s recent earnings report, driven up by its massive AI potential and a possible merger with Tesla. They also unpack the volatility in the nascent market for AI-backed corporate bonds.

News Corp, owner of The Wall Street Journal, has a content-licensing partnership with OpenAI.

This is WSJ’s Take On the Week where co-hosts Telis Demos, writer for WSJ’s Heard on the Street, and Miriam Gottfried, WSJ’s investing and wealth management reporter, cut through the noise and dive into markets, the economy and finance—the big trades, key players and business news ahead.

Have an idea for a future guest or episode? How can we better help you take on the week? We’d love to hear from you. Email the show at takeontheweek@wsj.com.

To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com

Further Reading

Why AI’s Deepest Mind Believes the World Is About to Change Radically

The Weak Points in AI Bonds Are Becoming Clearer

Politicians Are Turning Against AI, but Your Pension Is Riding on It

For more coverage of the markets and your investments, head to WSJ.com, WSJ’s Heard on The Street Column, and WSJ’s Live Markets blog.

Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter.

Follow Miriam Gottfried here and Telis Demos here.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It’s election season again, and affordability is on the ballot for voters. High gas prices, energy costs and persistent inflation continue to squeeze households—what does that mean for the upcoming midterm elections and the stock market?

In this week's episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-hosts Miriam Gottfried and Telis Demos break down the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, the sell-off in chip stocks and whether Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes are cooling the AI boom.

Then, Monica Guerra, head of policy and geopolitical strategy at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, joins to discuss potential election outcomes, the possibility of a blue wave or divided Congress, and how local regulations on AI data centers and gridlock in Washington could impact investor portfolios and the S&P 500.

This is WSJ’s Take On the Week where co-hosts Telis Demos, writer for WSJ’s Heard on the Street, and Miriam Gottfried, WSJ’s investing and wealth management reporter, cut through the noise and dive into markets, the economy and finance—the big trades, key players and business news ahead.

Have an idea for a future guest or episode? How can we better help you take on the week? We’d love to hear from you. Email the show at takeontheweek@wsj.com.

To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com

Further Reading

What Six Years of Inflation Mean for the Midterms

Inside Bessent’s Treasury: Tension, Turnover and Unmet Economic Goals

Midterm Anxiety Mounts for GOP as Democrats Try to Expand Battleground



For more coverage of the markets and your investments, head to WSJ.com, WSJ’s Heard on The Street Column, and WSJ’s Live Markets blog.

Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter.

Follow Miriam Gottfried here and Telis Demos here.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Interest rates are up, and high-yield savings accounts are back— so why is so much of your cash still under-earning? In this episode of WSJ’s Take On the Week, hosts Telis Demos and Miriam Gottfried explore why it’s time to rethink where your money sits and treat cash as a true asset class.

But first, Telis and Miriam explore how high interest rates are impacting the economy, from commercial real estate to private equity. Plus, they preview upcoming earnings from big banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and more.

Then, MaxMyInterest founder Gary Zimmerman joins the show to share practical ways to unlock higher savings yields. Zimmerman shares his perspective on how to think about where you put your cash in this high-rate environment. Plus: will AI change the banking landscape and how we manage our deposits?

This is WSJ’s Take On the Week where co-hosts Telis Demos, writer for WSJ’s Heard on the Street, and Miriam Gottfried, WSJ’s investing and wealth management reporter, cut through the noise and dive into markets, the economy and finance—the big trades, key players and business news ahead.

Have an idea for a future guest or episode? How can we better help you take on the week? We’d love to hear from you. Email the show at takeontheweek@wsj.com.

To watch the video version of this episode, visit our WSJ Podcasts YouTube channel or the video page of WSJ.com

Further Reading

Choosing the Right Bond Strategy for Today’s High-Yield World

Money Managers Are Asking Clients to Give the Bond Market Another Chance

Treasury Takes Aim at Tax-Avoiding Investment Strategies

Why Mortgage Bonds Are at Risk if Rates Rise—and if They Fall

Wealth Management Has a $3 Trillion Problem: Investors Are Keeping Too Much Cash

What Banks Stand to Lose From the Private-Credit Mess

For more coverage of the markets and your investments, head to WSJ.com, WSJ’s Heard on The Street Column, and WSJ’s Live Markets blog.

Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter.

Follow Miriam Gottfried here and Telis Demos here.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.