The Macro Dirt Podcast The GODFATHER of Global Liquidity
13 snips
Mar 19, 2026 
Michael Howell, founder of CrossBorder Capital and creator of the Global Liquidity Index, brings sharp global liquidity and macro strategy expertise. He explores peaking liquidity, China’s role in driving gold, rising oil and commodity risks, and the case for a long-term bull market in real assets. He also discusses defensive positioning, yield-curve signals, stablecoins as a policy tool, and geopolitical inflation dynamics.
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How CrossBorder Capital Started With Barton Biggs And Flows
- CrossBorder Capital began in 1996 focusing on emerging markets and money flow analysis.
- Their first client was Barton Biggs and early work tracked institutional interest in flow-driven market impacts.
Liquidity Is Financial Market Fuel Not Broad Money
- Global liquidity measures money available for financial asset transactions, not broad money supply.
- Michael Howell built the Global Liquidity Index to track liquidity that rolls over debt and drives refinancing risk in modern capital markets.
Liquidity Momentum Peaked And Is Being Sucked Into The Real Economy
- Liquidity momentum peaked around Q3 last year and is now definitively falling globally.
- The private sector is withdrawing liquidity into the real economy via higher working capital, CapEx and price effects, tightening financial markets despite central banks.
