Animal Spirits Podcast

Gold's 1987 Moment (EP. 450)

130 snips
Feb 4, 2026
Fast-paced chat on how the internet rewired markets and sped news cycles. A dramatic gold and silver mania and crash are unpacked. They explore retail trading, leveraged ETFs, and surging emerging market flows. Conversations touch on AI spending, crypto’s lull, housing politics, delivery culture, and quirky personal anecdotes.
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INSIGHT

Retail Trading Is Structurally Bigger

  • Retail now accounts for a surprisingly large share of U.S. trading volume, permanently altering market structure.
  • Jeffries data cited shows retail trading exceeded 20% of total volume versus hedge funds' combined smaller share.
INSIGHT

EM And US Have Long Cyclical Handoffs

  • Emerging markets can dramatically outperform for long stretches, creating cyclical handoffs with U.S. equities.
  • Ben reminds listeners these cycles have flipped before and EM can rally when sentiment and dollar trends align.
INSIGHT

Fed Chair Mostly Matters In Crises

  • The Fed chair matters mainly during crises; most of the time Fed moves have limited long-term effects.
  • Ben argues chairs matter 5% of the time but can be decisive when markets break.
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