Comedian v Economist

Episodes

• 

  Why can’t you give everyone a million bucks when Jobkeeper ends?

  The massive Jobkeeper program winds up at the end of March, just as the US is mailing out cheques for $1400 to the whole country. Is the end of Jobkeeper the end of the Aussie economy? And why do we spend money on entertainment vouchers for people when you could just send them cold hard cash?

  24 March

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  WTF is a NFT and can I make money off them?

  Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are selling for millions of dollars, but what are they? Thomas says they’re what happens when you combine the financial illiteracy of crypto-bois with the self-indulgent pretentiousness of the arts market, but he would say that wouldn’t he? But don’t worry, Adam is the family’s in-house tech-guy, so he’ll walk us through this “new and exciting” asset class.

  17 March

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  Can your stonks handle inflation?

  GDP boomed last week, just as Thomas predicted, but markets didn’t do nothing. Why? Why is WA all about cutting payroll tax, and why don’t economists dance when inflation is zero? And if economists think inflation is picking up, is that going to cause another rout in share markets? And why did mum make Adam pay tax?

  10 March

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  WTF are Bond Yields and what did they do to my stonks?!?

  Adam was shocked last week to see that bond yields had caused share markets to tank. Bond yields? He doesn’t know what either of those words even mean. Thomas unpacks the puzzle as best he can, and explains why these days, in the strange post-covid economy, good news is bad news.

  3 March

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  Boomtown! 10 Reasons the economy is going to boom.

  Thomas lays out 10 reasons why he (and pretty much every economist in the country right now!) thinks the Australian economy is set to boom. Adam is alarmed to learn that there’s perma-bears in these woods. What’s their trip?

  24 February

• 

  Bonus Episode: Facebook Defriends Australia. What’s up with that?

  The ‘stoush’ came to a head this week, with Facebook shutting down news, Google going it alone with agreements with some media outlets, and the government pushing through its bargaining code. Thomas called it.

  19 February

• 

  RBA to drop another $100bn?!? Why?

  In February, the RBA committed to printing another $100bn - a massive $5bn a week! But isn’t the economy better? It is way better than they were forecasting... So what’s going on? And what’s happening to interest rates now, why is the RBA predicting house prices to rise 30%, and should Adam cash out his house and live in a tent?

  17 February

• 

  Google Search to Leave Australia?!?!

  Google hinted recently that they might have to remove Google Search from Australia if the government legislates the new News Media and Digital Platforms Bargaining Code. WTF is going on? Thomas unpacks the ‘stoush’ for us, and finds himself surprised to be taking sides with Google. And what’s going on in Bundaberg?

  10 February

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  Gamestop… madness or method?

  The news this week in markets was all about darling little retro company, Gamestop, which was driven 400% higher on a short-squeeze. How does that work? Was there an investment thesis at play or was it pure hype? And why is Elon Musk getting involved?

  3 February

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  The 5 Mega-trends of 2021

  The boys walk through Thomas’ pick for the top trends that will dominate markets in 2021. Is there anything here you can trade on? And if truth really is dead, as Thomas says, should you be listening to these guys anyway?

  27 January

• 

  The Political Economy of Stacks of Cash

  The boys are talking up money printing, but Wolfgang’s not loving it. Why are conservatives anti money printing, and if they are, why are they the ones driving it? Is Thomas really a “fringe-dwelling populist” and how does politics change if there’s stacks of cash for everyone?

  20 January

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  The dawn of a new economic paradigm?

  There’s an epic battle going on right now in economics between the proponents of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), and the adherents of vintage, small-batch monetary theory. How did we go from a ‘debts and deficits disaster’ to splashing money about like a drunken uncle? How does it affect the decisions we make about public spending? How does it affect the outlook for asset prices?

  13 January

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  What is Money? No, srsly.

  Thomas reckons money isn’t real, but if it isn’t real then what is it? And is Bitcoin money? And is cash dead? And why is old mate at Harvey Norman’s fighting for your right to use 20c pieces?

  6 January

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  Is Property Different?

  his week the boys expand their focus a bit to look at the property market, and the five things that set property apart from shares. Thomas works with professional property investors, so how do they think about the property market, what data are they watching closely, and why should Adam be ignoring all of it.

  30 December

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  What Does it All Mean for Share Prices?

  Adam is tired of talking theory, he wants to talk turkey. How do you trade on the macro data? How does it help you make better investment decisions? What is a share price anyway? And why isn’t the CEO of Wesfarmers returning his call?

  23 December

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  What is the RBA’s trip anyway?

  This week we go inside Australia’s money monster, The RBA. This is where Thomas cut his teeth as an economist, so what does it do and why is it so important than it’s in the news every day of the week?

  16 December

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  Hitting economists with the measuring stick...

  According to Adam, he's got a handle on economic activity, and he's got a handle on prices... thanks to Thomas' nifty dashboard concept. But now he's starting to pay attention to the 7 o'clock news, he's noticing all this other data coming down the pipeline... What's this thing called consumer confidence? Wine sales are down? Adam is overwhelmed with information. How is one man supposed to make sense of all of this?

  9 December

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  Understanding the Economics Dashboard... or exactly what data is important?

  The episode starts with a simple premise, as Adam asks Thomas, 'Now I care about economics, how do I understand all these numbers that are flying at me?' So, Thomas takes the time to explain his simple framework for understanding economic activity, and what data is really actually important, and how to balance it.

  2 December

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  Let's start at the beginning... What exactly is the economy?

  For the very first episode of Comedian V Economist, Adam starts with what seems like a very simple question for his brother Thomas: 'What exactly *is* the economy?'

  25 November

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  What is Comedian V Economist all about?

  Hosted by two brothers - Adam a comedian, Thomas an economist - this show will help you understand the world of money without the need for a calculator or dictionary. Easy to understand and jargon free. Adam will ask and Thomas will answer all those money questions you've pondered but never knew who to ask. From interest rates to GDP, trade wars to house prices, the world of economics has an impact on so many aspects of our everyday lives. This podcast will break it all down as Adam and "real life economist" Thomas guide you through how the world of money really works.

  11 November