This Alternative Investor’s Take on How Trump Policies Weigh on Businesses | WSJ’s Take On the Week

On WSJ’s Take On the Week, co-host Telis Demos and guest co-host Miriam Gottfried dive into an smorgasbord of forthcoming macroeconomic data that will illustrate how the economy is faring since President Trump’s inauguration. Then, Telis shares what investment bank Jeffries’s forthcoming fiscal quarter report could tell us about the state of mergers and acquisitions on Wall Street. And it’s baseball season folks! The co-hosts talk about the latest deal between the San Francisco Giants and private equity firm Sixth Street.

Later on the show, Telis and Miriam discuss whether middle-market businesses, which include a huge swath of the American workforce, are holding strong as the threat of tariffs continues and economic uncertainty chatter intensifies. Michael Smith, co-head of credit at Ares Management, a lender that lends to over 500 middle-market companies.

Chapters:
0:00 Introducing this week’s guest
1:30 A macroeconomic smorgasbord
3:15 Investment bank Jefferies, an early read on Wall Street and M&A
5:08 MLB Opening Day and the Giant’s private equity deal
7:15 The Economic outlook for midsize businesses
9:00 The impact of tariffs
11:44 Policies in Washington
13:54 The health of the consumer
16:53 How companies are dealing with rising prices
19:12 BDCs: Should you be investing in them?
21:24 What does the middle market mean in the greater economy?
23:00 Is a recession coming?

This is WSJ’s Take On the Week where co-hosts Gunjan Banerji, lead writer for Live Markets, and Telis Demos, Heard on the Street’s banking and money columnist, 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 [email protected].

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