• Natural Gas as the Energy of the Future: Applications and Investment Opportunities, With Farid Guindo
    Dec 27 2024
    Farid Guindo of Drill Capital Management joins the podcast to discuss his bullish views on natural gas -- not the commodity itself, necessarily, but its application to meet future energy demand. Content Highlights
    • Natural gas as the energy of the future even as prices of the commodity itself plummet (1:08);
    • Oil exploration is becoming increasingly difficult, expensive, and risky (2:58);
    • The 'John D. Rockefeller moment' for natural gas (5:46);
    • What role can nuclear energy play? (16:03);
    • In natural gas, there will be winners and losers, however... (18:00);
    • Where are the best opportunities? (19:51);
    • Background on the guest (28:39);
    • How will the new presidential administration (Trump 2.0) impact things? (41:38).
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    48 mins
  • Opportunities in Closed-End Municipal Bond Funds: Jonathan Browne, RiverNorth Capital
    Nov 21 2024
    Jonathan Browne, portfolio manager at RiverNorth Capital, joins the podcast to discuss investment opportunities in municipal bonds, specifically through the closed-end fund structure. This podcast episode was made available to premium subscribers the day after recording and without ads or announcements. To become a premium subscriber, visit our Substack. Content Highlights
    • Quick primer on closed-end funds and their difference with mutual funds and ETFs (1:18);
    • Municipal bonds and what to look for there (16:01);
    • What kind of yield can investors expect from this asset class? (23:31);
    • Background on the guest (26:50);
    • Rising interest rates and inflation are certainly a risk for muni bonds, but the risk/reward is set up constructively... (30:59);
    • Muni closed-end funds: a contrarian pick (37:28)
    For more on the guest, visit the website RiverNorth.com
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    41 mins
  • US Election 'Black Swans' Include Significant Chance of Political Violence
    Nov 1 2024

    https://contrarianpod.com/content/podcasts/season6/us-election-black-swans-chances-political-violence/Dr. Mike Blyth of risk services company Sigma7, joins the podcast to discuss 'unknown unknowns' facing next week's US election.

    Blyth is a career national security professional, having worked for US and British civil and military operations globally.

    This podcast episode was recorded on Oct. 30, 2024 and was made available to premium subscribers that day. To learn about premium subscription options, visit our Substack. Content Highlights
    • Background on the guest and why he is qualified to speak of all things national and international security (1:42);
    • Main concerns entering the election. External and internal agitators have raised the risk of political violence (4:57);
    • Gaming out the various scenarios. Almost all involve violence, especially if former President Donald Trump is not elected (7:26);
    • The narrative on social media and elsewhere is consistent with what typically presages violence. "It's a tinderbox. We're waiting for the flame to be lit" (11:26);
    • What parts of the economy might be most at risk and which might be more resilient (16:49);
    • What about geopolitical risks? (20:42).

    For more about the guest, visit the website S7risk.com.

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    32 mins
  • Tariffs, Strong US Dollar, Stocks Rally, M&A: What to Expect From Trump-onomics 2.0 (Should It Happen)
    Oct 30 2024

    Marc Chapman of Bannockburn Global Forex rejoins the podcast to discuss all things US election and the impact a Trump victory would have on economics and financial markets.

    This podcast episode was recorded Monday, Oct. 28, 2024 and was made available for premium subscribers that same day. More information about premium subscriptions is available on our Substack. Content Highlights
    • The impact of a Trump victory next Tuesday is seen as greater as the impact of a Harris victory. What this means for markets and the economy (2:11);
    • What if Trump doesn't win? That has become the contrarian take (3:45);
    • How it all might affect Mexico, the US' largest trading partner (5:40);
    • The US-Canada-Mexico free trade agreement is up for review next year. Expect more concessions from Mexico regardless of who's in the White House (and Congress) (12:22);
    • However the outlook is not all bad for all Mexican securities... (15:40);
    • Concerns Trump will try to limit the Federal Reserve's independence (19:38);
    • Don't overlook the possibility of a recession early in the next president's term (25:44);
    • Trump victory may lead to more mergers and acquisitions (26:50).
    More From the Guest
    • Website: MarcToMarket.com;
    • X: @marcmakingsense.
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    35 mins
  • Trends Point to Trump Victory, Republican Sweep: Flip Pidot
    Oct 23 2024

    Flip Pidot, founder of American Civics Exchange, joins the podcast to discuss trends in polling and prediction markets and why these are increasingly pointing to victory for Donald Trump -- and a Republican sweep of Congress.

    This podcast episode was recorded on Oct. 22, 2024, and made available for premium subscribers that same day -- without ads or announcements. More information on premium membership options is available on our Substack page. Content Highlights
    • What started as a toss-up has quickly moved to resounding victory for Trump (1:38);
    • About $40 million-worth of pro-Trump bets have flooded prediction markets in recent weeks (4:55);
    • Early vote data is also clearly favoring Trump (12:58);
    • Background on the guest (23:05);
    • If the outcome of the election is close, either side is likely to immediately challenge the results in court (34:30);
    • Fortunately, the guest views the likelihood as remote (40:28)
    More From the Guest
    • Website: AmCiv.com;
    • X: @FlipPidot;
    • Prediction/polling aggregator: TheSupermodel.com.
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    48 mins
  • The Bull Case for Industrial Commodities, AI, and More, With Tony Greer
    Oct 1 2024

    Tony Greer of TG Macro joins the podcast to discuss his bullish view on industrial commodities, especially oil, AI, the upcoming presidential election, and more.

    This podcast was recorded on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, and was made available to premium subscribers the next day. More information on premium subscriptions is available on our Substack.

    There are a few points in this episode where adult language is used. Listener discretion is advised.

    Content Highlights
    • Why energy commodities, precious and base metals are all set up to rally (1:31);
    • China's stimulus package boosted industrial metals. The bounce should not be limited to the short term... (4:57);
    • There are a number of ways to express the 'long commodities' trade. ETFs may be the simplest... (8:59)
    • The bullish case for uranium (10:37);
    • Don't fade the AI story (14:20);
    • The inevitable cryptocurrency discussion (17:04);
    • Background on the guest (22:30);
    • Listener question: What's the inflection point for a move higher in industrial commodities? (26:10);
    • Election discussion (28:17).
    More Information on the Guest
    • Website: TgMacro.com;
    • Twitter/X: @TgMacro;
    • Substack: @TgMacro.
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    34 mins
  • Finding Contrarian Investors Among US Presidents Past and Present
    Sep 25 2024

    Hear podcast episodes without ads and before regular listeners by subscribing to our premium offering.

    Megan Gorman joins the podcast to discuss her book 'All the Presidents' Money; How the Men Who Governed America Governed Their Money,' in an effort to locate the contrarian investors. There are several, led by Gerald Ford. The guest also discusses the investments of year's presidential and vice presidential candidates.

    Content Highlights
    • The most contrarian investor among US presidents? Gerald Ford, the man who pioneered sitting on corporate boards and the presidential speaker circuit (1:24);
    • Perhaps unsurprisingly US presidents were quite conservative with their investments, Ford included... (6:37);
    • Many presidential investments were also contrarian by avoiding (individual) public equities (11:04);
    • Franklin D. Roosevelt was one of several presidents who entered the White House as wealthy individuals -- and blew some of it by failing to perform basic due diligence (15:51);
    • Another oft-overlooked president, Calvin Coolidge, supplies a classic example of mis-timing the market... (21:11);
    • What we know about the investments of this year's candidates for president and vice president (25:52);
    • Another very unsuccessful investor: Ulysses S. Grant. One of the most successful: George Washington (37:14);
    • Presidents probably don't need to own individual stocks. Vice President Kamala Harris exemplifies this (47:18)
    More Information on the Guest
    • Website: AllThePresidentsMoney.com;
    • X: @Megan_E_Gorman.
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    49 mins
  • Fed's Next Move, Trump 2.0, Opportunities in AI, Argentina: James Fishback
    Sep 10 2024

    James Fishback, founder of Azoria Partners, joins the podcast to discuss the Fed's shift in monetary policy, opportunities afforded by another Trump administration, why AI hype is real, and a host of other issues.

    This podcast was recorded on Sept. 4 and was being made available to premium subscribers that same day. More information about premium subscriptions is available here.

    NB: The guest is outspoken on certain political beliefs discussed here. These views are not necessarily shared by the host or the Contrarian Investor Podcast more generally.
    Content Highlights
    • The Federal Reserve is expect to cut 200 basis points off of interest rates when all is said and done. The reality should fall well short of that measure... (1:37);
    • The US is economy growing in aggregate. Pain points are felt among lower socio-economic classes (4:44);
    • The major change will not come from a major shift in monetary policy but what happens fiscally, with the November election (9:16);
    • How to trade a Republican sweep? There's an acronym: T-R-U-M-P (10:54);
    • Many companies have taken advantage of cheap labor supplied by illegal immigration. Their stocks will suffer once this is rolled back... (15:31);
    • AI is real. Productivity gains will be massive (17:44);
    • Crypto discussion. The best opportunity for bulls may to bet on lower volatility for Bitcoin... (22:47);
    • Background on the guest (28:33);
    • Azoria's first ETF will be called the Meritocracy Fund. The strategy (33:38);
    • Another opportunity: Argentina (43:18)
    More Information on the Guest
    • Website: AzoriaPartners.com;
    • Substack: HeadofMacro.com;
    • X: @j_fishback;
    • LinkedIn: Azoria-Partners
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    50 mins