Sound Economies with Mel & Peter: 15 January 2026
Trump vows to raise public spending on defence but demands defence companies to temper dividend payouts in favour of reinvesting to raise production, and we explain why this is unhealthy. This episode, we also look at the escalating attack on the US Fed’s independence, attempts to raise listing activity in ASEAN, and the attitude of large family offices towards AI investments.
Time stamps:
00:00 – Start
00:55 – Quick updates
02:06 – The latest on global markets
03:02 – Stock market reforms for ASEAN
08:49 – Continuing clash between Trump and the US Fed
13:48 – Trump’s hold on US defence companies
18:41 – Family offices survey: 2026 trends and preferred investments
27:08 – Our global forecast
“Sound Economies with Mel & Peter” is a weekly podcast show where our founding CEO Peter Lundgreen and Manila-based Chief Economist Mel Lopez discuss what’s happening in economies around the world and their views of the global financial markets.
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