Sound Economies with Mel & Peter: 8 January 2026
Big shifts headline the new year. In our maiden episode for 2026, we look at cost of living pains in the US and Europe against a fast-growing middle class in Asia, the latter fueled by high economic growth. We explain why markets appear to shrug off Trump’s takeover of Venezuelan oil assets, and share an opposing view regarding consensus optimism on US stocks.
Time stamp:
00:00 – Start
00:54 – Quick updates
02:13 – The latest on global markets
03:27 – India, Vietnam racing ahead in global growth
11:11 – Megatrends: Rising cost of living and declining labour productivity
22:50 – Venezuelan oil and global supply
26:43 – Path of US stocks in 2026
30:09 – 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.
Tune in to this episode on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts.
