Episode 69: IBC and the Business Owner, Part 2 of 3

April 8, 2019

Carlos and Bob continue with their 3-part series explaining Austrian economics and IBC specifically for the business owner. The series is tied to the upcoming IBC Business Owner Seminar to be held on May 10, 2019, in Nashville, TN. In this episode, Bob explains the significance of the inverted yield curve, and ties it to standard Austrian business cycle theory. Carlos explains why the business owner would typically want to own an IBC policy in his or her own name, rather than being owned by the company.

Mentioned in this episode:

• The IBC Business Owner Seminar on May 10, 2019, in Nashville.
• Academic articles explaining the yield curve inversion’s ability to “predict” recessions.
• A CNBC story explaining that the yield curve inverted in late March.

The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.

Episode 68: IBC and the Business Owner, Part 1 of 3

March 29, 2019

Carlos and Bob begin a 3-part series explaining Austrian economics and IBC specifically for the business owner. The series is tied to the upcoming IBC Business Owner Seminar to be held on May 10, 2019, in Nashville, TN. In this episode, Bob and Carlos discuss the Fed’s recent guidance on its bond roll off schedule. They also explain entrepreneurship in the Austrian vision (with reference to Bob’s recent interview of Peter Klein), and Carlos relays statistics on business ownership in the US.

Mentioned in this episode:

• The IBC Business Owner Seminar on May 10, 2019, in Nashville.
• A CNBC article summarizing the Fed’s announcement about its bond roll off.
• Episode 23 of the Bob Murphy Show, featuring Peter Klein and his work on entrepreneurship in the Austrian tradition.

The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.

Episode 67: The Economic Outlook for 2019

March 4, 2019

Carlos and Bob discuss the economic outlook for 2019, from the perspective of Austrian business cycle theory. The yield curve is close to inverting, and if it continues we should expect a recession by the end of 2019 or, failing that, almost certainly in 2020. There are two types of Fed tightening during this recovery, namely interest rate hikes and a rolloff of the Fed’s bonds. Powell can’t indefinitely postpone the bond rolloff because as interest rates rise, the Fed is paying ever more billions in interest to the commercial banks.

Mentioned in this episode:

• The minutes of the Jan 29-30, 2019 Federal Reserve meeting.
• The June 2017 addendum to the Federal Reserve statement, describing some particulars of the impending bond rolloff program.
• The Bob Murphy Show, episode 17, featuring Alex Tabarrok (who does not think the Fed has set us up for an inevitable crash).

The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.

Episode 66: Getting Into the Minds of Federal Reserve Officials

January 28, 2019

Carlos and Bob discuss the Fed’s actions with interest rates and its balance sheet, and how they are behind the recent stock market volatility. They also use media reports to get inside the minds of Bernanke, Yellen, and Powell.

Mentioned in this episode:

• “How to Weather the Coming Financial Storms.” (Carlos and Bob video.)
• Bob’s pushback against the WSJ letter calling for a carbon tax.
• Graph of federal funds rate versus Fed’s total assets.
• Market Watch article on Yellen discussing the taper tantrum.
• Market Watch article discussing newly released transcripts from 2013 in which Powell says Fed needs to “jump.”
• Schedule a call / Skype session with Carlos and/or Bob.
• Find an authorized IBC Practitioner near you.
• The Case for IBC.

Episode 65: Should You Fully Fund an IBC Policy ASAP or Leave Room for a Windfall?

December 18, 2018

Carlos and Bob tackle a friendly bet that two listeners submitted. The controversy concerns two apparently conflicting goals: On the one hand, Nelson Nash says in BYOB that you should pay more against your policy loans than the insurance company requires, effectively buying more paid-up life insurance. But on the other hand, shouldn’t you aggressively fund your IBC policy up to the MEC limit right away, meaning there wouldn’t be any room left to pay more on a loan?

Mentioned in this episode:

• LMS episode 64 on the shaky stock market.
• “How to Weather the Coming Financial Storms.” (Carlos and Bob video.)
• Schedule a call / Skype session with Carlos and/or Bob.
• Find an authorized IBC Practitioner near you.
• The Case for IBC.

The sound engineer for this episode was Chris Williams. Learn more about his work at ChrisWilliamsAudio.com.