The Flip Side Barclays Investment Bank

US carbon emissions are down c.20% from their peak over the past 20 years, thanks primarily to efficiency gains, such as increased miles per gallon for cars, switching to LED lights and moving towards high-efficiency boilers.
Further emission reductions will require more changes from consumers on a number of fronts, such as switching from fossil fuels to electricity for cars, home heating, and so on.
The US government is trying to influence behaviours through a range of subsidies and incentives. Is pushing on all fronts the best approach, or should efforts concentrate on one big issue that can have an outsized impact over the long term?
In episode 62 of The Flip Side, Global Head of Research Jeff Meli debates that question with Will Thompson from our Sustainable and Thematic Investing Research team.

Inflation in the US peaked at around 9% in 2022, and by January 2024, CPI inflation had fallen to 3.1%. This dramatic reduction was achieved without triggering a widely expected recession. Does the Fed’s interest rate hiking cycle deserve credit for this correction, or were other market forces responsible for the generally positive economic outcome?
In episode 61 of The Flip Side, Global Head of Research Jeff Meli debates that question with Chief US Economist Marc Giannoni, considering how factors such as market expectations, post-pandemic economic realities, shifts in labour force, and housing stock availability drove cooling alongside – or instead of – the Fed’s monetary policy.

In episode 60 of The Flip Side, Hiral Patel, Head of Sustainable & Thematic Research, talks to Christian Keller, Head of Economics Research, about the extent to which and pace at which AI could boost productivity levels globally.

They explore the potential costs and benefits to businesses and societies, as well as the range of public policy changes related to education, taxation, antitrust and more that may be required if generative AI is to truly become a GPT.

Warnings that rising US national debt levels are reaching a crisis point have waxed and waned for decades. In Flip Side podcast, our analysts discuss urgent questions about whether the current US government debt is sustainable.

Stock prices across the developed world are generally higher this year, after falling sharply in 2022. Inflation and the pace of interest rate hikes have slowed. Yet equity markets have proven volatile in recent months, with big positive and negative swings that have not always correlated with the latest economic news.

In episode 58 of The Flip Side, Jeff Meli, Global Head of Research, and Ajay Rajadhyaksha, Global Chairman of Research, take a deeper look at the data and discuss what is behind the apparent disconnect between equity markets and the economy.

US housing has been a hot topic since the onset of COVID, with a surge in both home buying and prices. But the housing market may be set for a major correction.

Jeff Meli, Global Head of Research, and Ajay Rajadhyaksha, Global Chairman of Research, unpack what's next for the sector, and debate whether the US housing market is set for a major correction.