Watchdog on Wall Street with Chris Markowski

Radio America
  • 4.4 (136)
  • BUSINESS
  • UPDATED DAILY

Welcome to The Watchdog on Wall Street Podcast. Author, investment banker, consumer advocate, analyst, and trader Chris Markowski exposes the lies and myths of the big brokerage firms, the mainstream press, and the government. Chris explains the news coming out of the complex worlds of finance, economics and politics and the impact it will have on everyday Americans. For more information, visit radioamerica.com/watchdog-on-wall-street/

  1. 6H AGO

    Hedge Funds and Private Equity: A Recipe for Disaster

    Chris Markowski delves into the deceptive practices of Wall Street, particularly focusing on hedge funds and private equity firms. He highlights how hedge funds often report inflated returns by excluding failed funds from their calculations, likening it to a baseball player omitting their worst games to boost their batting average. Markowski also critiques the private equity model, which he argues exploits companies by loading them with debt and extracting value, often leading to their decline. He shares a poignant example of how private equity negatively impacted the once-popular Sprinkles Cupcake brand, illustrating the broader consequences of these financial practices on American businesses and consumers. Markowski further discusses the implications of recent mergers and acquisitions, using Saks Fifth Avenue's bankruptcy as a case study to demonstrate how Wall Street's financialization leads to disastrous outcomes for companies. He emphasizes the disconnect between Wall Street's profit motives and the realities faced by everyday investors, warning listeners about the potential pitfalls of trusting financial advisors who may prioritize their own interests over those of their clients. The episode serves as a wake-up call for listeners to be vigilant about the financial narratives pushed by major institutions and to seek transparency in their investments.

    40 min

  2. 6H AGO

    Financial Preparation vs. Planning: The Key to Success

    Chris Markowski delves into the critical distinction between financial preparation and financial planning. He emphasizes the importance of being prepared for the uncertainties of life rather than relying on rigid plans that may not hold up over time. Drawing on personal anecdotes and experiences, Markowski illustrates how mastering the fundamentals of investing can lead to success, regardless of market fluctuations. He also critiques the conventional wisdom propagated by financial institutions and the media, urging listeners to recognize the narratives that may hinder their financial freedom. Markowski further discusses the current economic landscape, highlighting the disconnect between reported economic growth and the realities faced by everyday Americans. He warns against complacency and encourages listeners to adopt a proactive approach to their finances, emphasizing the need for courage and patience in investing. The episode serves as a call to action for individuals to take control of their financial futures through informed decision-making and preparation, rather than blind adherence to outdated financial planning models.

    40 min

  3. 1D AGO

    Corporate Roll-Ups Are Back—and They’re Just as Unhealthy

    LISTEN and SUBSCRIBE on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/watchdog-on-wall-street-with-chris-markowski/id570687608  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2PtgPvJvqc2gkpGIkNMR5i  WATCH and SUBSCRIBE on: https://www.youtube.com/@WatchdogOnWallstreet/featured   Private equity’s favorite trick is making a comeback: buy up local businesses, roll them together, slap on some AI, cut staff, raise prices, and call it “efficiency.” From HVAC and plumbing to legal and professional services, the result is often the same—more debt, worse service, and frustrated customers. In this segment, Chris breaks down why roll-up economics frequently destroys value instead of creating it, and why history shows real winners don’t buy their way to innovation—they invent it. From Kodak killing the digital camera to Amazon and Tesla building instead of rolling up, the lesson is clear: sometimes the old ways really are best. And for entrepreneurs, the backlash against these hollowed-out businesses may be the biggest opportunity of all.

    5 min

  4. 1D AGO

    Senate Hands Trump a Blank Check on Venezuela

    LISTEN and SUBSCRIBE on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/watchdog-on-wall-street-with-chris-markowski/id570687608  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2PtgPvJvqc2gkpGIkNMR5i  WATCH and SUBSCRIBE on: https://www.youtube.com/@WatchdogOnWallstreet/featured   The Senate narrowly killed a war powers resolution meant to limit presidential authority in Venezuela—after assurances from the administration that there are “no plans” for ground troops or military occupation. The vote came down to a 51–50 tie, broken by J.D. Vance, with key GOP senators switching sides based on written promises from the White House. But history—and a certain Tom Clancy plot—suggests how fragile those assurances can be. Add in Venezuelan oil revenues quietly parked in a Qatari bank “to avoid seizure,” and the whole arrangement raises serious red flags. This segment questions whether Congress just surrendered its leverage, and whether anyone should feel reassured by promises that come with built-in escape hatches.

    4 min

  5. 1D AGO

    China Shatters Trade Records as Tariffs Fall Flat

    LISTEN and SUBSCRIBE on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/watchdog-on-wall-street-with-chris-markowski/id570687608  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2PtgPvJvqc2gkpGIkNMR5i  WATCH and SUBSCRIBE on: https://www.youtube.com/@WatchdogOnWallstreet/featured   Despite years of tariffs and predictions that China’s export machine would slow, the opposite just happened. China posted a record trade surplus of $1.19 trillion, with exports up 5.5%. While shipments to the U.S. have dropped, Europe and the rest of the world are now absorbing the flood of Chinese goods. The strategy to force China into becoming a consumption-driven economy hasn’t worked—and Beijing itself is struggling with the same goal amid deflation fears and a still-broken real estate market. Chris explains why tariffs failed to reshape China’s economy, the difference between “good” and “bad” deflation, and why China is likely to keep doing what it does best: making—and exporting—a lot of stuff.

    4 min

  6. 1D AGO

    The Case for Nukes: If I Were a World Leader, I’d Be Building Them Too

    LISTEN and SUBSCRIBE on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/watchdog-on-wall-street-with-chris-markowski/id570687608  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2PtgPvJvqc2gkpGIkNMR5i  WATCH and SUBSCRIBE on: https://www.youtube.com/@WatchdogOnWallstreet/featured   Watch what’s happening right now—territory casually discussed, allies pressured, sovereignty treated like a bargaining chip. From Greenland to the Mediterranean, the message to smaller nations is loud and clear: power decides everything. If you’re Poland, Greece, Italy, or Belgium, what’s your takeaway? That goodwill and treaties will protect you forever? Or that deterrence is the only language that still works? This is the uncomfortable, controversial case for nuclear proliferation—and why leaders watching this unfold might conclude that nukes aren’t reckless… They're rational.

    4 min

  7. 2D AGO

    Waste and Immigration: The Incentives No One Wants to Talk About

    LISTEN and SUBSCRIBE on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/watchdog-on-wall-street-with-chris-markowski/id570687608  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2PtgPvJvqc2gkpGIkNMR5i  WATCH and SUBSCRIBE on: https://www.youtube.com/@WatchdogOnWallstreet/featured   Waste and immigration go hand in hand—and pretending otherwise is how we ended up here. This isn’t about hating immigrants or cheering heavy-handed enforcement. In fact, Chris doesn't like the optics of masked ICE agents or the chaos we’re seeing play out. There was a better way to handle this, long before it reached this point. The truth is simple: incentives matter. If you build a massive welfare state, hand out benefits, provide free healthcare, housing, and allow illegal work, people will come. That’s not ideology—that’s human nature. Eliminate the incentives, and illegal immigration collapses overnight. Billions of dollars in taxpayer money are flowing through refugee assistance, rental programs, NGOs, and government agencies—with officials admitting they don’t even know where much of it’s going. That’s not compassion; that’s waste, grift, and failure. You want to fix immigration? Start with this rule: if you come here illegally, you get nothing. No handouts. No benefits. No taxpayer-funded hotels. Enforce that, cut the waste, and the magnet disappears. We can’t afford this system—and it’s not working.

    5 min

  8. 2D AGO

    Living in the Financial Matrix: Time to Take the Red Pill

    LISTEN and SUBSCRIBE on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/watchdog-on-wall-street-with-chris-markowski/id570687608  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2PtgPvJvqc2gkpGIkNMR5i  WATCH and SUBSCRIBE on: https://www.youtube.com/@WatchdogOnWallstreet/featured   Most people are living in a financial illusion—and it’s time to wake up. From grocery prices in Italy that are less than half of what Americans pay, to restaurant meals that would cost triple back home, the contrast is impossible to ignore. Yet we’re told nonstop by economic “high priests” that everything is booming because GDP is up and stocks are at record highs. Who cares if GDP is 10% when people can’t afford rent, homes, healthcare, or to start a family? Essential survival items—food, energy, housing, insurance—have inflated two to four times faster than official inflation numbers over the past five years. The metrics are lying, the models are broken, and too many people are ignoring what their own eyes and bank accounts are telling them. This is the financial matrix: an economy that looks great on paper while everyday life gets harder. At Markowski Investments, they don’t deal in illusions—they deal in reality, the terrain as it actually exists, and prepare people to survive and thrive despite ruinous policy, fraud, and currency devaluation. Take the red pill. See the world as it is.

    27 min
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Hosts & Guests

4.4
out of 5
136 Ratings

About

Welcome to The Watchdog on Wall Street Podcast. Author, investment banker, consumer advocate, analyst, and trader Chris Markowski exposes the lies and myths of the big brokerage firms, the mainstream press, and the government. Chris explains the news coming out of the complex worlds of finance, economics and politics and the impact it will have on everyday Americans. For more information, visit radioamerica.com/watchdog-on-wall-street/

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