Can the AI rally really ignore inflation, geopolitics and a Fed under pressure?
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Record highs on Wall Street, a high-stakes summit in Beijing, hot inflation data, a potential Samsung strike and a Fed leadership change that has people questioning central bank independence. Any one of those would normally dominate a week. This week had all of them at once. The remarkable thing is that markets largely shrugged.
In this episode of Market Focus Weekly, a podcast by The Business Times, Howie Lim speaks with Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo, to work through a week that tested just about every assumption investors currently hold. Chanana is precise, clear-eyed and refreshingly direct about where the real risks are hiding beneath the surface optimism.
Why listen
- Whether the Fed is heading towards a rate hike rather than a cut Hot inflation data is forcing a reassessment. Chanana explains what would actually have to happen for a hike to become the base case and why central bank credibility is now as important as the decision itself.
- Why the AI rally is becoming more selective and what that means for investors Real earnings are still supporting the story but the days of any company mentioning AI and watching its stock rise are over. Chanana maps out which companies are best positioned to survive the macro pressure.
- What a Samsung strike would actually do to the global chip supply chain Memory chips are already a critical bottleneck in AI infrastructure. Chanana walks through the sectors most exposed and who stands to benefit if production is disrupted.
- What markets actually need from the Trump-Xi summit Nobody expects a breakthrough. Chanana explains why predictability alone would already be a meaningful positive outcome.
The rally is real but so are the pressures building beneath it. This conversation helps you decide what to make of both. Listen now.
Discover more episodes at bt.sg/podcasts. Got feedback? Email us at btpodcasts@sph.com.sg.
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Written and hosted by: Howie Lim (howielim@sph.com.sg)
With Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo
Edited by: Howie Lim & Claressa Monteiro
Produced by: Howie Lim & Chai Pei Chieh
A podcast by BT Podcasts, The Business Times, SPH Media
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