"Uncertainty" marked this year's economy. What about 2026?

🎙️ The Voices & The Context

• The Format: This Marketplace episode blends a concise expert interview on economic forecasts with rapid-fire news segments on policy shifts and housing trends, delivering a snapshot of 2025's economic turbulence and 2026's outlook in a brisk, professional newsroom style. Technical and forward-looking.
• The Format: A host-driven news report featuring one key interview amid short market updates.
• The Key Players:
  • Guest - Stephen Junolig: Senior economist at Bank of America, offering bold predictions on U.S. economic resilience amid tariffs and uncertainty, drawing on his firm's analysis of Fed policy, AI investments, and labor dynamics.

🗝️ Key Themes & Topics

The episode dissects 2025's economic highlights—dominated by tariffs and uncertainty—while peering into 2026 with optimism tempered by inflation risks, policy pivots, and market adaptations.

• Topic 1: 2026 Economic Outlook. Economist Stephen Junolig predicts continued U.S. outperformance driven by an easing Federal Reserve, lower rates, and surging AI-related capital expenditures, contrasting with global peers despite lingering uncertainties.
• Topic 2: Inflation, Labor Market, and Tariffs. Inflation remains sticky above targets due to tariffs, with job growth slowed by uncertainty and reduced immigration; Junolig foresees hiring rebounds in 20