What happens when record stock prices meet record government debt—and nobody really knows what’s under the hood?This week on The Puck, Jim Baer sits down with Mark Zandi, Chief…
What happens when record stock prices meet record government debt—and nobody really knows what’s under the hood?This week on The Puck, Jim Baer sits down with Mark Zandi, Chief Economist at Moody's Analytics, for a wide-ranging conversation on bubbles, private credit, shadow banking, AI exuberance, and the growing tension inside the Treasury market.Zandi explains:- Why today’s equity valuations are historically stretched- Whether AI enthusiasm is becoming institutionalized speculation- How serious the private credit and shadow banking risks really are- Why commercial real estate and crypto may be deflating “gracefully”- The real fragility inside the U.S. bond market- Whether government debt is manageable—or quietly destabilizingIs the economy stronger than it looks? Or more fragile than we think?A thoughtful, honest debate about systemic risk, fiscal reality, and what could derail 2026.