In this rerun, Jack searches for new market metaphors and a RBC Economist sizes up U.S. conditions. This episode originally aired on Dec. 5, 2025.<br><br>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Revisiting the K-Shaped Economy.

Barron's Streetwise

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Hi, it's Jack Howe. Don't think of this episode on the K-Shaped Economy, originally recorded back in December, as a rerun. Think about it as me recharging my batteries so I can come back and dazzle in our next episode together while you hear about this topic that's still very relevant for the economy and the stock market.

And if you haven't listened to this episode before, it's an opportunity to fill in that hole that you've felt in your life. Probably an S-shaped hole for sad, but not for long. Thanks and see you soon. What we're seeing is a divide in kind of the sentiment, the feeling, the economic prospects. And the divide is between those who are on the upper income end of the spectrum versus those on the lower end of the income spectrum.

Has there always been a divide? Yes. But right now, that wealth effect is just so pronounced. What we're looking at is this K, you know, going from a lowercase K to an uppercase K. Hello and welcome to the Barron's Streetwise podcast. I'm Jack Howe and the voice you just heard is Mike Reed. He's an economist with the Royal Bank of Canada, focused on the U.S.

He's going to talk to us about the K-shaped economy. There's a little K moving toward a big K. Could be a special K. Have some banana slices ready just in case. Listening in is our audio producer, Alexis Moore. Hi, Alexis. Hi, Jack. Could this possibly be? I saw something about the 300th episode. Is this number 300?

Revisiting the K-Shaped Economy.

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.

Revisiting the K-Shaped Economy.

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast, not the earnings call.

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.