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Today’s Animal Spirits is brought to you by Nuveen and Janus Henderson Investors:

This episode is sponsored by Nuveen. Learn more at Nuveen.com
This episode is sponsored by Janus Henderson Investors. Learn more at https://www.janushenderson.com/
On today’s show, we discuss:
- In the shadows of giants
- Jack Dorsey Blamed AI for Block’s Massive Layoffs. Skeptics Aren’t Buying It.
- The 2026 Global Intelligence Crisis
- Marc Andreessen: The real AI boom hasn’t even started yet
- When Extraterrestrials Attacked the Stock Market
- Tech Has Never Caused a Job Apocalypse. Don’t Bet on It Now.
- How is H&R Block Still Doing 20 Million Tax Returns?
- In California, About the Only Way to Get a House Is to Inherit One
- Blackstone’s flagship private credit fund hit with wave of redemptions
- The Tax Nerd Who Bet His Life Savings Against DOGE
- WBD employees fear coming wave of job losses as Paramount tops Netflix’s bid to acquire company
- Loneliness Is for Cowards
Listen here:
Charts:
Recommendations:
- Scream 7
- I Know What You Did Last Summer
- Mortal Kombat II
- Predator: Badlands
- Marty Supreme
- A Little History of the World by E.H. Gombrich
Tweets/Bluesky:
If the Brent market closed at current levels (up 7.5%), the one-day % increase would rank as the 53rd largest.
US-Israel strike on Iran, killing of the Supreme Leader, chaos in Hormuz, retaliation accross the Middle East… All of that delivers the 53rd largest one-day % jump.
— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) March 2, 2026
Oil prices surging again today, WTI crude oil up $4.75/bbl another 7%, with RBOB gasoline up 5.2%, national average likely now to head closer to $3.30/gal and beyond over next few weeks
— Patrick De Haan (@GasBuddyGuy) March 3, 2026
On this week’s episode of “Life After Mutual Funds”, ETF flows have gone to plaid!!!
February isn’t even over yet, and investors have already put $328 billion in new money to work in the ETF wrapper this year.
That is about $128 billion (64%) ahead of last year’s… pic.twitter.com/foJ2avCjO7
— Ben Johnson, CFA (@MstarBenJohnson) February 27, 2026
So many things that appear to be about AI are actually about the pandemic economy https://t.co/KiWr97fqAC
— Myles Udland (@MylesUdland) February 26, 2026
In case you need confirmation that AI is the ultimate excuse to cut costs…
This is like saying investment banking will be able to stop working at 8pm because bankers can now build a DCF in Excel instead of doing it on paper
UBS: what a joke of a financial institution pic.twitter.com/vpwvXycSpK
— Restructuring__ (@Restructuring__) March 2, 2026
we're making @blocks smaller today. here's my note to the company.
####
today we're making one of the hardest decisions in the history of our company: we're reducing our organization by nearly half, from over 10,000 people to just under 6,000. that means over 4,000 of you are…
— jack (@jack) February 26, 2026
I have some big news to announce… pic.twitter.com/3OBNTaOnIL
— Mike Selig (@ChairmanSelig) February 17, 2026
So "his firm invested double-digit millions into the platform last year"…in order to make $515,000?…that his company would have to pay out?
Is that what you are suggesting we need to investigate? pic.twitter.com/qo3oxPUWmP
— Mr Irony (@mister_irony) March 1, 2026
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