Yahoo Finance, Released on 1/21/25

The transition into the President Trump’s second term has brought along a significant amount of economic uncertainties. On his first day in office, Trump signed nearly 200 executive orders and proclamations, stirring market reactions. Allianz Chief Economic Advisor Mohamed El-Erian sits down with Seana Smith, Brad Smith, and Julie Hyman on the Morning Brief to assess the five critical areas to watch surrounding the new commander in chief taking on his second term. These critical areas explored include energy, immigration, trade, deregulation, and fiscal policy. El-Erian, who also serves as the president of University of Cambridge, Queens’ College, stresses the need for addressing economic disparities, as Trump’s policies may exacerbate the circumstances of a “K-shaped economy.” “The issue of dispersion, or what a lot of people call the K-shaped economy where the rich are doing better but the poor continue to struggle, was very well understood by President Trump,”El-Erian says. “If you are at the bottom of the household income distribution, you’ve run down your pandemic savings, you’ve maxed out your credit cards, and you’re insecure, you’re financially insecure.” Watch the video above to also hear Mohamed El-Erian warn of global imbalances, emphasizing the importance of “leveling up” the global economy.

*interview recorded on Jan. 21, 2025

Mohamed El-Erian is the President of Queens College, Cambridge and the Chief Economic Adviser of Allianz, a multinational financial services company. He is the former CEO and co-Chief Investment Officer of PIMCO, a global investment firm and one of the world’s largest bond funds in the world. Dr. El-Erian also served as a member of the faculty of Harvard Business School. Before joining PIMCO, Dr. El-Erian was a managing director at Salomon Smith Barney/Citigroup in London and before that, he spent 15 years at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. His latest book is Permacrisis: A Plan to Fix a Fractured World.

  economy, energy, investing, stock market, trade war, Trump