The Anxiety Index: 4 Fear Factors Shaping the Economy
From COVID-19 relapses to election insecurity, these factors drive defensiveness up and demand down.

From COVID-19 relapses to election insecurity, these factors drive defensiveness up and demand down.
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This episode is sponsored by Crypto.com, Bitstamp and Nexo.io.
Today on the Brief:
- Skepticism around Powell’s inflation prognostications
- The Tesla Stock Split Game
- China’s COVID-19 vaccine maker presses countries for early adoption
Our main discussion: The Anxiety Index
We live in an economy organized around consumption and perpetual growth. In that context, factors that cause consumers to be fearful, reduce spending, increase savings, move less and generally slow down can wreak havoc.
In this episode, NLW discusses four factors shaping and driving consumer anxiety, including:
- COVID-19 related concerns, both health and economic
- Monetary policy questions
- U.S.-China tensions
- Election insecurity
See also: Winter Is Coming: Examining the Economy’s Eight-Body Problem
For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Stitcher, RadioPublica, iHeartRadio or RSS.
Note: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of CoinDesk, Inc. or its owners and affiliates.
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