The Capitalist Investor - Episode 166 Welcome back! The boys are back in town! All three amigos are back at it this week discussing disappointing earnings within retail & record-breaking retail volume coming into equities. What is causing this record breaking volume and does it say something else about the consumer? What’s cancelled this week? All of this & more during this week’s “The Capitalist Investor”.Retail Earnings MissRetail earnings were say.. underwhelming. There was high-expectations in Q4 that were supposed to highlight the strength of the consumer, but really earnings just highlighted the potential weakness. At the end of the day, stocks like Walmart are seeing a shop-down effect with even higher income earners now trying to find bargains at Walmart. People are focusing on groceries more than discretionary spending, which is the lowest margin business many retailers operate in. What’s in store for the retail sector and what’s in store for the average consumer as we head through 2023?Gambling RecessionThere’s evidence that a lot of retail money is flowing back into equities, but the surface level might not tell the full story. A lot of investors are buying options on equities that expire that same day, meaning they are taking on a ton of risk. Really, many investors are gambling at this point. If you look to Draftking’s earnings, they were a lot hotter than expected as well. The Capitalist Investor team discusses dark pools and the mentality a lot of Americans are facing in these uncertain and hard-strapped times. Could the equity volume coming in from retail investors really just be a big gambling face-off to try and make a quick buck? Possibly.Artificial IntelligenceOkay… we really can’t cancel AI or Artificial Intelligence. But a lot of weird things are happening with AI now, with Microsoft’s “Bing” saying some really weird things to it’s users. What is the cutoff and when is the line drawn with Artificial Intelligence? Is the world becoming too efficient? The Capitalist Investor team discusses their thoughts around AI, and maybe even some flat earth talk. Yes.. you need to watch the episode to find out.Connect With Mark TepperTwitter: @MarkTepperSWPFollow Mark on LinkedInSend Mark a message hereThe SWP Connect YouTube ChannelConnect With Ryan DobrokaTwitter: @DobrokaRyanFollow Ryan on LinkedInSend Ryan a message hereThe SWP Connect YouTube ChannelConnect with Derek GabrielsenTwitter: @DerekGabrielsenFollow Derek on LinkedInSend Derek a message hereCheck out Derek’s YouTube channel!Connect With Luke LloydTwitter: @LloydBoyLukeFollow Luke on LinkedInSend Luke a message hereThe SWP Connect YouTube ChannelConnect with Tony ZabiegalaTwitter: @TonyZabiegalaFollow Tony on LinkedInSend Tony a message hereThe SWP Connect YouTube channel!Send your questions and comments to us at info@SWPConnect.com