In this long-overdue episode of The Grant Williams Podcast, I’m joined by Larry McDonald, founder of The Bear Traps Report and author of How to Listen When Markets Speak, to explore how extraordinary fiscal and monetary responses have reshaped the investing landscape. Larry argues that the disinflationary era is over, replaced by an inflationary, multipolar world that calls for a fresh approach to portfolios—one that favours hard assets like copper, coal, and natural gas over stretched technology stocks. Our conversation spans the political and structural forces driving this shift, from chronic underinvestment in energy and the policy bottlenecks that worsen shortages, to the rising populism fuelled by inflation. Larry highlights how the makeup of the S&P 500 is set to evolve, with industrials, materials, and energy poised to reclaim influence, while risks mount in areas such as passive investing, private credit, and certain financial stocks. We close by examining the implications of the AI-driven capital expenditure boom, the strain it places on power infrastructure, and what it all means for the dollar, gold, and Bitcoin. The result is a timely, wide-ranging conversation offering investors both a roadmap to today’s shifting market environment and practical insight into how to navigate what lies ahead. Every episode of the Grant Williams podcast, including This Week In Doom, The End Game, The Super Terrific Happy Hour, The Narrative Game, Kaos Theory, Shifts Happen and The Hundred Year Pivot, is available to Copper, Silver and Gold Tier subscribers at my website www.Grant-Williams.com. Copper Tier subscribers get access to all podcasts, while members of the Silver Tier get both the podcasts and my monthly newsletter, Things That Make You Go Hmmm… Gold Tier subscribers have access to my new series of in-depth video conversations, About Time.
