Why Paul Krugman Would Pause Rate Hikes if He was Fed Chair

(Bloomberg) -- On What'd You Miss This Week, Scarlet Fu, Joe Weisenthal, Caroline Hyde and Romaine Bostick sat down with the founder and co-CEO of Canopy Growth, Bruce Linton, to talk about his goal to become the "Google of the cannabis market". For Linton, who sees himself as running a "tech company that grows cannabis," achieving Google status comes from consumer trust in a consistent product.

"We've tried to push the boundaries of what people expect in cannabis," he said. "With three keystrokes, we could tell you where every gram is in production." This is the key for Canopy Growth to stand out in a young industry not yet to the maturity level of having brand affinity, Linton explained. "You wait in line ninety years. You buy what's in the store." As for competition, the Canopy Growth CEO shrugged off fears of big tobacco getting into marijuana. "We're doing the right things to be the dominant company," he said.

David Woo, head of global rates and currencies research at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, also joined to discuss the outlook for global trade and the recent market volatility. It all comes down to the recent U.S. midterm elections for Woo. We always knew that "the Chinese were watching the election carefully," he said. Now the results of a split government have "dramatically complicated" the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China.

"Up until now, Beijing has been careful not to let the genie out of the bottle because it’s difficult to put it back in," Woo said. "But we may be slowly reaching that point where it will be more and more difficult for Chinese policy makers to make concessions." As for what this means for the markets, "I wouldn’t touch EM with a 10-foot pole until there’s a resolution between the U.S. and China," he said. Like the rest of the world, David Woo doesn't know how this showdown will end. "The only thing I’m confident in is volatility will be high next year."

Nobel Laureate and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman came on for a wide-ranging interview, including his take on monetary policy. Krugman explained why he would hit the pause button on rate hikes if he was the Federal Reserve Chair. "Don't hike until you see the whites of inflation's eyes."

--With assistance from Doni Holloway.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tim Andreacci at tandreacci@bloomberg.net

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