From Bad to Less Bad: A Quantitative Approach to Turnarounds | Bloomberg Indices’ Steve Hou on “Reformers Index,” Baumol Disease, and Structural Inflation

Today's episode is brought to you by Teucrium. Learn more at: https://bit.ly/4gfI0fe In this episode of Monetary Matters, Jack sits down with Steve Hou, Senior Quant Researcher at Bloomberg, to discuss the structural forces reshaping the global economy. Hou argues that we have entered a "structurally, modestly more inflationary regime" driven by five key forces: Decarbonization, Demographic aging, Deglobalization, Debt/Fiscal Dominance, and a secular rise in global Defense spending. The conversation explores the "Baumol Effect” and Mike Green’s theory of the poverty level.  Hou also provides a deep dive into his "Reformers Index," a quantitative strategy he is working on at Bloomberg Indices that ignores traditional "quality" stocks to find companies at a fundamental inflection point. By identifying firms moving from "bad to less bad,” such as Uber, Palantir, and Robinhood, Hou demonstrates how systematic fundamental momentum can outperform the broader market. Recorded December 12, 2025. Follow Steve Hou on Twitter https://x.com/stevehou Follow Steve Hou on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-hou-001/ Follow Jack Farley on Twitter https://x.com/JackFarley96 Follow Monetary Matters on: Apple Podcast https://rb.gy/s5qfyh Spotify https://rb.gy/x56dx5YouTube https://rb.gy/dpwxez