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Eddy Vataru, portfolio manager for the Osterweis Total Return Fund, says that with the Federal Reserve acknowledging this week that higher rates are coming -- even if it's not for 18 months -- and working to manage inflation, it's clear that the central bank is starting to change its tune on stimulus and quantitative easing to avoid future problems. He notes that up to now, the Fed has been playing with 'the same playbook' it has used in past downturns and crises, but that the current situation involves a faster snap-back and recovery period, and that the Fed's playbook has been amped up by aggressive stimulus, which he says needs to change to avoid future market problems. Also on the show, Howard Dvorkin, chairman of Debt.com, talks about how people can make the most of Amazon Prime Days next week without letting the urge to splurge get the best of them, Daniel Ashcraft of Gateway Investment Advisers talks about using covered-call strategies to get more consistent results during times of heightened volatility, and Lauren Hill, research analyst and portfolio manager at Westwood Investment Management talks large-cap stocks in the Market Call.

Doug Roberts, chief investment strategist for the Channel Capital Research Institute, says in the Big Interview that the Federal Reserve has made its plans clear, and that is that rates and inflation will rise in the next year or two, but they stopped short of any action that would make nervous investors leave the market now. He suggested that investors should stand pat with well-balanced, diversified portfolios as they wait for the paths of rates and inflation to become more clear. Also on the show, Tom Lydon of TFTrends.com makes a unique precious metals fund his 'ETF of the Week,' Ted Rossman of CreditCards.com discusses how Americans are preparing to overextend themselves, raising credit card balances in the process as they unleash their unfulfilled desires of the last 16 months. In the Market Call, James Abate of the Centre Funds -- portfolio manager of Centre American Select Equity (DHAMX) -- talks stocks.

Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute says that the big question dogging the market right now is whether the recent spike in inflation is transitory or longer lasting. He sees inflation staying high for most of the rest of 2021 before normalizing, meaning that the market's growth in 2022 is not likely to be curtailed by rising prices. Also on the show, Brian Gahsman of the AlphaCentric Robotics and Automation Fund talks stocks in the Market Call, and Chuck discusses this week's column, where he gives you three reasons for optimism and three more for pessimism given current market conditions.

Duane McAllister, portfolio manager for the Baird Funds, says that the Federal Reserve is likely to sustain its inflation projections but says that he doesn't expect interest rates to spike as inflation goes up, citing strong international demand and other factors as keeping rates in check. Also on the show, Jim Welsh of Smart Portfolios talks technical analysis, noting that he sees the market taking a 7 to 10 percent downturn over the next few months before proving that drop to be a buying opportunity based on a rebound in the fourth quarter, Jill Gonzalez of WalletHub.com discusses how coronavirus changed Americans' habits with rewards credit cards, and Oliver Pursche of Wealthspire talks exchange-traded funds in the Market Call.

Peter Berezin, chief global strategist and director of research at BCA Research, discusses the "Crypto Impossibility Theorem' -- which states that cryptocurrencies will only be viable if they can offer a higher return than stocks, and why he believes that won't happen, and will lead to struggles that distract the market and slow appreciation. In the long run, he expects interest in cryptocurrencies to diminish and the market to benefit as a result. Also on the show, Mike Brown of Expertise.com discusses the high percentage of consumers who bought insurance policies during the pandemic but now wish they hadn't made the purchase, Kyle Guske of New Constructs highlights the problems inherent to 'street earnings' in The Danger Zone, and Chuck answers an audience member's question about bond investments in a rising-rate environment.

Gargi Chaudhuri, head of investment strategy for iShares, says that while the reopening is driving growth right now, she expects capital expenditure and infrastructure spending to keep the economy rolling into and through 2022. She also notes that while the pandemic shutdown was a global event, the reopening is happening in pockets which will mean that different regions -- and industries -- will be coming back and gaining steam at different times, which should prolong the global recovery, although she notes that central bankers will have to act prudently to keep the underlying conditions primed for growth. Turning to technical analysis, Dan Zanger of ChartPattern.com sees nothing but bullish patterns and a breakout to new highs ahead, saying he expects the market to roll into the early summer before taking a breather come late July and August; even that respite, he said, will not stop the upward momentum. Also on the show, Bob Long, chief executive officer at Conversus, discusses how 'tender funds' can give investors access to private equity and smooth out portfolio performance, and we revisit a recent chat with Jason Thomas, chief economist at AssetMark.

Talley Leger, senior investment strategist at Invesco, recognizes the various tunes the market is humming over inflation, interest rates and other concerns, but he looks at earnings growth and valuations and is singing a different tune, Frank Sinatra's 'The Best is Yet to Come.' He explains why in the Big Interview. Also on the show, Tom Lydon of ETFTrends.com makes a fund based on a famous investment guru's strategy his 'ETF of the Week," Meredith Stoddard, vice president of life event planning at Fidelity Investments, discusses research on the financial, emotional, social and physical tolls that caregivers endure as they help their loved ones, and we revisit a recent Market Call interview talking exchange-traded funds with Chuck Self from iSectors.com

Kathy Bostjancic, chief US financial economist, says the current recovery 'is what we've been waiting for' and is a story of spending and pent-up demand tempered by a global supply shortage that is generating inflation and symbolizes the bumps in the road that should temper  consumers' enthusiasm. Bostjancic notes that getting supply and demand rebalanced could take a year or more, with the meantime being when inflation and interest rates could grow into a significant problem. Also on the show, Noland Langford of Left Brain Investment Research talks reopening plays, noting that 'The truth-teller will be the earnings and what the revenues have done a quarter or two past this,' portfolio manager Nate Velarde of  Chautauqua Capital Management discusses the areas where he thinks investors can develop long-term investment convictions now, and Aliza Vigderman of Security.org covers a new survey showing that more than 20 percent of Americans experience identity theft in the aftermath of a relationship breaking up.

Lawrence Kotlikoff, an economist and the founder of Maxifi.com, says that the current increase in inflation is nothing compared to what he fears is coming, which he said could be several years of the high single digits all the way up to hyperinflation levels. Kotlikoff says that investors need to factor what inflation will do to the ability of their financial nest egg to maintain purchasing power and fund a lengthy retirement. Also on the show, Leo Leydon of Financial Focus Advisory Services discusses technical analysis, noting that the market is looking like it is in a sideways pattern that could last for the summer, and David Snowball of MutualFundObserver.com talks mutual funds and notes that one hot, popular fund company looks to him like a train wreck that's on the track with unavoidable damage dead ahead.

Paul Gruenwald, chief economist at S and P Global Ratings says that the economy is being turned back on in the middle to late stages of the economic cycle, which is different from the standard exit from a downturn, raising questions about the impact and effectiveness of policy decisions going forward. Still, he remains constructive about the market, noting that the U.S. economy could come out of the pandemic without too much scarring, with reasonable growth rates -- much lower than current levels --with markets remaining reasonably calm as the economy gets sorted out. Also on the show, Minouche Shafik, director of London School of Economics and Political Science, discusses her new book, 'What We Owe Each Other: A New Social Contract for a Better Society,' and Christopher Zook, president of CAZ Investments, talks long-term thematic investing in the Market Call. 

Bob DiMella, co-head of municipal managers at MacKay Shields, discusses the surprise that muni bonds have been since the start of the pandemic, coming through what were expected to be tough times with superior performance among fixed-income investments and positioned to be a leader in the bond space amid rising interest rates and inflation in the future. Also on the show, Randy Anderson of the Griffin Capital Institutional Access Real Estate fund discusses the changing opportunities in real estate investing now, Brad Lamensdorf of the Lamensdorf Market Timing Report and the Ranger Equity Bear ETF talks technical analysis and why he dislikes financials and energy stocks right now, and Barry James of the James Advantage Funds talks about stocks -- and why he actually favors financial companies -- in the Market Call.

Barry Ritholtz, chairman of Ritholtz Wealth Management, says that the coronavirus pandemic and the current re-opening have economic parallels to what the United States experienced after World War II, noting that key industries and economic conditions will be changed forever. He believes that current concerns about inflation are overblown when viewed through a long-term lens, and expects economic stimulus -- funded at historically low rates for Treasury yields -- to continue to stoke expansion and recovery. Also on the show, Tom Lydon of ETFTrends looks at a new, actively managed fund for his ETF of the Week and Chuck Self, chief investment officer at iSectors, talks commodities ETFs and more in the Market Call.

Mark Travis, president of Intrepid Capital Management, says in the Market Call that there will be a battle going forward between the Federal Reserve and the marketplace and Treasury yields -- where various economic pressures will meet -- but that the brewing fight over rates and inflation have yet to negatively impact the stock market. It does have him looking at some securities and favoring their bonds over the stocks as he looks for 'compounders' that can grow in this environment. Also on the show, Jan Eeckhout, author of 'The Profit Paradox: How Thriving Firms Threaten the Future of Work,' Ken Tumin of  DeositAccounts.com on a survey of how people are putting record amounts into bank accounts despite payouts that amount to nothing, and Chuck takes an audience member's question on what to do with checks that she neglected to deposit in a timely fashion.

Dec Mullarkey, head of investment strategy at SLC Management, says that while inflation is rising, he doesn't expect it to reach the kinds of dangerous levels that could crash the stock market.  He notes that, historically, markets do well when inflation is under 4 percent, provided that spikes are avoided, which he believes the central banks globally will control. Still, he has tempered expectations for the future, noting that he expects stocks to return 5 to 7 percent in 2022. Also on the show, Washington Post columnist Michelle Singletary discusses her new book, 'What to Do With Your Money When Crisis Hits,,' and Peter Donisanu, president/chief financial strategist for Franklin Madison Advisors talks exchange-traded funds in the Market Call.

Jason Thomas, chief economist at AssetMark, says that individual investors are focusing too much on near-term risk management at the expense of their long-term goals, noting that anyone with time frames of five years or more can be confident that current concerns about inflation, rising interest rates and more will not cause long-run economic scarring. He believes that domestic markets will remain stronger than international markets, he suggests that governments and central banks are prepared to prop up economies against deep recessions and notes that America is well positioned for the future due to technology being such a key cornerstone to future growth. Also on the show, Kimberly Flynn of XA Investments discusses how financial firms should be developing new products overseas that will ultimately find an audience in the US, Vivian Tsai of the College Savings Foundation discusses research on how the pandemic has changed attitudes and savings/spending plans for future college students, and Scott Klimo of Saturna Capital and the Amana Fund talks stocks in the Market Call.

Terri Spath, founder and chief investment officer at Zuma Wealth, says the market seems to be in the middle of a correction now, with a choppy trend that is challenging investors' patience and judgment. She says investors are having a tough time determining if inflationary pressures are transient and temporary or if they represent real trouble, and she says that story will play out in the currency and cryptocurrency markets as well as in the bond market later this year. Also on the show, Tom Lydon of ETFTrends.com picks a core fund that takes a leveraged approach as his ETF of the Week, and Garvin Jabusch, chief investment officer for Green Alpha Advisors, talks about 'Next Economy Investing' in the Market Call.

Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research says that there are plenty of reasons for investors to be concerned about the stock market now, though he notes that since World War II the market has mostly avoided significant downturns in the month of June. He is not opposed to turning defensive and rotating into health care and consumer staples -- rather than retreating from potential troubles -- but he relies on stock market history as 'virtual valium,' a calming agent that reminds him that investors who get out of the market historically tend to do worse than investors who ride out the troubles. 'It is typically better to buy than bail,' he says, and he suggests that investors should be looking for things to be buying next, as the market gets volatile as the economy adjusts to reopening from the pandemic. Also on the show, Brian Dress of Left Brain Investment Research talks about how the changing market has the firm looking for more growth-at-a-reasonable-price picks,and that Salesforce.com looks great when evaluated that way now, and Chris Retzler of the Needham Small Cap Growth Fund talks small companies in the Market Call.

Axel Merk of Merk Investments says that the stock market is due for a correction, but not necessarily a bear market, noting that the economic recovery has gone far and that the reopening will fight some of the downward pressures. Merk says that while the market is seen as being 'different' right now, the traditional 'sell in May and go away' thinking might be in place, at least through Labor Day; he's been protecting profits and taking chips off the table but noted that he would not be going short the market now. Also on the show, Simon Zhen of MyBankTracker.com talks about just how much change Americans will stop to pick up, Chuck takes a question about travel insurance now, and David Barse of XOut Capital talks about stocks and enhancing indexes in the Market Call.

Market forecaster Harry S. Dent Jr. says the next stock market crash -- which he thinks could hit as early as the next six weeks -- will be a 50 percent decline in two to three months, but he says that the decline is a re-set needed to pass a bubble and that the carnage will be over by late in 2022 or 2023. 'The upside is limited, the downside is somewhere between 65 and 80 percent on stocks,' he says in an extended Big Interview. Dent says that Bitcoin has been 'the best leading indicator of the market,' and he notes that if Bitcoin's mid-April peak holds up -- and the crypto is down about 50 percent since then -- then the market would be due to start its significant fall by the end of June. Also on the show, David Trainer of New Constructs discusses a new and different way that some companies are hiding some troubling numbers from investors, and Chuck talks about the various forms of risk and how investors -- even nervous ones -- want exposure to all of them.

Economist Lacy Hunt of Hoisington Investment Management says that the economic rebound and recovery is peaking now, in terms of growth rates, and he believes that later in the year economic growth will be well below the pre-pandemic levels of 2019. He believes that the stimulus efforts will prove to be temporary help, but will leave behind debt that will lead the economy to 'death by slow strangulation.' Also on the show, Mark Asaro of Noble Wealth Management talks about how closed-end funds can be used to build a paycheck-replacement system for investors, and Eric Boughton of Matisse Capital Management discusses closed-end funds, master-limited partnerships and more in the Market Call.