Cam Harvey: Through the Noise
Fuqua economist Campbell Harvey gives his insights on pressing topics within the worlds of economics and finance.
Episodes
SpaceX - Buyer Beware
The average investor was excluded from the explosive upside when SpaceX was a private company. That upside was reaped by “accredited” investors The average investor is largely excluded from the IPO allotment - a few crumbs were thrown. Now, the average investor is faced with investing at $170. Academic studies show that the long-term returns of IPOs in excess of reasonable benchmarks like the S&am
Why Retail Can't Touch Private Markets
In this episode of Through the Noise, Cam Harvey unpacks one of finance's most consequential and least understood rules: who counts as a "qualified investor." In the US, the label has nothing to do with knowledge or credentials. It comes down to wealth. Cam traces the rule to the 1929 crash and the Securities Act of 1933, explains why its costly disclosure regime made sense then, an
Who Really Wins in the SpaceX IPO?
A $1.75 trillion IPO is about to hit the market, and the mechanics behind it could leave retail investors holding the bag. In this episode of Through the Noise, Cam Harvey breaks down how SpaceX's Nasdaq debut triggers a wave of forced index-fund rebalancing, and why recently waived listing rules amplify the distortion. With only 4% of shares trading freely, a little-known Nasdaq provision co
The SpaceX IPO Trap for Retail Investors
In this episode of Through the Noise, Cam Harvey unpacks his newly published Financial Analysts Journal paper, "Fundamental Growth," and applies its lessons to the most anticipated IPO of the year: SpaceX. Cam explains why traditional value and growth indices misclassify stocks, leaving investors exposed to expensive, low-growth names. He then turns to the mechanics of the SpaceX offerin
What’s Going on with World Liberty Financial
In this episode of Through the Noise, Cam Harvey returns to dive deeper into the rapidly expanding stablecoin landscape. Building on the previous discussion of Tether (USDT) and Circle (USDC), Cam unpacks USD1 - the World Liberty Financial stablecoin connected to the Trump family. He explores why nearly every major financial institution is launching a stablecoin, the critical distinction between c
Banks Are Terrified of Stablecoins
While bitcoin and dogecoin grab headlines, a far less flashy corner of crypto has quietly overtaken Visa and Mastercard in annual transaction volume. In this episode of Through the Noise, Cam Harvey walks Robert Olinger through stablecoins - dollar-pegged tokens that settle in seconds for pennies instead of days for dollars. Cam unpacks how Circle's USDC actually works, why the model is struc
The END of Banking and Why Your Savings Account Earns NOTHING
Why does your savings account earn essentially zero while money market funds pay nearly 4%? In this episode of Through the Noise, host Robert Ollinger sits down with Duke finance professor Cam Harvey to unpack the massive gap between bank deposit rates and market yields - and why giants like Chase pay just 0.01% APR on savings deposits. Harvey explains how large banks exploit market power to maxim
Is There ANYWHERE Safe to Put Your Money?
In this episode of Cam Harvey's Through the Noise, host Robert Olinger sits down with finance professor Cam Harvey to examine whether truly safe assets still exist in today's turbulent global economy. With US debt at $39 trillion and geopolitical uncertainty rising, institutional investors are rethinking their allocations. Harvey unpacks the real story behind China's shifting Treasu
The Debt Bomb Ticking Toward 2033
Is America's national debt a slow-moving crisis hiding in plain sight? In this episode of Through the Noise, Duke finance professor Campbell Harvey breaks down why the U.S. debt is far larger than headlines suggest - closer to $39 trillion once Social Security obligations are counted - and why politicians have little incentive to act before 2033, when the Social Security Trust runs dry. Harve
The Four Horsemen of Technological Disruption
Cam Harvey reveals why AI is just one piece of a much larger puzzle. In this episode, he outlines four simultaneous technological disruptions — artificial intelligence, quantum computing, decentralized technologies, and multiomics — arguing that nothing in history compares to having all four converge at once. Harvey explains why AI productivity gains are imminent in 2026, how quantum computing wil
Why Executives Are Dangerously Wrong About AI's Impact
The latest CFO Survey, directed by The Fuqua School of Business in partnership with the Federal Reserve Banks of Richmond and Atlanta, suggests AI won't meaningfully shrink payrolls. In this episode, Professor Harvey argues that CEOs and CFOs are dramatically underestimating AI's reach. The real disruption isn't replacing clerks; it's AI rewriting code for security and speed, r
AI and the Decoupling of Jobs from Economic Growth
What if working fewer hours coincided with stronger economic growth?New labor data reveals a puzzling trend: employment is being revised downward even as the economy keeps growing. Professor Harvey explores whether AI is the variable that can help us understand that divergence.The conversation moves beyond the familiar narrative of job displacement to examine a structural shift in how AI functions
The Seven Risks of the Iran War
The war in Iran is being treated by financial markets as a systemic event rather than a local conflict.In this episode, Professor Harvey outlines a framework for understanding that distinction. He distinguishes between geographically contained wars and those that intersect with critical nodes of the global economy. Iran sits at the center of energy transit routes, regional trade networks, and broa
How Markets Absorb Geopolitical Shock
Geopolitical events test how quickly and efficiently markets incorporate risk. When news of military action in Iran broke outside traditional trading hours, investors responded immediately in alternative venues.This episode examines three economic linkages. First, the role of gold as a safe-haven asset and how 24/7 trading in tokenized gold provides real-time price discovery when conventional mark
Tariffs as National Risk Management
Tariffs are typically recognized as a tax. But that framing assumes the only objective is efficiency.Since China’s entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001, the balance of global manufacturing power has shifted dramatically. Where the United States once dominated, it now depends on foreign supply in strategically important sectors. In an era of supply chain fragility and strategic uncertain
Why Bitcoin Is Not the New Gold
Bitcoin is often described as “digital gold.” Both are presented as inflation hedges with supply constraints beyond the control of any single government. But do they serve the same economic function? In this episode, Duke finance professor Campbell Harvey argues that Bitcoin’s extreme volatility and structural risks undermine its claim to safe-haven status. He examines the deeper differences betw
What the New Fed Chair Signals About Monetary Policy
What does the nomination of a new Federal Reserve chair signal about the future direction of U.S. monetary policy?Professor Harvey uses the announcement as a lens to examine a deeper question inside central banking. He explains how prediction markets anticipated the decision, then draws a clear distinction between crisis intervention and ongoing economic fine-tuning. While aggressive Fed action ca
Gold's Wild Week: Why Prices Surged then Fell 11%
Gold prices moved sharply in late January 2026, surging past $5,500 before dropping 11% in a day. The swing ranks among the largest single-day moves in decades.In the latest episode of Through the Noise, Prof Campbell Harvey explains the trading dynamics behind the reversal, showing why the episode reflects a rapid correction following an extreme run-up rather than a change in underlying fundament
Gold’s Strength Reflects a Changing World
Why have gold prices hit an all-time high, and what’s driving demand for gold now?In this episode of Cam Harvey: Through the Noise, Duke Fuqua finance professor Campbell Harvey explains the forces behind the recent surge in gold prices. Cam breaks down why gold supply is uniquely constrained, how its decentralized global production supports its role as a safe haven asset, and why gold has preserve
Understanding the Impact of Interest Rates
In this episode of Cam Harvey: Through the Noise, Duke Fuqua finance professor Campbell Harvey joins Assistant Dean Robert Olinger to clarify how interest rates are determined, and why long-term rates matter far more for the economy than short-term moves by the Federal Reserve.Cam argues that today’s rate environment is shaped less by Fed policy and more by deep structural forces. From rising U.S.
Federal Reserve Independence and the Evolution of Monetary Policy
How independent should the Federal Reserve be as its role in the economy continues to expand?In the latest episode of Through the Noise, Duke Fuqua professor Cam Harvey examines how modern monetary policy has evolved and what that means for central bank independence, credibility, and long-term economic growth.
Is Today’s AI Boom Another Tech Bubble? Lessons from 1999
Are markets experiencing another tech bubble, or is this time fundamentally different?In the first episode of Through the Noise, Cam Harvey, Professor of Finance at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, discusses today’s market environment through the lens of the late-1990s tech boom. Joined by Robert Olinger, Assistant Dean at Fuqua, Harvey draws on his firsthand experience from 1999 to ass
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