This topic-packed CONVERSATION opens on a favorite theme, the peaking in US inflation with the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers in the spotlight. Consumer prices overall rose 0.1 percent in August compared with July when prices stayed flat. The 12-month inflation rate last month dropped to just 8.3 percent, down from 8.5 percent in July. That was higher than many economists had expected. Core CPI rose 0.6 percent in August, double the rise in July. According to Moody's Analytics, the average American household is spending $460 more per month compared with a year ago for the same basket of goods and services. Still, DICK BOVE, chief investment strategist at ODEON CAPITAL GROUP, says all the latest data confirms that inflation is peaking. "It went in the right direction, " he says. MAT VAN ALSTYNE, ODEON co-founder and managing partner, agreed, noting that the CPI is a lagging indicator. VAN ALSTYNE nevertheless lays out a scenario in which the Fed could reverse course on its present campaign to tame inflation with a succession of interest rate rises.

The CONVERSATION learns from BOVE about the sharply different strategies by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley in the face of the recession anticipated by many on Wall Street. "It is going to be a tough period ahead for us," BOVE says, referring to the general population. "People are going to lose their jobs." When the CONVERSATION turns to the housing market, JOHN AIDAN BYRNE presents the bullish forecast of one realtor in New Jersey despite the rise in mortgage rates. BOVE picks it up.