It was all eyes on the US Federal Reserve as markets cheered the Labor Department's report that its consumer price index (CPI) climbed 7.1 percent in November from a year ago, sharply down from 7.7 percent in October. "The numbers were phenomenal," said DICK BOVE, chief financial strategist at Odeon Capital Group. "The markets loved it." On this episode BOVE will address how he sees the Fed responding with a view to further interest rate increases.  MAT VAN ALSTYNE, Odeon co-founder and managing partner, describes the slowing pace of price rises as amazing, breaking down the numbers.

Elsewhere, the Conversation picks up on research by BOVE about the threat to American economic and political dominance on the world stage from China, Russia and its allies. VAN ALSTYNE disagrees with BOVE's thesis that America's "hegemony" has been blunted. JOHN AIDAN BYRNE argues that ultimately economic strength and productive independence is the key in large measure to a nation's world standing. The Conversation examines plunging fertility rates in the West and what that augurs for national economies and future prosperity. In a wide-ranging discussion on immigration. BOVE shares his story of a Cuban refugee who fled to Florida from Cuba after a brutal experience in his homeland and a nightmare journey to freedom. Finally, there's Sam Bankman-Fried.

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