Economy & Business

Some new research out today by the Wells Fargo Investment Institute points to some significant differences in investment behavior between generations. For Gen Xers and millennials, the looming specter of the financial crisis is causing them to be more conservative with their portfolios.

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Walmart and Amazon represent two sides of the U.S. economy locked in a bitter feud — brick-and-mortar stores versus online retail. We think of Amazon as the upstart in all of this and Walmart as the stalwart, but there are signs that might be changing.

With the acquisitions Walmart is making, who's the real threat to whom in this retail tussle? 

Josh Brown, the CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, joined us to talk about both of the companies' strategies and which company could pull ahead. Below is an edited transcript. 

Two of the world's biggest tech companies, Alibaba and Tencent, are from China. With both having either recently released their quarterly earnings or preparing to, we'll take a look at how they're trying to expand their growth. Afterwards, we'll chat with Rashad Robinson, executive director at Color of Change, about the action that tech groups should take when their users include white supremacist groups.

Since the events in Charlottesville this past weekend, companies have been making a point to say they will not support white supremacists on their platforms. Airbnb was ahead of most when it kicked off customers who were renting in the area to attend the rally.

Discover Financial Services is ending merchant agreements with what it deems as hate groups, while Visa and Mastercard are taking a similar stand. On today's show, we'll take a look at how big of a step this is toward limiting funding for hate groups. Afterwards, we'll discuss Steve Bannon's interview with Prospect Magazine, in which he said the U.S. is fighting an "economic war" with China. Then we'll talk about the ongoing rivalry between Walmart and Amazon, which represents two sides of the U.S. economy: brick-and-mortar versus online sales.

Three big words in tech news today: original video content. Apple is reportedly making a big push into the business with a $1 billion plan to stream its own shows on its Apple TV and Apple Music platforms. The tech giant joins an increasingly crowded field, competing with the likes of Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, not to mention traditional cable channels like HBO.

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The violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, this past weekend and the president's many responses have brought a whole bunch of things in this society and this economy to the surface. One of the big things is America's issues with race and racism. That can be troubling to think about and sometimes hard to talk about, but it doesn't mean it's not an important conversation that's impacting our culture.