In this week's episode of the Macrocast, hosts Ylan Mui, John Fagan, and Brendan Walsh are joined by Matt Dell Orfano, Discovery Capital senior analyst and professor at Columbia Business School. The group sheds light on holiday shopping activity and its wider impact on the economy, specifically highlighting changes in pricing and shifts in consumer behavior. The group unpacks credit card usage and debt, and how they're reshaping consumer financing. They cite the steady rise in aggregate credit card debt and discuss how fluctuating wages and inflation could skew future consumer spending habits. The group also discusses the potential repercussions of a Fed policy misstep and the need for small businesses to have adequate access to financing.