The rise of the private asset

Summary

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Marketplace Morning Report

Episode Title: The rise of the private asset
Date: November 5, 2025
Host: David Brancaccio

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Episode Overview

In this concise edition of Marketplace Morning Report, David Brancaccio brings listeners up to speed on the intersection of market news, labor dynamics, agriculture, and the evolving world of private investment. Amidst a historic federal government shutdown, the episode addresses the impact on public data, recent trends in the labor and agricultural sectors, and shifts in the financial system as private assets become more accessible to everyday investors. Key economic insights include the limitations and risks of private investments, regulatory differences between public and private markets, and how these changes could affect retirement savers and the broader financial landscape.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Labor Market Amidst Federal Shutdown

• The longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history has delayed the release of critical job data, shifting focus to private-sector reports.

  • Private ADP payroll report for October showed a better-than-expected job increase: 42,000 more people on payrolls, ending a three-month downturn.
  • Nancy Marshall Genser reports grim labor news:
    • Indeed’s job posting index fell to its lowest since Feb 2021.
    • Advertised wages slipped 0.8% year over year.
    • Nearly 1 million job cuts reported YTD; government jobs saw a heavy loss (almost 300,000).
    • Seasonal retail hiring expected to be the weakest since the 2009 recession.

  “Seasonal retail hiring this year will hit its lowest point since 2009, when we were in a recession.”
  — Nancy Marshall Genser (02:37)

• Air traffic controllers are working unpaid, causing delays. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warns of possible “mass chaos” if the shutdown persists (02:58).

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2. Farmer Sentiment and Agricultural Outlook

• Purdue University's latest survey shows agricultural mood is somber, especially for those growing row crops.

  • Crop prices (soybeans, wheat, corn) are relatively depressed due to ongoing trade wars, while costs for seeds, fertilizer, and farmland have surged.
  • Conversely, livestock producers are experiencing record highs, mainly due to a historically small cattle herd and high beef prices in 2025.

  “Crop producers were down in the dumps in October, but livestock producers were telling a different story…”
  — Savannah Peters (04:02)

• The contrast is the largest since the survey started 10 years ago, indicating growing disparity within the agricultural sector.

• Both crop and livestock farmers anticipate a federal aid package to offset trade war damages.

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3. The Rise of Private Investment

• Private investments (i.e., private equity, private credit, and funds not traded on public exchanges) are gaining popularity and may soon be allowed in common tax-advantaged retirement accounts due to regulatory shifts from the Trump administration (05:49).
• London Stock Exchange launches indexes to track private investment funds.
• The episode explores the difference between public (regulated) and private (less regulated) markets:
  • Public companies must regularly disclose financial data; private firms do not.

  “What we really should call the two different parts of the financial system are regulated and unregulated.”
  — Lenore Palladino, UMass Amherst (06:29) “Private firms, they are not required to disclose nearly any information publicly. And we as the public can only see information about what’s happening in the private markets at the aggregate level.”
  — Savannah Peters (06:54)

• Investor risk:
  • Private firms are still subject to anti-fraud rules, not a total “Wild West”, but lack transparency.
  • Private credit and lending have surged post-2008 as banks face stricter lending criteria.

  “Staying out of the public eye can allow companies to think a bit more long term, rather than focusing on quarterly results.”
  — Henry Epp (07:32)

• Liquidity concerns:
  • Private investments are harder to access quickly ("illiquid"), making risk higher for retirement savers.

  “If one has one’s money tied up in something that is illiquid very long term, it can make it very hard to access that money in a quick period…”
  — Josh Lerner, Harvard (08:29)

• Warning from big banks:
  • Jamie Dimon (JPMorgan Chase CEO) warned that private credit excesses could be dangerous, even as his bank has invested heavily in the area.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker & Quote | | --- | --- | | 02:37 | Nancy Marshall Genser: “Seasonal retail hiring this year will hit its lowest point since 2009, when we were in a recession.” | | 03:47 | Stephen Nicholson (via Savannah Peters): “The trade war… has pushed commodity prices down while costs go up." | | 04:14 | Michael Langemeyer: "It's the largest difference we've seen since we started this survey 10 years ago by quite a bit." | | 06:29 | Lenore Palladino: “What we really should call the two different parts of the financial system are regulated and unregulated.” | | 06:54 | Savannah Peters: “…private firms, they are not required to disclose nearly any information publicly. And we as the public can only see information about what’s happening in the private markets at the aggregate level.” | | 07:32 | Henry Epp: “Staying out of the public eye can allow companies to think a bit more long term, rather than focusing on quarterly results.” | | 08:29 | Josh Lerner: “If one has one’s money tied up in something that is illiquid very long term, it can make it very hard to access that money in a quick period…” | | 08:47 | David Brancaccio: “Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase publicly warned about the dangers of private credit going kablooey after his own bank had invested $50 billion in such unregulated lending.” |

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:27 — Labor market update during federal shutdown
• 01:58 — Detailed labor and wage trends; government and retail job cuts
• 03:36 — Agricultural sector report: crop and livestock producer sentiment
• 04:37 — Diverging fortunes in agriculture; government aid expectations
• 05:49 — Introduction to private asset investment, regulatory context
• 06:24 — Differences between public and private financial markets
• 07:32 — Long-term focus of private companies; rise in private lending
• 08:29 — Liquidity risks and implications for retirement investors
• 08:47 — Warnings on risks in the private credit market

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Episode Tone and Language

The tone remains informative and accessible, with a touch of urgency and skepticism regarding economic vulnerabilities exposed by the shutdown and shifts in private finance. Brancaccio and his Marketplace colleagues ground the narrative in current statistics, expert opinion, and direct, punchy language, helping listeners understand both the opportunities and pitfalls of recent developments.

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Transcript

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[David Brancaccio]

They don't get a Vince Lombardi trophy for this, but it is now the longest federal shutdown in U.S. history. David I'm David Brancaccio in Los Angeles. In lieu of government jobs data that would have come later this week but won't because of the government shutdown. The private ADP payroll report for October just came in stronger than expected. Went up for the first time in three months. 42,000 more people getting paychecks is not a lot of job creation, but it is something Marketplace's Nancy Marshall Genser has more.

[Nancy Marshall Genser]

We were supposed to get the Job Openings and Labor Turnover or Jolts survey from the Labor Department yesterday. Of course we didn't because of the government shutdown. We do have new data from the job site. Indeed. It's not great news. Indeed's Job Posting Index tracks online job ads. It fell to the lowest level since February of 2021. Indeed also says advertised wages have slipped 8. 10 of a percentage point from the same time last year. There's more grim news from the outplacement firm Challenger Gray and Christmas. It says there have been almost a million job cuts so far this year, with the government sector losing almost 300,000 positions. Tech companies and retailers also announced job cuts, even though this is traditionally when stores bulk up on hiring for the holidays. In fact, Challenger Gray and Christmas says seasonal retail hiring this year will hit its lowest point since 2009, when we were in a recession. I'm Nancy Marshall Genzer for Marketplace.

[David Brancaccio]

Also with the shutdown, air traffic controllers are not getting paid, leading to staffing problems and delays and canceled flights. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says if the shutdown gets to early next week, he expects what he calls mass chaos that could force officials to close parts of US Airspace to airplanes. You can argue the economy is a collection of moods. It's about whether, say, consumers or CEOs or home builders are feeling up or down about their economic prospects. Purdue University has a fresh measure of sentiment in the agriculture sector. Marketplaces Savannah Peters reports now is not.

[Savannah Peters]

A great time to be farming row crops. Think soybeans, wheat and corn prices are.

[David Brancaccio]

Relatively depressed from where they were over the last several years, thanks mainly to.

[Savannah Peters]

The trade war, says Stephen Nicholson, a grain and oil seed strategist for Rabobank. Meanwhile, the cost of inputs like seeds, fertilizer and land has surged.

[Nancy Marshall Genser]

Just very difficult to make any money.

[David Brancaccio]

In that business right now.

[Savannah Peters]

And that's reflected in Purdue's latest read on farmer sentiment. Crop producers were down in the dumps in October, but livestock producers were telling a different story than those who grow row crops.

[David Brancaccio]

It's the largest difference we've seen since we started this survey 10 years ago by quite a bit.

[Savannah Peters]

Michael Langemeyer runs Purdue's survey. He says a historically small US cattle herd and high beef prices in 2025 are driving record for cattle ranchers and those producers. Good mood was enough to lift the entire index.

[David Brancaccio]

It makes the ag policy very, very.

[Savannah Peters]

Difficult when it comes to financial relief for farmers who've been hurt by the trade war. And in this tale of two ag economies, one thing the survey respondents agree on is that an aid package is likely coming. I'm Savannah Peters for Marketplace.

[Henry Epp]

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[David Brancaccio]

Are you willing to invest in companies and other assets that don't have to tell you all that much about what's going on with their financials? Well, many are. It's called private investment. It's used used to be for the richest investors in position to take the hit if those investments went wrong. But the Trump administration is trying to make it easier to add private investments to common tax protected retirement accounts. And now a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange has launched a series of indexes to track private investment funds. Public companies versus Private investment Here's Marketplace's Henry Epp There are two parts to.

[Henry Epp]

The financial system, public and private. But in UMass Amherst Professor Lenore Palladino's.

[Savannah Peters]

View, what we really should call the two different parts of the financial system are regulated and unregulated.

[Henry Epp]

On what she calls the regulated side are public companies whose shares are traded on stock exchanges. They're required to tell investors all kinds of things about their business. Banks, too, are subject to regulations around the deposits they hold and the loans they make. But private firms, they are not required.

[Savannah Peters]

To disclose nearly any information publicly. And we as the public can only see information about what's happening in the private markets at the aggregate level.

[Henry Epp]

That can make it harder for investors to know what kinds of risks might lie in private investments, though, private firms do have to play by some rules, says Arthur Laby, a professor at Rutgers Law School.

[David Brancaccio]

All securities, all debt and equity sales, regardless of whether they are public or private, are still subject to the general anti fraud rules of the federal securities laws. So it's not as if the private markets are the Wild West.

[Henry Epp]

Staying out of the public eye can allow companies to think a bit more long term, rather than focusing on quarterly results. Private firms have also started doing more lending, especially since new federal rules were placed on banks in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, says Josh Lerner at Harvard Business School, it became increasingly.

[David Brancaccio]

Hard for banks to lend to smaller and riskier companies.

[Henry Epp]

Private credit firms have filled the void by lending out investors money, says Evan Gunter, who focuses on private markets at S and P Global Ratings. For borrowers, there's fewer parties involved in the negotiation for that debt, so the debt can be more tailored to meet their own specific needs, though they usually pay higher interest. Investors in private credit, meanwhile, receive a higher yield, but the investment isn't liquid, says Josh Lerner at Harvard. If one has one's money tied up.

[David Brancaccio]

In something that is illiquid very long term, it can make it very hard to access that money in a quick.

[Henry Epp]

Period, something more people might experience if they invest retirement funds in private assets, as the Trump administration is moving to allow. I'm Henry AP for Marketplace.

[David Brancaccio]

And this summer, the CEO of the biggest bank, Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, publicly warned about the dangers of private credit going kablooey after his own bank had invested $50 billion in such unregulated lending. I'm David Brancaccio. This is the Marketplace Morning Report from apm, American Public Media.

[Amy Scott]

Imagine a future where chocolate and coffee are rare and expensive, where cheap nutritional staples like corn and wheat are threatened. Sounds unpleasant, doesn't it? Well, we could be heading there if we don't recognize that the climate crisis is also a food crisis.

[David Brancaccio]

I've seen yields drop because of drought, and believe me, boy, have I seen them drop. We have had dry spells that have lasted years.

[Amy Scott]

I'm Amy Scott. This season on how we survive, we investigate how the climate crisis is threatening our most vital food systems and how scientists are racing to develop alternatives that will shape the future of the food. Listen to this season of How We Survive on your favorite podcast.

[Savannah Peters]

Apparently.