What is earned wage access and who should regulate it – the states or the federal government? Should it be regulated as a loan or something else, and why does that matter? How has the Trump administration approached this product and what is Congress doing about it? Kevin Lefton, global general counsel of Stream, one of the country’s leading earned wage access providers, joins Bloomberg Intelligence’s Elliott Stein and Nathan Dean on this episode of the Votes and Verdicts podcast to discuss these and other questions. Lefton also discusses how he and Stream navigate political uncertainty and what earned wage access looks like in five to 10 years.

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The future of the US mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is discussed in depth in this episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s Votes and Verdicts podcast. BI's Ben Elliott speaks with Don Layton, former Freddie Mac CEO and JPMorgan vice chairman, about President Donald Trump’s push for a GSE stock offering and why such a transaction alone wouldn't constitute a meaningful exit from conservatorship. Layton examines whether release could be achieved before January 2029, the extensive groundwork around capital and policy that would need to come first, and the future of Treasury’s senior preferred stock and warrants. He also discusses which post-crisis reforms and taxpayer protections must survive, what can be accomplished administratively and whether conservatorship could become the permanent political equilibrium.

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Analysis of Anthropic’s litigation challenging its designation by the Department of War as a supply chain risk leads this episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s Votes and Verdicts podcast, recorded on Oct. 1. Matt Schettenhelm discusses that and what the “White House Accord on Super Intelligence” means for companies like Alphabet, Meta, Nvidia and OpenAI. Nathan Dean examines recent Federal Reserve rules that should improve capital-planning visibility for JPMorgan, Bank of America and other large banks. He also discusses the impact of SEC proposed rules concerning shareholder proposals and the definition of accredited investors. Jen Rie explores a pair of antitrust cases against Live Nation, and Andrew Silverman analyzes recent IRS guidance concerning ETFs.

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The legality of potential diesel export restrictions by the Trump administration leads this episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s Votes and Verdicts podcast, recorded Sept. 24. BI’s Justin Teresi discusses the issue and Oracle’s possible invocation of force majeure protections related to a Blue Owl-backed data center in New Mexico. Matt Schettenhelm examines Snap’s exposure to social media addiction litigation, while Holly Froum provides an update on a lawsuit by the NAACP against SpaceX over alleged Clean Air Act violations, with implications for the company’s $45 billion contract with Anthropic. Nathan Dean and Elliott Stein explore a Sept. 18 speech by Federal Reserve Vice-Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and its ramifications for bank stress tests and capital rules, as well as President Donald Trump’s ability to fire Fed Governor Michael Barr. Andrew Silverman explains proposed legislation to curtail the tax benefits of private placement life insurance products offered by Prudential, Zurich and others.

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The US Senate is considering legislation that would implement federal guidelines for colleges when it comes to governing student-athletes entering name, image, and likeness deals, cap fees for sports agents and create uniform eligibility and transfer rules. In this Sept. 17 episode of the Votes and Verdicts podcast, Chicago Atlantic Co-Head of Emerging Markets Peter Marber, Bloomberg Intelligence chief EM fixed-income strategist Damian Sassower and BI senior tax analyst Andrew Silverman detail how college sports became a multibillion-dollar business while athlete compensation trailed. The discussion traces the shift from scholarships and amateurism through the Supreme Court’s Alston ruling, NIL collectives and the House v. NCAA settlement, which opened the door to direct university payments. The three also examine whether athletes are employees of universities, how schools will fund the new revenue-sharing system and whether the richest programs will pull away further. Additionally, they talk about the Protect College Sports Act, which could put more than $2 billion of media rights tied to Fox, Disney, Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery under one federal framework.

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Prediction-markets litigation involving Kalshi, Robinhood and others has arrived at the Supreme Court’s doorstep. Elliott Stein’s analysis of that leads this episode of Bloomberg Intelligence’s Votes and Verdicts podcast, recorded on Sept. 10. He also shares his thoughts on litigation tied to President Donald Trump’s debanking claims against Capital One and lawsuits challenging New York City’s rent freeze for rent-stabilized apartments. Justin Teresi examines a remedies order in the DOJ’s antitrust case against Google over its ad-tech stack, as well as antitrust investigations of Nvidia and the beef industry. Matt Schettenhelm discusses a lawsuit challenging TikTok’s January announcement of a US venture.

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Gary Gensler, 33rd Chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (2021-25), professor of the Practice of Global Economics and Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management and co-host of the Power and Consequences podcast, joins a special crossover episode of Sustainability Currents and Votes and Verdicts to examine how the SEC can balance its three key mandates: investor protection, capital formation and fair, orderly and efficient markets. How should the commission weigh investor demands for climate disclosures against the cost to public filers? Do quarterly earnings reports drive market efficiency, or trading volatility? How do recent Supreme Court rulings (Slaughter, Loper Bright, West Virginia v. EPA) affect SEC rulemaking? BI analyst Nathan Dean and sustainable finance product manager Rob Du Boff discuss these topics and more.

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The details and implications of Meta’s $18 billion dollar settlement in social-media addiction litigation on Aug. 26 led Bloomberg Intelligence’s Votes and Verdicts podcast on Aug. 27. We also discussed Abbott’s $670 million settlement on Aug. 20 in cases alleging its baby formula caused necrotizing enterocolitis and what it means for Reckitt’s Mead Johnson, which faces similar claims. The team also looked at data center bans in New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas and what it means for hyperscalers such as Alphabet, Amazon.com and Microsoft. Valero, Marathon Petroleum and other refiners may record a small profit increase if the federal gas tax is suspended, which we think has a 40% chance of happening this year. Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook is likely to prevail in court if President Donald Trump tries to fire her again.

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

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