Wall Street Panics Over NYC Mayor, Layoffs at Bumble & BNPL Debt Hits Your Credit Score

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0:02:15 Welcome to Prof G Markets.
0:02:16 I’m Ed Elson.
0:02:18 It is June 26th.
0:02:20 Let’s check in on yesterday’s Market Vitals.
0:02:26 The major indices ended the day mixed as President Trump declared the Israel-Iran conflict,
0:02:27 quote, over for now.
0:02:31 The S&P neared its all-time high but ended the day just below it.
0:02:35 The Nasdaq rose 0.3%, driven by a 4% jump in NVIDIA.
0:02:38 That rally pushed the chipmaker to a record close.
0:02:40 And the Dow fell slightly.
0:02:46 BP’s shares rose 10% after the Wall Street Journal reported that Shell was in early talks
0:02:49 to acquire it, a claim that Shell later denied.
0:02:54 BP paired its gains on that news, but it still ended the day up more than 1.5%.
0:03:00 And meanwhile, the dollar fell to a fresh three-year low as investors turned their attention back
0:03:03 to the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate decision.
0:03:06 Okay, what else is happening?
0:03:12 In a stunning victory, 33-year-old socialist Zoran Mamdani is set to be the Democratic candidate
0:03:14 for mayor of New York.
0:03:19 Mr. Mamdani was running against former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who conceded the election late
0:03:25 on Tuesday night, and if he wins the mayoral election in November, he will be New York’s
0:03:27 first Muslim and South Asian mayor.
0:03:30 We did see some reactions from the markets.
0:03:37 Shares in New York City office REITs like Vornado and SL Green fell 7% and 6% respectively
0:03:41 on the news as investors react to the prospect of a socialist mayor in New York.
0:03:46 Meanwhile, leaders on Wall Street are very worried, with some executives saying they’re considering
0:03:49 moving their businesses and their families out of New York.
0:03:56 As for Mamdani’s platform, the agenda includes higher taxes on the wealthy, rent freezes, subsidized
0:04:00 housing, free bus service, and government-operated grocery stores.
0:04:08 So, just an incredible victory for Zoran Mamdani, and a potentially dramatic change for a city that
0:04:11 has long been known as the citadel of capitalism.
0:04:13 I mean, this is the home of Wall Street.
0:04:16 This is also the home of some of the wealthiest people in the world.
0:04:21 I think if you told anyone just a couple of years ago that a socialist would be the mayor
0:04:23 of New York City, they would not believe you.
0:04:28 But it appears that that will be the case next year, and it could have potentially big impacts
0:04:31 on the economy of the wealthiest city in America.
0:04:34 I think there are a lot of questions to think about.
0:04:38 I think the big one that I’d like to address is, how did we get here?
0:04:42 How did this young socialist rise to prominence?
0:04:46 And we’ll get Scott’s views in a moment, but I want to briefly share some of mine.
0:04:51 Beyond the politics, I think the first thing we need to understand about this guy is that
0:04:56 he is one of the most social media-savvy politicians we have ever seen.
0:05:00 I mean, he’s built a huge presence on TikTok and on Instagram.
0:05:03 He is a master of short-form content.
0:05:04 He’s gone on countless podcasts.
0:05:07 He’s created several videos that have gone viral online.
0:05:12 He is, in my view, one of the very few politicians who’s taking social media,
0:05:16 specifically short-form social media, very seriously.
0:05:21 He recognized the trend that TikTok is becoming the new TV, and he ran away with it.
0:05:40 And I think that tells us something about the direction of media and how it’s impacting
0:05:41 both business and politics.
0:05:45 Whether you’re running a political campaign or just a regular company,
0:05:50 if you’re not investing heavily into short-form social media, you’re going to lose.
0:05:55 And by the way, this would also explain why young voters showed up to this primary in record numbers.
0:06:00 Now, the other side of this is his message, which was all about affordability.
0:06:06 And I think that’s important because it highlights how young people see their economic situation right
0:06:06 now.
0:06:12 As we’ve discussed before, young people are uniquely screwed in this economy because of student debt,
0:06:17 because of a lack of income mobility, because of record high prices, both in the stock market
0:06:19 and in the housing market.
0:06:23 And many of those issues are especially pronounced in New York.
0:06:24 Take housing, for example.
0:06:31 In the past year, the monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment in New York has climbed more than 17%
0:06:34 to an average of more than $5,500.
0:06:36 That’s the average.
0:06:39 Meanwhile, vacancy rates just dropped to a record low.
0:06:41 So, this is a full-on housing crisis.
0:06:46 And then, a socialist comes along and says, “Hey, the system isn’t working.
0:06:48 I understand the issues.
0:06:52 Prices are crazy, so I’m going to do everything I can to bring down prices.
0:06:53 And we’ll start with rent.
0:06:54 What am I going to do?
0:06:56 I’m going to freeze rent.”
0:07:02 And in that context, I think it starts to make sense why young people in New York are attracted to him.
0:07:07 He hits on many of the economic issues that we’ve discussed on this podcast.
0:07:11 But does that say anything about the validity of his policies?
0:07:13 No, it doesn’t.
0:07:21 And in my view, yes, he is incredibly talented as a communicator, as a campaigner, and just overall
0:07:22 as a politician.
0:07:24 I think he’s pretty remarkable.
0:07:27 But I also think his policies are extremely misguided.
0:07:34 And we can go through them, but the two big errors for me are, one, the rent freeze, which will
0:07:38 ultimately just disincentivize construction and raise rents.
0:07:39 And this has been proven in the past.
0:07:43 And two, those government-run grocery stores.
0:07:48 And that is sort of the classic socialist mistake, where you reject the reality of markets.
0:07:54 And instead of regulating prices down, you just force them down, which will put many
0:07:56 smaller grocers out of business.
0:08:00 It will likely lead to monopolies, which would again lead to higher prices.
0:08:04 So I respect his abilities as a politician.
0:08:08 And I think he has energized young people in a way that is really incredible.
0:08:17 But I’m just not a fan of his policies, specifically the economics of his policies.
0:08:18 But that’s just my two cents.
0:08:22 Let’s hear from Scott, because I’m sure he has a lot to say on this as well.
0:08:26 Hey Scott.
0:08:27 Hey Ed, how are you?
0:08:28 I’m doing well.
0:08:30 Where on earth are you?
0:08:34 You look like you’re in a haunted house or maybe the circus.
0:08:36 What on earth is going on there?
0:08:38 It’s actually a pretty good description.
0:08:39 I’m at the Tate.
0:08:40 Oh, nice.
0:08:44 I’m at this big gala in London.
0:08:47 And my advice to you as a young single man, or…
0:08:48 Not single.
0:08:50 Or before you get…
0:08:53 Anyways, until you have kids, you’re single, as far as I’m concerned.
0:08:58 But don’t partner with someone who’s into culture, because you end up in shit like this,
0:08:59 where you can’t find a beer.
0:09:03 And everyone’s talking about art until they’re blue in the face.
0:09:05 So let’s get right into it.
0:09:07 What do you make of Zoran Mamdani’s win?
0:09:09 And what do you think it means for New York City?
0:09:11 Well, there’s no doubt about it.
0:09:13 It’s a tectonic shift, or it’s sort of a…
0:09:17 I mean, this is a sonic boom in the political landscape.
0:09:20 What’s interesting is he had more in common with Trump than people want to admit.
0:09:26 This was about affordability, complaining about high prices, and an embrace of new media and
0:09:26 tactics.
0:09:33 He ran an outstanding campaign, capturing a lot of social, whereas Cuomo was running TV ads.
0:09:38 In terms of the economics, I think, generally speaking, people are in favor of lower costs and
0:09:39 more housing.
0:09:42 The issue is, what’s the best way to get there?
0:09:49 And sort of universal childcare or, you know, I think that is a solid idea.
0:09:50 It’s been shown to have benefits.
0:09:56 In New York, I benefited from state-sponsored child development.
0:10:02 When my son was speech delayed, we had occupational therapists sponsored by the state of New York
0:10:05 come and help my son when he was three years old.
0:10:10 And I still feel very loyal to New York and felt better about paying those 13% incremental
0:10:10 taxes.
0:10:12 So I think that’s a solid idea.
0:10:15 Freezing rent does not work.
0:10:21 Rent control ends up suppressing new housing and discouraging development, which creates a
0:10:22 lack of supply.
0:10:26 The most ridiculous is state-run grocery stores.
0:10:31 So customer service from the DMV and fresh produce, merchandise by the IRS.
0:10:33 That’s just a ridiculously stupid idea.
0:10:37 If there’s one business you want the private sector to run, it’s grocery.
0:10:39 It’s a very low margin business to begin with.
0:10:45 And if you just scratch the surface, the majority of local grocery stores are run by immigrants,
0:10:46 a very low margin.
0:10:56 So, you know, some of these ideas go from bad to worse, but Ned, Ned, Ed, I think this is sort
0:11:02 of your generation basically making a statement that they’re set up with the status quo.
0:11:02 Yes.
0:11:04 And then something needs to change.
0:11:09 And this felt like the beginning of a small revolution where young people have said, look,
0:11:11 whatever you’re doing is not working.
0:11:13 And you can empathize with them.
0:11:15 He put on a master class in terms of a campaign.
0:11:20 You know, good luck with some of these policies.
0:11:23 I don’t think they’re going to get very far, but there’s no doubt about it.
0:11:25 This is a huge skift.
0:11:28 This is an earthquake in the political landscape.
0:11:34 What about the reactions that we’ve seen from some of the business leaders, people on Wall
0:11:34 Street?
0:11:37 A lot of people are saying, we have a socialist mayor now.
0:11:40 We don’t like that.
0:11:44 And a lot of people think that maybe the very wealthy are going to flee New York, especially
0:11:50 if he starts targeting them with an increase in income tax, if you’re making more than
0:11:50 a million a year.
0:11:52 What do you think of that?
0:11:54 Is that feasible?
0:12:01 Do you think we could see an actual exodus of rich people and also businesses out of New York City?
0:12:02 You know, it’s really hard to tell.
0:12:08 I mean, the two biggest REITs that have the most corporate office space in New York were down nine
0:12:13 and ten percent today because of the fear that corporations are going to move because of a
0:12:14 business unfriendly mayor.
0:12:19 Having said that, I think what we’ve seen from the Trump administration is the government has less
0:12:24 impact on the private sector than maybe we would think.
0:12:29 And also, I mean, here in London, you have seen over 10,000 people leave or decide to leave 10,000
0:12:36 millionaires because of the non-DOM tax proposals, which are going to substantially increase taxes
0:12:40 on quite a few wealthy people here.
0:12:42 And they are in fact leaving.
0:12:47 I’m a little less scared of that because at the end of the day, New York has the highest taxes
0:12:49 with the exception of California.
0:12:51 And the reason why is because it’s worth it.
0:12:53 I do think Manhattan is singular.
0:12:56 I think a lot of his policies will likely be tempered.
0:13:01 And while I can understand billionaires leaving Illinois and Chicago for Florida,
0:13:04 Manhattan still has so much going on.
0:13:06 It still attracts a ton of human capital.
0:13:06 It’s still singular.
0:13:11 It’s easily the best city in the world in terms of a crush of opportunity.
0:13:18 So unless he does a series of really stupid things, I think their fears are probably overblown.
0:13:23 I just think that New York is going to continue to attract the best human capital in the world.
0:13:27 And millionaires threatening to leave, whether they threaten to leave San Francisco,
0:13:29 whether they threaten to leave New York, I don’t know.
0:13:35 I think sometimes there’s a little bit more bark than bite around, oh, I’m moving.
0:13:38 I still think New York is going to remain singular.
0:13:42 So I guess I’m a little skeptical that all of a sudden there’s going to be an exodus.
0:13:46 New York still has the best food, the best nightlife.
0:13:48 And I don’t see any one mayor changing that.
0:13:48 Yeah.
0:13:51 I think the big question is, are you coming back to New York?
0:13:52 I’m coming back to the U.S.
0:13:56 And I love New York.
0:14:03 And a socialist mayor and state-owned grocery stores would never discourage me from coming back.
0:14:04 It won’t scare you off.
0:14:05 Okay.
0:14:08 As long as there’s more options to go out and get fucked up at 3:00 a.m.
0:14:10 than any place in the world, daddy’s in New York.
0:14:11 Okay.
0:14:12 That’s good to hear.
0:14:14 Well, enjoy the rest of your night.
0:14:19 Enjoy the circus or the haunted house or the Tate or whatever’s going on over there.
0:14:21 It actually looks quite fun.
0:14:24 I know you’re not having a great time, but it looks fun to me.
0:14:25 Well, it looks can be deceiving.
0:14:29 Trust me, Ed, if your girlfriend is into culture, break up now.
0:14:30 Just trust me on this.
0:14:31 Just break up now.
0:14:34 Find someone who’s into edibles and streaming media.
0:14:36 All right, brother.
0:14:37 I’m out.
0:14:37 Okay.
0:14:40 Take care.
0:14:42 Take care.
0:14:44 All stock reacted to major layoffs.
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0:18:26 We’re back with Prof G markets.
0:18:32 Shares in Bumble surged 26% yesterday after the dating app announced a major cost-cutting
0:18:32 plan.
0:18:36 They are going to lay off nearly a third of the workforce.
0:18:39 The move is expected to save the company roughly $40 million.
0:18:44 The company also said that the decision was not made lightly, but that it will “realign”
0:18:47 its operating structure to optimize execution.
0:18:55 So mass layoffs at Bumble, the stock is up, but this is coming at a pretty difficult time
0:18:55 for the company.
0:19:01 Ever since they went public back in 2021, the stock has fallen 92%.
0:19:06 And that’s not just investors going sour, that’s the business itself too.
0:19:13 Last quarter, Bumble lost more than 100,000 users and revenue fell 8% year over year.
0:19:20 Meanwhile, monthly churn has increased to more than 20%, meaning that one in five Bumble users
0:19:21 are not sticking around on the platform.
0:19:29 And this all might sound like a Bumble problem, and it is, but it’s also a dating app problem
0:19:30 in general.
0:19:37 In that same timeframe, Match Group, which owns Tinder and Hinge, has lost roughly 80% of its value.
0:19:40 It was worth nearly $50 billion in 2021.
0:19:44 Now it’s less than $8 billion, and again, the business is also in decline.
0:19:47 Last quarter, revenue fell 4% year over year.
0:19:51 So the question is, why is this happening?
0:19:54 Why are dating apps struggling to grow right now?
0:19:59 And so to answer that question, our producer Claire spoke with Anna Ivini,
0:20:02 the Associate Editor of Features at Mashable.
0:20:05 I do think it is multifaceted, and there are different things going on.
0:20:09 Certainly, consumer behavior is a big part of it, I think.
0:20:16 Bumble started in 2014, so it’s been 11 years since it came on the market, and Tinder was two
0:20:18 years prior in 2012.
0:20:24 And from what I’m hearing from daters, but also experts like matchmakers, I spoke to matchmakers
0:20:29 a few years last week about the movie Materialists, since that is about matchmaking.
0:20:34 And everyone from users to experts is saying that people are sick of dating apps.
0:20:39 They don’t meet quality people, or they don’t have quality matches.
0:20:41 It’s very gamified.
0:20:43 It is very superficial.
0:20:48 Before dating apps, people didn’t care if a match was six feet or over.
0:20:52 And now a lot of people are getting screwed in that respect.
0:20:54 So that is a huge part of it.
0:21:00 But I do think a big part of it is also that these companies, mainly Bumble and their rival,
0:21:02 Match Group, are public companies.
0:21:09 So they are beholden to their stockholders and to just make money, make more money each quarter.
0:21:15 And thus, what a lot of users have noticed is that a lot of good features that were free
0:21:19 when the app started, or maybe even five years ago, now they’re behind a paywall.
0:21:22 And that is a big issue that I’m hearing about as well.
0:21:26 And ultimately, I think daters are sick of using their phones a lot.
0:21:30 They might not know how to interact with new people without their phones.
0:21:35 But there is a huge appetite to meet potential suitors in person again.
0:21:39 Yeah. That last thing you said there is really interesting about not really knowing
0:21:43 how to interact with people without their phones. So I’m curious if you have any thoughts on
0:21:45 how… Are you Gen Z?
0:21:52 I’m a cusp. I’m 94. So I think by most definitions, that makes me like a tail end of millennial.
0:21:59 Right. I was just going to say, because I’m 98, so I’m technically early Gen Z. So for our
0:22:06 sort of generation that has kind of grown up online, how did the first chronically online
0:22:11 generation grow to reject these dating apps, do you think?
0:22:16 I think a lot of it had to do with Gen Z, like you said, growing up with this technology,
0:22:23 not developing the social skills. And I think dating apps do seem really convenient. You can
0:22:29 swipe anywhere on your couch, on the toilet, and a lot of people do. And there’s also the
0:22:34 COVID element of this all. A lot of Gen Z came of age during the pandemic and did not have that
0:22:41 opportunity to, say, meet in person, go out to bars, go out on dates. So I think this kind of
0:22:47 attributed to the social atrophy that people are experiencing. But at this point, we’re five years
0:22:55 away from 2020, and Gen Z is a little bit older. And we’ve seen the consequences of being too online.
0:23:02 It’s very clear in our politics and the way that social media is just a bummer to be on now for the
0:23:08 most part. And I think dating apps, it’s the same story. I think when you’re swiping, when you’re,
0:23:16 when the dating, when dating has become this very impersonal, superficial thing, I think people are
0:23:22 sick of it. And I think meeting in person at like speed dating events or bars or clubs, I think it’s
0:23:30 almost become vintage. And just like how like Y2K was a recent trend, again, only 20 years after it
0:23:37 happened. I think people do have that desire to go back to, how should I say this?
0:23:38 So return to human roots.
0:23:42 Yeah, they want to return to human roots. Like you said, they want to return to the social norms of
0:23:49 30 years ago, even if they did. Obviously, like Gen Z did not experience that as sentient
0:23:54 humans. And I think there is like a nostalgia for what they didn’t experience.
0:24:01 Right. And you mentioned you’re talking to matchmakers. What are you learning there? Is
0:24:01 that really on the rise?
0:24:07 I don’t have any statistics on whether matchmaking is on the rise. And it’s difficult when matchmaking
0:24:14 is so expensive. I spoke to one matchmaker and their base package starts at $5,900.
0:24:21 Yes. And that’s for three months of matchmaking. So that is pretty inaccessible for
0:24:28 the majority of people. But I do think there is this desire to have some help beyond an app.
0:24:35 An app’s not really helping people. So there is this desire for an expert. And each matchmaker I
0:24:40 spoke to, they describe themselves as community builders. So I think there is this yearning for
0:24:47 community. But also there is a barrier to entry in the U.S. because you need to pay so much money.
0:24:57 So it feels like we’re seeing just a growing divide in the quality of dating that people have access to
0:24:59 based on their level of wealth.
0:25:06 Oh, absolutely. I hear that the free versions of dating apps are so bad now because there’s so
0:25:11 many ads. There are features that they could have used, that they did use five years ago that now they
0:25:17 have to pay for. And the prices are just going up and up and up. And of course, it’s a subscription
0:25:23 model. Everything’s a subscription now. So it’s like you have to take out, you know,
0:25:26 you have a monthly expense for dating amongst everything else.
0:25:32 Well, I think the takeaway from Anna’s comments there is pretty clear. Dating apps are just becoming
0:25:39 a hellscape. And that’s why they’re in decline. That’s why people are not using them anymore.
0:25:45 And we’re even seeing it in the data. Among Gen Z, the youngest generation who are using these apps,
0:25:51 eight in 10 say they’re experiencing dating app burnout. And that is quite different from the other
0:25:57 generations. Among the overall population, 50% are meeting their partner online. And obviously,
0:26:04 that is a staggering number. But new surveys are showing that among Gen Z, that number is only 23%.
0:26:12 So slowly but surely, I think the young generation is waking up to the fact that these dating apps,
0:26:18 quite frankly, suck. And it’s a bad way to meet people. And Scott’s been talking about this for a long
0:26:24 time. I tend to agree with him. But I think what we’re seeing right now is the market is
0:26:30 beginning to reflect that. And so we’re seeing these declines and these issues at these dating app
0:26:38 companies, at companies like Bumble and Match Group. And they reflect the reality of dating life today,
0:26:44 which is it is not great.
0:26:50 It’s official. Buy now, pay later payments will now be included in your FICO score.
0:26:54 This is a new announcement from FICO, the largest consumer credit scorer in the country.
0:27:01 It’s also a seismic shift for the BNPL industry, which has operated for the most part independently
0:27:07 from these credit agencies. Prior to this, many BNPL offerings, such as the Pay-in-for product,
0:27:12 did not factor into FICO’s calculations. But now they do. So if you defaulted on your
0:27:20 BNPL-financed Coachella tickets, that will now be reflected in your FICO credit rating. Your FICO score
0:27:26 will go down. So this is kind of a big deal. And I think a question I’m asking is why is this
0:27:33 happening now? Why didn’t this happen earlier? Well, according to FICO, BNPL is at this point simply
0:27:40 too big to not cover it. 87 million Americans used buy now, pay later last year. And buy now,
0:27:47 pay later payment volume increased 20%. It’s also especially popular among Gen Z, 54% of whom say
0:27:52 they used it over the holidays last year to buy gifts. So FICO’s view is, you know,
0:27:58 this is so systemic now, everyone’s using it, that we have to keep track of it. And I think that’s fair.
0:28:04 But I also think it’s important to note what a blow this could be to the BNPL industry. Because as you
0:28:11 might remember, one of BNPL’s biggest promises when it first came onto the scene just a few years ago was
0:28:18 that it wouldn’t affect your credit score. Because for whatever reason, BNPL wasn’t credit. It was
0:28:25 something different, something closer to, say, debit. Or at least that is what the BNPL companies told us.
0:28:32 As Klarna’s CEO put it in the company’s F1 filing, Klarna is, quote, “the choice of a new generation,
0:28:39 one smart enough to avoid credit cards and banks.” And as Afterpay’s founder put it on the Prof G pod,
0:28:41 young people don’t like credit, they want something else.
0:28:49 We’re moving from a credit economy to a debit economy. You know, 90% of Afterpay’s customers use
0:28:58 a debit card, not a credit card. If you look at Visa’s latest numbers in May, credit card spend was
0:29:04 down negative 21% year-on-year growth, but debit card spend was up positive 12% year-on-year growth.
0:29:10 Now, this is a systemic change now, beyond the Millennial and Gen Z cohort, moving from a credit
0:29:18 economy to a debit economy. And, you know, to be able to build a brand that can, as a result of the
0:29:23 core product you offer, say to that consumer, that next-generation consumer, like, I get you,
0:29:29 I understand your preferences, and I’m always there to be a win-win for you and to be in your favor.
0:29:36 Josh. So, the messaging from Buy Now, Pay Later, and particularly from Afterpay was clear,
0:29:41 which is that the credit card companies are bad, and we’re going to offer you something new.
0:29:48 So, instead of using credit to buy those Coachella tickets, why not just buy them now and pay for
0:29:55 them later? And that all sounded great, and BNPL exploded, but then you think about it for a second,
0:30:02 and you realize, hold on, that is literally the definition of credit. I mean, credit lets you buy it now,
0:30:09 a loan, and then you pay for it later. It’s the exact same thing. And this has been my big issue
0:30:16 with the Buy Now, Pay Later industry, because it was marketed to us, and to young people in particular,
0:30:22 as an alternative to credit. But what became obvious very quickly is that there is no difference between
0:30:30 them. It is credit, but repackaged and rebranded as something else. And what was so problematic is that
0:30:36 many young people didn’t realize that. And so, these services emboldened them to spend money
0:30:43 they didn’t have. Nearly two-thirds of BNPL loans went to borrowers with either subprime credit or deep
0:30:49 subprime credit. And as we saw in Klarna’s most recent earnings, losses more than doubled this year due to
0:30:56 a surge in defaults. And so now, FICO is coming out and saying, “Hey, remember all those Buy Now,
0:31:01 Pay Later payments that you made kind of recklessly because, you know, you didn’t really think it was
0:31:05 credit, or you thought it was something different, or maybe you thought it wasn’t going to affect your
0:31:11 credit score. Well, we’ve looked at it, we’ve assessed it, it is credit, and it will affect your credit
0:31:18 score.” And for those of us who understood what BNPL really was, this was obviously going to happen. But the
0:31:24 trouble is for the people who didn’t. And it’s not their fault, because a lot of these companies were
0:31:30 very slippery about what it was they were actually selling. And as a result, I think we can expect that
0:31:37 the credit scores of millions of young people around the country are about to drop even further.
0:31:43 Because suddenly, all of those BNPL defaults, which they thought were going to be inconsequential,
0:31:51 suddenly, they’re about to come due. So I hope that this can be the conclusion to the BNPL credit
0:31:58 conversation. FICO has confirmed for us, yes, Buy Now, Pay Later does affect your credit score. And if that is
0:32:03 the case, then I hope that we can all agree, despite everything these companies have told us,
0:32:09 that yes, Buy Now, Pay Later is credit. So if you’re worried about debt, if you’re worried about loans,
0:32:15 if you’re worried about defaults, all the things that come with the word credit, then let’s be clear,
0:32:19 Buy Now, Pay Later should probably worry you too.
0:32:26 Okay, that’s it for today. Thanks for listening to Prof G Markets from the Vox Media Podcast Network.
0:32:31 I’m Ed Elson. Join us tomorrow for our conversation with Maya McGuinness.
0:32:43 I’m Ed Elson. Thanks for listening to Prof G Markets from the Vox Media Podcast Network.
0:32:53 I’m Ed Elson. Thanks for listening to Prof G Markets from the Vox Media Podcast Network.
0:32:55 I’m Ed Elson. Thanks for listening to Prof G Markets from the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Ed and Scott unpack the economics behind Zohran Mamdani’s proposed policies. Then, Ed takes a look at why Bumble is struggling and why Buy Now, Pay Later debt is about to hit your credit score.

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