Issue No. 07 · Inflation, Interest Rates & Consumers
Finance, policy, and technology—without the headache.
The Economy Is Complicated.
The Explanation Shouldn't Be.
Bite-Sized Macro explains tariffs, inflation, AI, jobs, markets and business strategy through concise analysis, practical CFO insights and original cartoons.
“They keep calling these temporary shocks.
My paddle disagrees.”
01 / The premise
Meet Mack.
Mack is a rational analyst in an irrational world. Every week, he finds the contradiction hiding where markets, business, policy, and technology collide—then we unpack what it means for decisions, performance, and people.
02 / Recent bites
The archive
Issue No. 06 · AI, Jobs & Productivity
When AI Safety Becomes a Moat
Big AI wants to slow the race just as open models threaten to catch up, commoditize intelligence, and crush industry margins. Safety may be real—but so is regulatory capture.Read about AI safety and regulatory captureIssue No. 05 · AI, Jobs & Productivity
The Billable Hour Is Running Out of Time
KPMG used AI efficiencies to negotiate a lower audit fee. Its own clients may soon make the same argument—and force professional services to price value instead of time.Read about AI and hourly billingIssue No. 04 · Markets, Valuation & Private Equity
Too Many Seats, Too Few Students: College Comes Knocking
The Grim Reaper is coming for college demand. Demographics, immigration, doubts about value, and vocational alternatives are turning college admissions upside down.Read about college enrollmentIssue No. 03 · Markets, Valuation & Private Equity
Make Hay (Profit) While the Sun Is Shining (Spending)
War, expensive oil, and AI-driven employment fears make a profit boom look improbable. But several powerful tailwinds are arriving at once—and the confluence matters more than any single explanation.Read about corporate profitsIssue No. 02 · Inflation, Interest Rates & Consumers
Water Always Finds Its Level
Suppress interest rates, and pressure builds just as surely as water behind a dam. Markets eventually find their level—and delaying the adjustment can make the reckoning far worse.Read about interest ratesIssue No. 01 · AI, Jobs & Productivity
Stanley Druckenmiller, AI, and the Great Nothingburger
Stanley Druckenmiller used AI to help write an op-ed. Good. The ideas, judgment, and accountability remain his; AI simply helped him get there faster. Why take the buggy when there’s a car?Read about AI and human judgment03 / Work together
Need the longer version?
I help leaders translate macro, policy, and technology shifts—including AI—into clearer business decisions through briefings, scenario work, and sharp conversations without the hundred-slide deck.
Start a conversation04 / About Me
Finance that works in the real world.
I’m an operating CFO with an engineering foundation, and I’ve spent my career using finance to improve business performance—not simply report it. Across manufacturing, technology, and specialty chemicals, I’ve driven value through pricing, product cost, working capital, capital allocation, and organizational accountability.
At Presperse, I helped scale the business from approximately $28 million to $75 million in revenue, expanded EBITDA by roughly 700 basis points, and improved the cash-conversion cycle by 50 days. Earlier, I generated approximately $3 million in annual cost savings at Applied Materials and improved product economics at Veeco. I’ve also led liquidity and forecasting through Chapter 11—experience that sharpened my focus on clear insight, disciplined execution, and practical value creation.
View my background on LinkedInA smarter Friday read
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