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June 23rd, 2026

The Economy Absorbed a War, Tariffs, & a New Fed Chair. Here's Why It Didn't Break.

  1. The Economy Absorbed a War, Tariffs, & a New Fed Chair. Here's Why It Didn't Break. Aspen Funds 34:41

At the start of 2026, many economists expected Growth to slow.

Since then, we’ve had tariffs, inflation concerns, conflict in the Middle East, oil volatility, and a new Fed Chair.

Yet the economy keeps growing.

In this episode, Bob Fraser and Ellis Hammond sit down with Belinda Román, Associate Professor of Economics at St. Mary’s University, to discuss what’s changed, what’s surprised her, and whether the economy is proving more resilient than investors expected.

We cover tariffs, inflation, consumer spending, interest rates, AI-driven productivity, recession risks, and what investors should be watching in the second half of 2026.

Have more questions, or want more resources like a tax calculator? Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://investlikeabillionaire.org/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  to learn more about our community. 

Check out Ben & Bob’s company and invest along at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://aspenfunds.us/

Ben Fraser Podcaster

Prior to Aspen, Mr. Fraser was a commercial lender at First Business Bank specializing in government backed loan originations (SBA & USDA), for one of the top SBA lenders in the nation. Prior to that he was a commercial credit underwriter for Crossfirst Bank, personally responsible for underwriting over $125MM in C&I and CRE loans across a variety of industries.

Prior to that, he worked for Tortoise Capital Advisors, a boutique asset management firm in energy infrastructure investments, and helped grow their institutional managed accounts from ~$3BN AUM to ~$7BN AUM. Ben was responsible for responding to all institutional RFPs from interested institutional investors.

Ben completed his MBA from Azusa Pacific University, and his B.S. in Finance from the University of Kansas, graduating magna cum laude.