The AI Crash is Coming (And It’s Worse than 2008) | Edward Dowd

Interview recorded - 26th of August, 2026On this episode of the WTFinance I had the pleasure of welcoming back Edward Dowd. Edward Dowd is a former BlackRock portfolio manager and founder of Phinance Technologies. He has been early on several of the most important macro calls of recent years and his January 2026 recession warning was published before a single shot was fired in Iran.During our conversation we spoke about his thoughts on the economy, AI struggles, hyperscaler capex, China risks, potential of Plaza Accord 2.0, government debt crisis and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction0:57 - Overview of the economy?1:54 - AI struggles7:50 - A house of cards9:05 - How bad would crash be?10:45 - Hyperscaler capex13:05 - US Real Estate17:30 - China risks21:39 - Demographic issues23:45 - Plaza Accord 2.024:35 - Government debt crisis28:50 - Bonds30:05 - One message to takeaway?Edward Dowd is currently a founding partner with Phinance Technologies. He has worked on Wall Street the majority of his career, most notably at Blackrock as a portfolio manager where he managed a $14 billion Growth equity portfolio for ten years. Edward's book Cause Unknown: The Epidemic of Sudden death in 2021 & 2022 propelled him as an alternative voice during the pandemic and the economic implications that continue to plague us today. Phinance's unique alternative macroeconomic analysis of the global debt crisis and what may unfold has given many a deeper understanding of the global nature of our problems today.Edward Dowd:Website - https://www.eddowd.com/Substack - https://substack.com/@eddowdbeyondthenarrativePhinance - https://phinancetechnologies.com/Home.aspX - https://x.com/DowdEdwardWTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas