Three seemingly unrelated stories have dominated markets since January: a collapse in software valuations traders nicknamed SaaS-mageddon, a South Korean stock market swinging harder than Bitcoin, and a hedge fund named Situational Awareness down tens of billions of dollars in days.

Jonathan Treussard connects the threads with Kiara Galvin, an economics undergraduate serving as guest teaching assistant for the episode, working through how AI is reshaping not just which companies win and lose, but how markets themselves behave — from pricing power to leverage to the cost of borrowed money.

The conversation covers why software's decades-long pricing power is eroding, why identifying AI's winners has proven far harder than identifying its losers, how a concentrated market like Korea's gets pulled into a frenzy, and what actually happens on the other end of a margin call — including how Ken Griffin of Citadel stepped in when Situational Awareness ran out of runway.

In this episode:

• Why software's pricing power, built on a coding talent "skills divide," is eroding

• How "who wins from AI" became a much harder question than "who loses"

• What leveraged ETFs are and how they amplify small market moves

• The mechanics of a margin call and why prime brokers hold the leverage

• Why rising Treasury rates change the cost — and the temperament — of borrowed money

This podcast is for entertainment and education only. Nothing here is financial advice. Treussard Capital Management is a registered investment advisor. Please visit treussard.com for additional information and disclaimers.