George Hosfield, CFA, discusses Ferguson Wellman's quarterly strategy titled, "Inflation's Flame Flickers," which addresses the narrow market leadership, the impact of higher interest rates on inflation and how assets are priced at this stage of the economic cycle.
George Hosfield, CFA, discusses the firm's quarterly strategy titled "Stalemate," which highlights the Fed's ongoing battle to tame inflation along with our views on the health of the banking industry and capital market expectations for the balance of the year.
Director and Chief Investment Officer George Hosfield, CFA, discusses the Fed raising interest rates, peaking inflation and our view on equities and volatility across all asset classes in our Investment Strategy titled, “Balancing Act.”
A bank failure, a rate hike and a surprisingly strong jobs number all led to volatile equity markets this week, with negative returns led by energy stocks and regional banks. We’ll first discuss the takeover of First Republic bank, then the effect of the Fed’s actions mid-week. Finally, we’ll hit on the employment numbers for April.
“How do you go bankrupt? Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.” -Ernest Hemingway
As of this writing, there are expectations that First Republic Bank may not survive the weekend. However, we believe that First Republic’s issues are not systemic across the industry. Unlike 2008, these issues with First Republic, as they were with Silicon Valley Bank, are not credit related. Rather, it was the issues that were part of their business model, which played out as Hemingway stated in “The Sun Also Rises.”
As the first quarter of 2023 wrapped up this week, investors may be surprised to see both stocks and bonds with positive returns, given the ongoing stress within the banking industry and the signs that the Fed’s aggressive interest rate hikes are creating cracks within the economy.
One year ago this week, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since the pandemic began. After two years of holding rates near zero, this first hike to combat rising inflation only raised the policy rate by a mere 0.25%.
That a notable Silicon Valley bank failure could overshadow significant developments in the labor market is a testament to how attuned investors remain to the unpredictable consequences of the Fed’s ongoing campaign to raise interest rates.
