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.”
For years, our clients have worried about the ballooning debt situation with the U.S. federal government. Fitch Ratings, which is one of the three main credit rating agencies, verified these worries earlier this week when they lowered the U.S. government’s credit rating from AAA to AA+. While many called this a surprise move, others have been expecting this for some time.
The major event in the capital markets this week took place Friday morning in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Every year, Federal Reserve Bank leadership meets for a conference to discuss current and future policy. Ahead of today’s meeting, some investors had been optimistic that Powell would soften his stance on the pace of tightening.
Our 2022 Investment Outlook features the Superman and Clark Kent theme, a metaphor referencing past extraordinary economic stimulus provided by the Federal Reserve and the U.S. government during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the supercharged earnings growth that served as a key tailwind for stocks last year.
Veruca Salt was a character in the novel and film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Her character was the greediest, most spoiled child of all the children that received a “Golden Ticket” and had the opportunity to tour the Wonka Chocolate Factory
In the face of unquestionably strong economic data, global equities declined nearly 5 percent on the week with the S&P 500 falling close to 6 percent. The sharp selloff can be attributed to a confluence of factors, none of which will have any impact on near-term earnings momentum.
For the week the equity markets were lower by more than three percent as investors reacted to the news that President Trump intends to impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports fueling fear of protectionist economic policy.
As traders were nursing their wounds from early bracket pains, the market saw that U.S. stocks were muted this week, up 0.2 percent. Investors’ reactions to finally getting the anticipated Fed rate hike were tempered by oil production figures from OPEC, causing concern early in the week.
