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.”
Since the release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on July 11, the stock market has experienced a noticeable shift in leadership as the inflation rate continues to move toward the Fed’s target of 2%. Investors have been moving away from technology stocks, which have been the darlings of the market this year, towards small-cap and value stocks.
On Wednesday, days before the U.S. is projected to run out of money to pay its bills, the House passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in a bipartisan effort. The final vote of 314- 177 received support from 149 Republicans and 165 Democrats. With both sides making concessions, it’s not surprising to see members of each party voicing their displeasure with the deal.
After months of debate, President Biden chose to take the bipartisan route nominating Jerome Powell to serve a second four-year term as Federal Reserve Chairman.
This week, President Joe Biden is expected to announce his choice of Federal Reserve chair. The two favorites are the incumbent Jerome Powell and current Fed governor Lael Brainard. Within the last several weeks, odds showed that Chair Powell was a shoe-in. But more recent indications show Brainard’s favorability increasing.
This week, Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell announced that later this month the Fed will begin “tapering” its asset purchase program now that the economy has moved past the need for extraordinary stimulus. As a reminder, to combat the recessionary effects of the pandemic and stimulate the economy, the Fed reduced interest rates to 0% and reintroduced an asset purchase program to the tune of $120 billion per month. By any measure, this is a remarkably large stimulus program.
Tax policy is being proposed and revised at a furious pace in Washington. Not knowing if, when and in what form the proposals might turn into law, it may be tempting to ignore the process and wait for the final outcome.
