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.”
The Federal Reserve has maintained near-zero interest rates for nearly two years, and by now, it is clear this extraordinary policy is no longer needed. Over the last several months, continued elevated inflation readings, coupled with a tightening labor market, have led the Fed to suggest rate hikes are coming both sooner and faster than previously expected.
Americans are buying more than ever before. Despite supply actually surpassing above pre-COVID levels and dockworkers unloading ships as fast they can, the supply chain is unable to keep up with record consumer demand. Furthermore, the supply-demand gap may worsen as we head into the peak of holiday shopping season.
The explosion of cryptocurrencies and their meteoric returns over the last several years is causing some investors FOMO (fear of missing out). While cryptocurrencies, mostly Bitcoin, are in the news every day, very few investors understand their potential and the technologies that enable them. Rather, many are attracted to the highly-publicized returns they have generated in a very short amount of time. This has created something of a flywheel effect -- some may call it a bubble -- in which more investors are chasing these returns, which then drives returns higher, which then attracts more investors.
Last week while my wife was engaging in one of the favorite millennial pastimes of perusing Zillow.com, she blurted out, “Joe, come take a look at this!” At first, I didn’t believe what she was showing me. Our home, which we had purchased only a little more than a year ago, had appreciated a surprising amount according to the estimate.
The COVID-19 crisis has been the perfect storm for commercial real estate. While the economy is showing signs of life as most of the country reopens, the shock to the commercial real estate market was unprecedented.
