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 2024 U.S. presidential election of Donald Trump has sparked optimism in the financial markets and corporate sentiment. While some of this enthusiasm may be attributed to the end of a tumultuous election, the positive market reactions in the immediate aftermath—including rising stock prices, declining bond yields and a strengthening dollar—suggest that domestic and international investors are responding favorably to Trump's proposed policies.
We have long observed that what matters most for investors is not the outcome of elections but rather what happens to the economy and earnings. That said, historical performance indicates that mid-term elections are clearing events - regardless of the partisan outcome. In each such event since World War II, stock prices have risen in the 12 months that followed. Although a handful of election results are still yet to be decided, the U.S. Congress appears to be headed for a split…
Political risk has always been frustrating for investors. We like the rules of the game to be known and the playing field level. Any kind of uncertainty leads to volatility in markets. While many believed that the Republican sweep would deliver pro-growth initiatives, Trump’s troubles have led to concerns regarding those outcomes.
What has become known as the Trump Trade has delivered strong equity returns since election day last fall, with the benchmark S&P 500 rising by 6.5 percent over this period. More remarkable is the fact that the blue chip index hasn’t experienced a 1 percent or greater loss since October 11, 2016.
A Nobel Prize for Bob Dylan couldn’t buoy the markets this week. Uncertainty in China and a rocky start to earnings season resulted in a down week for stocks. While equities rallied on Friday, the S&P 500 ended the week down close to 1 percent. Pre-announcements from Honeywell, Dover and Fastenal weren’t a positive way to start the week; however, [...]
