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’s independence is a cornerstone of U.S. financial stability. It underpins confidence in Treasury markets, the world’s deepest and most liquid, and supports the U.S. dollar’s role as the global reserve currency. Recent actions and statements from the White House, however, have stirred a debate over that independence and prompted a reasonable investor question: Will markets react to politics, or will they continue to focus on the data?
Each year, central bankers, finance ministers and academics gather in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for an economic policy symposium (or boondoggle, whichever you prefer).
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.
Is Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell taking a shot at the Phillips curve? His announcement this week at the virtual Jackson Hole conference revealed that the focus of Fed policy is shifting to be more on maximizing employment and less on the 2 percent inflation target they have had since 2012.
When the Federal Reserve meets next week, everyone will be waiting to hear what they have to say about future interest rate hikes.
Earlier this week, The Eagles’ Greatest Hits surpassed Michael Jackson’s Thriller as the best-selling album of all time. I would argue that “greatest hits” albums should be excluded, but that’s neither here nor there. Also, this month, the S&P 500 set the record for the longest streak without a 20 percent decline, or bull market. This trend started in March of 2009 and has lasted over 3500 days. The previous feat was the 1990s bull market which finally ended with the burst of the Internet Bubble in 2001.
The markets were quiet this week investors awaited Janet Yellen’s commentary on the Fed’s annual Jackson Hole summit. As the week came to a close, the S&P 500 sold off slightly, finishing the week down 0.6 percent. Healthcare stocks fared far worse, selling off 2.2 percent following Hillary Clinton’s statements regarding the price increase of EpiPen®, a Mylan
