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.”
Capital markets responded positively on Monday to reports surrounding a new U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at ending the recent conflict and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The agreement called for halting hostilities and beginning a new round of negotiations covering Iran's nuclear program, free passage of naval traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, sanctions relief, and broader regional security issues.
After spending the last 36 years in Pioneer Tower, this week, we moved into our new Portland office location just two blocks away in Fox Tower. This comes with significantly different views, and while the view out our window has changed, the economic landscape and investing environment we work in took scant notice of our change of address.
Aside from the three-week extension of a brittle ceasefire in the Middle East, the news this week was focused on SpaceX’s pre-IPO filings, Kevin Warsh’s Congressional testimony, and blowout earnings among semiconductor companies.
This week, financial markets were shaped by a convergence of monetary policy continuity and rising attention to Federal Reserve leadership. At its January meeting, the Federal Reserve voted to hold interest rates steady, marking the first pause since it began easing policy in mid-2025.
