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.”
This week, yields on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rose to their highest level since 2007. Earlier this spring, market stress linked to the banking sector led safe-haven buyers to the safety of U.S. Treasuries, and the 10-year Treasury hit a year-to-date low of 3.30% in early April.
According to a 2013 study from the University of Cambridge, money habits are formed from 0 to 7 years of age, and once the habits are formed, it can be difficult to change that behavior later in life. Despite the results of this study, there is never a wrong time to teach your child about healthy money habits. Below are tips to help kids learn about money at a young age.
Having already digested 90% of the S&P 500’s second quarter results, investors this week parsed earnings for the major retailers still left to report. Despite the likes of Home Depot and Wal-Mart continuing the recent trend of companies delivering better-than-expected earnings, the recent rise in longer-term bond yields is dampening investors’ enthusiasm for stocks.
The economic data released month after month follows a rhythm we have become quite accustomed to, and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) release is an integral part of this familiar cadence. July’s CPI report showed U.S. inflation rose 3.2% in July from a year earlier.
For years, our clients have worried about the ballooning debt situation with the U.S. federal government. Fitch Ratings, which is one of the three main credit rating agencies, verified these worries earlier this week when they lowered the U.S. government’s credit rating from AAA to AA+. While many called this a surprise move, others have been expecting this for some time.
As expected, the Federal Reserve raised its target interest rate this week by 0.25% to 5.25 – 5.50%, marking the eleventh increase since March of 2022, bringing the interest rate to its highest level in 22 years.
There has been a lot of commotion and misconceptions, in media and political settings, about the health of Social Security. As such, we want to help make sense of the claims about Social Security by shedding some light on our current system, its solvency and its potential future.
Ferguson Wellman has been named by Oregon Business magazine as a top financial planner on their annual Powerlist. Oregon Business ranked Ferguson Wellman second in the state on their list of 16 financial planning companies. The listing was compiled based upon assets under management in Oregon.
The U.S. economy continues to defy one of the most anticipated recessions. Since January, investors and economists have been on edge as economic indicators started flashing red, particularly the purchasing managers index (PMI) and the leading economic indicators (LEI). Both metrics are closely watched as they have been reliable in foretelling downturns.
Over the last 18 months we have seen the tale of two markets. Looking at returns through June, large-cap growth stocks have driven returns resulting in the S&P 500 returning just under 17%. However, a slice of the market which is lagging meaningfully is dividend-paying stocks. Looking at a basket of dividend ETFs through June, returns are a paltry -2%.
Presenting the third quarter 2023 publication of Wealth Management Insights titled, “An Empowered and Secure Retirement.”
The lead story from the stock market this year may well be the outperformance of a narrow and select group of technology companies, however the leading economic story this year may be the surprising resilience of the U.S. economy in the face of the Federal Reserve’s concerted effort to rein in growth via higher interest rates.
The midpoint of 2023 coincides with the celebration of the 247th anniversary of our independence. Just like the Fourth of July fireworks we will see over the next week, the capital markets have begun the year with a bang.
In spring 2023, members of our team have hosted events throughout the Pacific and Inland Northwest. Following our “tour,” we created a video of our presentation for clients who missed an event or don’t reside in the Northwest.
“Have you used ChatGPT?” Wherever I go, whatever the context, I keep getting this same question. Clearly, the excitement around artificial intelligence (AI) is real… look at the stock market.
