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Stock Markets and the Economy

Found 231 Articles.
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Fed Policy Changes Cause Markets and the Economy to React

January 25, 2022

Will the Federal Reserve and most investors be very wrong two years in a row? Market prices, especially futures prices, indicate most investors join Fed officials in believing the Fed won’t have to do much to dampen inflation and return economic growth to pre-pandemic levels. They also expect high profit margins to continue. They were […]

Inflation and Economic Growth Aren’t Transitory

November 27, 2021

Central banks are curtailing their pandemic stimulus measures, and investors need to assess how that will affect different investments. As expected, the Federal Reserve announced that in November it would begin reducing its monthly asset purchases of $120 billion with the goal of eliminating those extra asset purchases by June 2022. That doesn’t mean the […]

The Economy and Stocks Start to Diverge

October 21, 2021

The tight relationship between the economy and markets might be ending. For some time, economic growth has been accompanied by higher stock prices, and stock indexes faltered when growth slowed or declined. Going forward, it is likely economic growth will continue while the stock indexes remain in a trading range or decline. Growth should continue […]

The Fed Plays Chicken with Inflation

September 29, 2021

Investors seem to agree with the Federal Reserve that the surges in economic growth and inflation are temporary. I am skeptical. Market pricing indicates most investors expect the growth rate to decline, and that slower growth will reduce inflation. I believe the markets are underestimating the prospects for continued growth and inflation. Recent economic growth […]

What’s Happening in China and What it Means to Investors

September 10, 2021

China’s government has been busy over the last few months, and its actions have led to a steep sell-off in China’s stocks. The decline accelerated in August. The iShares MSCI China ETF (MCHI) declined 14.39% from its Feb. 17 peak through June 28. By Aug. 25, the fund was down 32.21% from its February high. […]

Riding the Wave of Growth and Inflation

August 31, 2021

The strong economic growth and inflation experienced recently are sustainable, and they’re being underestimated by investors and the Federal Reserve. Market prices indicate investors expect a quick return to the pre-pandemic combination of modest growth and low inflation. Fed officials repeatedly say that’s what they believe will happen. Forces supporting growth and inflation are in […]

Investors Start to Worry About the Fed

July 20, 2021

The stage is set for the second half of 2021 to deliver a strong, broad economic expansion, probably the best in a long time. There’s a strong foundation for sustained growth. Households improved their balance sheets during the pandemic, helped by stimulus payments and rising asset prices. Also, incomes are rising. Households, as a whole, […]

The Fed’s Changing Monetary Policy

June 30, 2021

The markets are changing as investors anticipate and worry about the Federal Reserve’s plan to remove some of the liquidity it pumped into the economy since March 2020. Liquidity provided by the Fed has been the main influence on the economy and investment markets since 2009. The Fed’s motivation has been to avoid a depression […]

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