Markets in Motion Michael Dow, Beacon Pointe Advisors

The U.S. equity market officially entered bear market territory at the close on June 13, 2022. The Fed has engineered the tightening of financial conditions – including the equity market sell-off – in order to slow the economy and get inflation under control. Staying invested through the volatility is the best approach to achieving your long-term investment objectives.

Stocks sold off on Friday, April 29th as expectations of a recession increased. The Federal Reserve will continue to tighten financial conditions - targeting the equity and housing markets - until inflation is brought to heel. There is a lot of bad news already priced into this market, but it could get worse as the Fed tries to engineer an elusive economic “soft-landing.”

Stocks have had a volatile start in 2022 with prices down over 10% intraday from the peak, briefly into correction territory. Interest rates are primarily to blame but geopolitical risk is contributing. So far, there is only limited cause for concern and some positive technical signs are appearing.

Today is the 150th anniversary of the Chicago Fire, and Congress almost burned down the U.S. economy with the recent debt limit crisis. With the Senate voting to raise the limit, the current crisis has been averted, but only temporarily. The labor market recovers fitfully, and supply chain disruptions increase the likelihood of a short bout of “stagflation-lite.” The Fed is still on track to announce tapering in November.

Show Notes: 


Investing in the Age of Financial Repression

Inflation, interest rates and peak growth rates in GDP, corporate earnings and stimulus. Is this as good as it gets, and is the bill for all the fiscal and monetary stimulus about to come due?

The inflation genie is out of the bottle. Is it transitory or will the Fed be forced to respond - and what does that mean for the stock market?