The S&P 500 acts like the bull market is in full swing and running hard. Through the end of May, the S&P 500 was up 8.86%, the NASDAQ up 23.59% and Russell 1000 Growth Index up 20.23%.
While this is a rapidly developing story (that may even get resolved by the time I release this brief), it’s important to discuss the current debt ceiling debacle. This is, by far, one of the dumbest games of chicken we have played economically and politically in decades.
The sheer variety of wine is what makes it such an exciting topic. While it can be easy to think of the popular choices like Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, there are over 10,000 different grape varieties that we know of.
Beware of the ides of March warns of trouble brewing in the month of March. The Ides of March specifically refers to the 74th day in the Roman calendar which corresponds to March 15th.
Groundhog Day is happening again in Washington, where we last played this silly game in 2011. The US Government is currently on track to repeat that disastrous debt ceiling stalemate which cost the USA its AAA credit rating.
Although Congress is divided and everyone (including the markets) anticipates gridlock for the next two years, late last year Congress passed the Secure 2.0 Act as a part of the overall budget bill.
For the first time in over 2 decades Wall Street strategists are calling for a down year in the stock market in 2023. The last time strategists forecasted a negative market was 1999.
Writing about politics in this era feels akin to walking into a lion’s den slathered in BBQ sauce. However dangerous it feels, as we head into a highly contentious November 8th its important you have some perspective about mid-term elections and the stock market.
The Fed next meets September 20th – 21st to discuss hiking rates another 0.50% or 0.75%. The magnitude of the hike will depend on August inflation numbers and jobs reports.