Welcome to the Monthly Market Update on You and Your Money. Empowering you to reach your goals with tips and insights to help you Plan Well, Invest Well and Live Well. This month's market update comes from Michael Baum, vice president and associate financial advisor at Weiss, Hale and Zahansky, Strategic Wealth Advisors. Let's get started. As we always do with our monthly You and Your Money programs. Mike, what's going on in the market these days? Wayne Well, today's show is pretty timely. We have the debt ceiling deal which was just approved by the House of Representatives late last night, and it's expected to be approved by the Senate shortly. Markets were never too panicked about this. They seemed confident a deal would get done before the deadline, but it's still a pretty big relief overall. In other news, you know, we've got the Federal Reserve's battle against inflation, which seems to be working, albeit slowly. And there are signals that there will be a pause and further interest rate hikes while we await more economic data. So markets are pricing in interest rates starting to decrease later this year or early next year, which would really help drive growth in equity markets. Let me back up the truck a little bit to the whole debt ceiling vote that likely will take place in the Senate today. And let's assume that they approve it. And our long national nightmare is over, at least for two more years. Would you anticipate when that news breaks, that the market will have a big spike today? Yeah. So I don't think we'll see anything too drastic because like I said, the markets didn't ever really seem to panic on the downside when there was doubt that this would get done. I think the markets remained fairly confident that there was really no path to not getting a deal done just because it would be politically and financially disastrous for the country. So my expectation is that there will be a positive day in the markets if it's approved, but I don't believe we're looking at anything. And conversely, what if the House hadn't voted for it last night? Would that have caused like a drop off this morning because it was not expected? Well, yes. Once the expectation becomes that they're close and will be voting and their vote is expected to pass, that any anything that is against expectations does typically lead to a little bit of a shock in the markets. So, yeah, that could have been really bad if the vote went differently last night. And then we've had stories in the last two or three days about the price of gas going up over $0.10 a gallon in the last week here in Connecticut. And I wonder how the market reacts to that kind of news, because obviously it's going to have an economic effect on everybody. Yeah, well, that's a good segue Wayne. So in general, economic risks have been increasing. And, you know, there's some signs of inflation still being quite high in some areas and overall it's come down. But yeah, I mean, the the chances of a mild recession are continuing to increase, although it's still not a certainty that that recession happens. And thankfully, we've had a very strong job market and consumer spending has been very resilient. So we've kept the economy out of a technical recession. But, you know, you're going to continue to see inflation higher in some areas than others. And that's the sort of data that the federal Reserve is taking into account when they decide whether it's time to pause rate hikes or ultimately start decreasing interest rates. Thank you for joining me today. Thanks again for having me, Wayne. Always a pleasure. That's all the updates we have for now. As always, thanks for listening to You and Your Money. If you enjoy our show, find even more episodes, videos and other resources at our website. whzwealth.com. Be sure to come back next week for more tips to help you live fearless and pursue your financial and life goals. Until then, live well. Weiss, Hale and Zahansky Strategic Wealth Advisors offer securities and advisory services through Commonwealth Financial Network member FINRA/SIPC, a registered investment advisor. Fixed insurance products and services offered through CES Insurance Agency. They practice at 697 Pomfret Street, Pomfret Center, Connecticut, 06259 and can be reached at 860-928-2341. Weiss, Hale and Zahansky Strategic Wealth Advisors do not provide legal or tax advice. The tenured financial services team strive to support clients in achieving their financial life goals. For more information regarding wealth management and customized financial planning with Weiss, Hale and Zahansky Strategic Wealth Advisors, please visit www.whzwealth.com.
