Financial Insights

At the start of 2023, investors and economists anticipated a challenging year for markets, and according to Bloomberg, 70% of economists polled expected a U.S. recession. Contrary to these predictions, it was an excellent year for the stock market and the economy.

On December 1st, less than 2 weeks prior to the December 13th FOMC meeting, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in a speech that “it would be premature to conclude with confidence that we have achieved a sufficiently restrictive stance, or to speculate on when policy might ease.”

As we pass the halfway point of the final quarter of 2023, we find ourselves in another risk-on rally fueled by hopes of an imminent soft landing accompanied by sooner-than-expected rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.