Sears Wealth Management & Insurance Solutions’ Post

Remember the market meltdown at the start of the year? Well, things have turned upside down! Stocks are soaring, and everyone's talking about rate cuts instead of recessions. Sounds great, right? But hold on a sec.. this smooth sailing might not last. The Fed has a tricky needle to thread: cut rates six times to appease the market, but keep it quiet before the election. One wrong move, like an inflation spike or a gas price jump, and the whole rollercoaster starts again. Here's the deal: ➡️Markets are expecting six rate cuts, but the Fed usually chills during election years. Can they pull it off without looking suspicious? ➡️We gotta keep inflation in check or the Fed cuts go on hold. Remember, high gas prices mess with everything. ➡️Expect some bumps. A 5-10% pullback wouldn't be surprising. Buckle up, it's gonna be a wild ride. Want the full story? Head over to our blog for all the details. #markets #fed #retirementoptimism #finance #investing

2025 Is Your Last Shot At Glory For A While… The FED Cuts Will Be In Full Effect… If You’re Not On Board Making The Right Moves Now… Most People Will Use This As A Opportunity To Get Credit Cards To Purchase Junk Or Make BIG Purchases They Can’t Afford… You’ll Want To Secure Some “Income Producing Assets” The Train Will Leave The Station, LAST CALL 🚂 Federal Reserve Rate Cuts in 2025: •The Federal Reserve (Fed) is expected to make interest rate cuts in 2025. These cuts are aimed at stimulating economic growth and managing inflation. Some experts predict that inflation will come down faster than consensus estimates, leading to more aggressive rate cuts by the Fed. Keep an eye on the Fed’s decisions, as they’ll impact borrowing costs, investment returns, and overall economic conditions. •Income-Producing Assets: Consider diversifying beyond credit cards and big purchases. Examples of income-producing assets include dividend-paying stocks, real estate (like rental properties), or even starting a small business. These assets can provide steady cash flow and help build wealth over time. •Inflation and Consumer Mindset: The Fed aims to keep inflation around 2%. While this doesn’t mean prices will return to pre-2021 levels, it ensures stability.

“Given the stickier than expected nature of inflation, it's going to be very difficult for the Fed to justify a near-term rate reduction. Our base case is the Fed holds off to the second half of the year before initiating a change in policy.” That’s what Stifel Chief Economist Lindsey Piegza, Ph.D. tells Yahoo Finance in the wake of new economic data released, including February's Producer Price Index and US retail sales. Watch below: #inflation #interestrates #economy #federalreserve #economicdata

💵 February isn't over yet, but the Cleveland Fed has released its projections for a few key economic markers. 💵 Why are these markers important? 💵 The Fed likes to look at the Consumer Personal Expenditures (CPE) to gauge whether or not their plan to curb inflation is working. 💵 The projected CPE for February is 2.27, trending towards the 2% the Fed is looking for before announcing that inflation has been under control. 💵 Given the Fed's caution about reducing interest rates until the CPE is holding steady at 2% or lower, the Fed will likely only reduce interest rates once these markers are met. 💵 In the meantime, stay focused on your financial goals, and if you have any questions/concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out.

At its September meeting, the Fed cut short-term interest rates by 0.50%, which unsettled some who thought Fed officials would be more cautious with monetary policy this close to an election. However, the Fed, comfortable with its progress on inflation but concerned about the current pace of economic growth, made a bold, decisive statement with the jumbo cut. Now investors are asking, “What comes next?” To help lend some insight, here are a few events that we’ll be watching closely in the weeks ahead: https://hubs.ly/Q02RDDvC0

Fed: Nothing Doing There is so much anticipation with every meeting of the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee, which meets around eight times per year. The analysts are over the top with predictions of actions and then they obsess on every word of their post meeting announcements. And a few weeks later, when the minutes of the meeting are released, it all starts over again. In the interim, the members of the Fed make speeches around the country and appear before Congress giving updates on their policy and their view of the economy. And every time they talk, the markets are affected. But the truth is that the Fed has made no rate decisions for the better part of a year. They do continue activity, such as buying or selling Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities. These purchases, or more recently, lack of purchases, can affect interest rates significantly. So, it is not like they are doing nothing, but in essence they are doing nothing, and the markets are absolutely obsessed with predicting when they will act again. In this case, they are waiting for the Fed to lower short-term rates for the first time since the pandemic. So, what did the Fed do last week? Nothing. But the words kept flowing and the market analysts are hanging on every word. The message is the same – the Fed needs more evidence that inflation is subsiding before they act unless the economy shows signs of slowing. And thus, far we have not seen enough evidence of a slowdown. We have a slew of data coming in the next week or so—including personal spending, the personal consumption inflation index and the jobs report. So perhaps this data will help spur the Fed to do what we have been waiting for. Or at least sound more optimistic that it is coming. Source: The Hershman Group

Fed: Nothing Doing There is so much anticipation with every meeting of the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee, which meets around eight times per year. The analysts are over the top with predictions of actions and then they obsess on every word of their post meeting announcements. And a few weeks later, when the minutes of the meeting are released, it all starts over again. In the interim, the members of the Fed make speeches around the country and appear before Congress giving updates on their policy and their view of the economy. And every time they talk, the markets are affected. But the truth is that the Fed has made no rate decisions for the better part of a year. They do continue activity, such as buying or selling Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities. These purchases, or more recently, lack of purchases, can affect interest rates significantly. So, it is not like they are doing nothing, but in essence they are doing nothing, and the markets are absolutely obsessed with predicting when they will act again. In this case, they are waiting for the Fed to lower short-term rates for the first time since the pandemic. So, what did the Fed do last week? Nothing. But the words kept flowing and the market analysts are hanging on every word. The message is the same – the Fed needs more evidence that inflation is subsiding before they act unless the economy shows signs of slowing. And thus, far we have not seen enough evidence of a slowdown. We have a slew of data coming in the next week or so—including personal spending, the personal consumption inflation index and the jobs report. So perhaps this data will help spur the Fed to do what we have been waiting for. Or at least sound more optimistic that it is coming. Source: The Hershman Group

At its September meeting, the Fed cut short-term interest rates by 0.50%, which unsettled some who thought Fed officials would be more cautious with monetary policy this close to an election. However, the Fed, comfortable with its progress on inflation but concerned about the current pace of economic growth, made a bold, decisive statement with the jumbo cut. Now investors are asking, “What comes next?” To help lend some insight, here are a few events that we’ll be watching closely in the weeks ahead: https://hubs.ly/Q02RDCTt0

At its September meeting, the Fed cut short-term interest rates by 0.50%, which unsettled some who thought Fed officials would be more cautious with monetary policy this close to an election. However, the Fed, comfortable with its progress on inflation but concerned about the current pace of economic growth, made a bold, decisive statement with the jumbo cut. Now investors are asking, “What comes next?” To help lend some insight, here are a few events that we’ll be watching closely in the weeks ahead: https://hubs.ly/Q02RDCkW0

At its September meeting, the Fed cut short-term interest rates by 0.50%, which unsettled some who thought Fed officials would be more cautious with monetary policy this close to an election. However, the Fed, comfortable with its progress on inflation but concerned about the current pace of economic growth, made a bold, decisive statement with the jumbo cut. Now investors are asking, “What comes next?” To help lend some insight, here are a few events that we’ll be watching closely in the weeks ahead: https://hubs.ly/Q02RDnyv0