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The Contrarian Investor Podcast Posts

Time to Get Defensive, Avoid ‘Magnificent 7’ Tech Stocks (Szn 6, Episode 3)

Published February 21, 2024

Ted Oakley, founder of Austin, Tex.-based Oxbow Advisors, joins the podcast to discuss his views on markets and the economy and why this is a time to get defensive with one’s portfolio.

Content Highlights

  • The stock market highs for the year will be set during the first quarter (1:47);
  • “There are things that people don’t see” (or at least don’t publicize) that are pointing to a slowdown in the economy (3:08);
  • One of these is the US consumer, who is now borrowing to finance purchases (4:59);
  • Another is commercial real estate, which is just starting to rear its head… (6:05);
  • Interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve may be further away than realized due to inflation risks (8:22);
  • Oxbow has been invested in ‘Magnificent 7’ stocks Microsoft (MSFT), Google (GOOG), and Apple (AAPL) for some time, but has been trimming these holdings and is certainly not looking to add more. But certain defensive sectors got cheap recently… (10:48);
  • Background on the guest (23:07);
  • What previous period in investment history is today’s market most reminiscent of? Bulls will not like this answer… (29:32).

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US Economic Outlook ‘Surprisingly Optimistic’ (Szn 6, Episode 2)podcast cover image feat Scott Colbert, chief economist, Commerce Trust Co.

US Economic Outlook ‘Surprisingly Optimistic’ (Szn 6, Episode 2)

Published February 1, 2024

Scott Colbert, Chief Economist, Commerce Trust Co.

Scott Colbert, chief economist at Commerce Trust Company in St. Louis, rejoins the podcast to discuss his “surprisingly optimistic” outlook for the US economy in 2024.

This podcast episode was recorded Jan. 30, 2024, and was made available to premium subscribers that same day. Become a premium subscriber through our Substack or Supercast pages.

Content Highlights

  • The outlook for the economy is surprisingly optimistic given the set-up going in to last year (1:30);
  • The Federal Reserve is unlikely to cut interest rates for some time (2:39);
  • Can stocks continue to advance without rate cuts? The outlook for small caps and mid-caps… (6:35);
  • The outlook for bonds: surprisingly constructive even if there aren’t rate cuts right away (10:05);
  • How the economy is breaking down geographically in the US… (17:01);
  • Commercial real estate is ‘the canary in the coal mine’ but nowhere near as pervasive as subprime residential pre-2008… (24:36);
  • The guest’s take on the impact of this year’s US presidential election (28:15);
  • Top concerns start with deficit spending… (33:23);
  • An economist’s take on the AI revolution (39:28).

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Markets Face Headwinds in First Half of 2024 (Szn 6, Episode 1)

Published January 11, 2024

Barry Knapp, Ironsides Macroeconomics

This episode was recorded on Jan. 8, 2024, and made available to premium subscribers the following day — without ads or announcements. For details on how to become a premium subscriber (it’s very easy), visit our Substack or Supercast.

Barry Knapp of Ironsides Macroeconomics rejoins the podcast to discuss his outlook for the economy and markets in 2024.

Content Highlights

  • Knapp’s outlook for 2023 played out until September. Then the Fed changed the rules of the game somewhat and markets now face a difficult period… (3:29);
  • Investors are expecting a recovery in earnings, which may be hard to achieve (7:00);
  • The drop in inflation can be traced to one cause: a deflationary shock in goods prices (8:57);
  • How the Fed can justify interest rates as soon as March… (11:36);
  • Why bonds haven’t continued to rally this year (16:58);
  • The Fed will cut to 4% by year-end and the yield curve should dis-invert with 10-year Treasury yields rising to 4.5% (22:06);
  • Fed independence is taken for granted. That may be about to change… (28:35);
  • Only four occasions post WWII have seen yield curve inversions this deep. All have led to major recessions… (36:40);
  • How do stocks look in this whole picture (40:31)

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