interest rates – Page 21 – The Contrarian Investor Podcast

Powell Testimony: What to Look For

Published June 22, 2022

The following is an amended form of the Daily Contrarian briefing from June 22. This briefing and accompanying podcast are released to premium subscribers each market day morning by 0700. To subscribe, visit our Substack.

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell starts two days of testimony in Washington, D.C. today. Powell addresses the Joint Economic Committee and take questions from the politicos. Don’t expect anything in the way of nuanced or educated questions from these folks. They’ll all be trying to score political points for the cameras.

Meme of Fed chair Jerome Powell: "There are no guarantees in life"

Still, some details may emerge regardless. Investors will be looking for any indication for when the Fed may stop its interest rate hikes and quantitative tightening. Specifically they’ll be looking for what Powell says the Fed will consider victory over inflationary pressures.

Recession Realities Set In as Stocks Drop

Published June 17, 2022

The following is an amended form of the Daily Contrarian briefing from June 17. This briefing and accompanying podcast are released to premium subscribers each market day morning by 0700. To subscribe, visit our Substack.

Talk of recession has emerged in force this week after the Fed raised rates by 0.75% and stocks sold off. Google Trends shows keyword searches for ‘recession’ at their highest level since the onset of the pandemic.

Bearish Indicators Abound, With Downside Risks for Stocks: Ayesha Tariq (Szn 4, Ep. 15)

Published May 31, 2022

Ayesha Tariq of Keystone Consulting joins the Contrarian Investor Podcast to discuss her bearish views on the global economy and on stock markets, what investment options she prefers right now, and why work-from-home will not persist (or at least not at current levels).

Content Highlights

The idea of a ‘Fed pivot’ away from higher rates is baseless. The Fed has no choice but to raise rates (3:01);
What about inflation having peaked? Won’t that remove some pressure from the Fed? (8:35);
Unemployment is due to rise, with companies soon having no choice but to lay off workers — but this won’t stop the Fed either (11:28);
Markets had a good week. Did we have the bottom already? (13:57);
What about commodities? A potential bright spot due to structural issues? (15:32);
Background on the guest (21:06);
What are some of the best options for investors in light of all this? (23:19);
Real estate investment trusts are one good option, especially commercial real estate. Work-from-home was a phase that will be scaled back soon (26:25);