Money Life With Chuck Jaffe Daily Podcast

Ben Ashby, head of investments at Rayliant Global Advisors, says he's not particularly worried about what two current wars and other issues are doing to the economy ad stock market now, but that his real worry is federal policies in terms of fiscal expenditures. "To me, that doesn't look sustainable, and that looks more like an emerging market than, basically, the leader of the free world." He says most of the conditions are in place in the U.S. for an inflationary medium-term outlook, though he does think that the U.S. market should be able to avoid a depression after the current concerns get sorted out, but that conditions will feel like the 1970s, a period of high inflation and economic difficulty. Also on the show, Nick Young, chief experience officer at Money Pickle, talks about the question that savers should be asking their advisers regularly that most ignore, Ted Rossman of Bankrate.com discusses the troubles that consumers have encountered as they have increasingly gravitated towards using "Buy Now,

Dan Zanger, founder and chief technical analyst at ChartPattern.com, says that he has followed the leaders out of the market, noting that the artificial-intelligence companies that had led the market's rally to new highs have now gone into consolidations and he's content to accept money-market returns until the market changes its tune and the charts stop suggesting that they want to go lower. Also on the show, Herb Greenberg -- longtime journalist and financial analyst -- talks about his new firm, WallStreetBeats.com and the twist it is putting on traditional institutional research, as well as why he's not just starting a new business in his 70s but never planning to retire, and why others might want to plan a "retirement" that includes some work. Plus, Craig Martin discusses the 2024 U.S. Full-Service Investor Satisfaction Study from J.D. Power, which showed that people using financial advisers are happier than ever with their results but they're not loyal to their advisers, which may mean that when the mar

Edward Yardeni, president and chief investment strategist at Yardeni Research, says the economy is resilient enough to handle current levels of interest rates, and that better economic growth will allow earnings to drive the stock market higher even as anticipated rate cuts from the Federal Reserve are put off until 2025. Yardeni says he expects the rest of this decade to resemble the Roaring 20s, without irrational exuberance but also without the Great Depression to follow as it did a hundred years ago. In The Danger Zone, David Trainer at New Constructs calls shenanigans on Root Inc., noting that price targets on the stock have been raised by over 500 percent, but profitability forecasts have not been going up, suggesting the stock is due for a hard fall after its recent big bounce up. In the Market Call, James Abate of Centre Asset Management -- manager of the Centre American Select Equity fund -- talks 

Robert Frick, corporate economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, says that the current issues keeping inflation high are about supply-side economics and are the kinds of problems that the Federal Reserve can't just fix by cutting interest rates. So while he sees the Fed as having pulled off the soft landing earlier this year, it can't "save us" this time, although he says the strong economy should ensure that the cycle should play out without a crash or catastrophe. Ann Somers Hogg, director for health care research for the Clayton Christensen Institute, discusses her work showing that caregivers -- particularly working mothers -- are suffering through mental health issues impacted largely by society not understanding the issues they are facing. As a result, she notes that if health is wealth, working moms are living in extreme poverty. Plus Bryce Doty, senior portfolio manager at Sit Investment Associates, says the uptick in inflation is not enough to overwhelm the yields investors are earning, noting that re

With Wednesday's release of the latest Consumer Price Index numbers shaking the market's confidence that the Federal Reserve will cut rates soon, Chuck gets the latest take from Christian Chan, chief investment officer at AssetMark, and Gargi Chaudhuri, chief investment and portfolio strategist at BlackRock. Both see the Fed as acting, though Chan expects the central bankers to wait longer until conditions almost force a move; Chaudhuri still sees cuts later in the year, though she says a June cut may now be off the table. One area where they disagree is that Chan doesn't like the value investors are getting in intermediate-term fixed income, while Chaudhuri says that investors should be looking for intermediate-term fixed income and lengthen maturities now ahead of rate cuts later. Also on the show, Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, looks to a senior bank loan fund as his ETF of the Week and, in the Market Call, Chuck Carlson, chief executive officer at Horizon Investment Services -- editor at Th

George Milling-Stanley, chief gold strategist at State Street Global Advisors, says that inflation staying stubbornly above the target of the Federal Reserve -- despite the central bank's moves that have raised interest rates to 20-year highs -- has created the kind of market conditions in which gold, historically, has thrived. He does not think gold's success is necessarily due to its traditional role as a hedge against inflation, because that requires inflation sustained at levels above 5 percent, but it is other dynamics like geopolitical risk and two ongoing wars that are combining with inflation to drive gold now. Also on the show, Cam Miller of Money Pickle talks about how market highs have shown that consumers are happy with their financial advisers, but how consumers haven't developed loyalty to advisers, a sign that they might bail out and reduce the effectiveness of financial planning if/when market conditions turn. Matt Brannon discusses the "True Cost of Homeownership" study from Clever Real Estat

Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Hi Mount Research, says the bullish sentiment and investor optimism should lift the commodities market and help the market rally keep rolling, though he says investors should be worried that conditions are taking a turn for the worse when more stocks are making new lows rather than new highs or the Standard & Poor's 500 falls below its long-term average. He says the Federal Reserve may decide not to cut rates until those conditions appear, noting that the central bank won't want to act earlier than conditions force it to. Also on the show, Howard Dvorkin, chief executive  at Debt.com, goes Off The News discussing how Fed data showing higher delinquency rates and rising charge-off data are supported at the grass-roots consumer level, noting his site's most recent credit-card survey, which showed that more than one-third of Americans have maxed out their credit cards in recent years as inflation and interest rates were rising. Cassandra Happe, analyst at WalletHub.c

Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank says 2024 will end up as "a pretty good year for the economy," with the soft nearly in place as the Fed starts to cut rates in the summer. He notes that worries about an interest-rate shock or an energy-price shock -- the big two drivers of recession -- are not exceptionally high right now and any raised concerns in those areas have enough offsets for the U.S. economy to remain the world's best while global turmoil and economic uncertainty plays out. Nick Pisano discusses a Clever Real Estate survey showing that nearly three-quarters of all Americans report having an overspending problem. David Trainer of New Constructs puts SNAP Inc. back into The Danger Zone, noting the stock probably won't be out of trouble until the stock reaches zero, and Jay Hatfield, chief executive officer at Infrastructure Capital Advisors forecasts that the Standard & Poor's 500 will hit 5,750 or higher as part of the macro outlook he uses to inform his stock picking in the Market Ca

John Kosar, chief market strategist at Asbury Research, turned positive on the market back in November and he's not ready to ring the register and close out the current rally just yet, though there are some metrics showing that "the market is about as overextended as it's been historically before you get a correction." That doesn't make him nervous or worried, but he says that's a symptom rather than a sell signal. Meanwhile, he sees a bull market running in commodities and he intends to ride that until the market corrects.  In the Big Interview, Steve Scruggs, manager of the FPA Queens Road funds, says that he would expect small caps to be helped along by interest rate cuts so long as the consumer does not run out of steam when it comes to spending. He favors a mix of long-term compounders and special situations, but notes that quality is expensive right now and the best opportunities are among some stocks that have been beaten down or punished due to operating anomalies that have the chance to revert to the

Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, says that American investors who have some $6 trillion in cash are in danger of missing out as the Federal Reserve begins to cut interest rates in coming months, meaning they should focus on what they are doing with their cash-like investments. That's why he made Fidelity Limited Term Bond his "ETF of the Week," noting that unexciting -- but in line with expectations -- is something investors should be striving for right now, so that they are protected when the rate picture changes. In The big Interview, Ben McMillan, chief investment officer at IDX Advisors, talks about how flexible bond-fund investors should be preparing for rate cuts and focusing in on duration plays -- where they are extending maturities right now to lock in current high rates -- while recognizing that credit quality will be a big factor in what happens when the cuts start happening. Plus, Miles Tullo discusses recent research from J.D. Power on how convenience is driving Americans to digital

Brian Nick, chief investment strategist at the Macro Institute, says that people should not expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates in hopes of rescuing the economy or keeping the market rally rolling. Instead, he says the Fed tends to cut rates when things go wrong, which he expects to happen by the middle of the year, when bad economic news starts piling up. Nick is not expecting the proverbial soft landing, noting that macro indicators like the inverted yield curve and more are still working through the economic cycle and are making it that the full force of a slowdown will be felt in 2025, and that "the next seven to eight quarters will be tough especially compared to the five or six that have come before it." In "The Financial Crunch from Money Pickle," Dave Rowan, president of Rowan Financial, discusses how investors can integrate real estate and property investments into a portfolio and how "passive income" does not fully describe the role those property buyers play in their holdings. In the M

David Keller, chief market strategist at StockCharts.com and the president at Sierra Alpha Research, says the market's first quarter was much stronger than he expected, avoiding a low that he was expecting. The current low-volatility incline the market is on reminded Keller of 2021, a time when the market was recovering from Covid and kept driving higher despite concerns. Keller says that he is watching for danger signs like a spike in volatility or deterioration in breadth indicators, but lacking those troubles he says the market is giving a "long and strong" impression that he is inclined to follow until those trouble spots become visible. In The Big Interview, Jonathan Treussard, founder of Treussard Capital Management, says that the Federal Reserve has two choices right now, one of which is declaring victory over inflation despite not having achieved its target rate, or it can push harder to get the job done, which might knock the economy off of its soft-landing trajectory. Like Keller, Treussard notes th

Paul Gruenwald, chief economist at S&P Global Ratings, says that he doesn't see the economy going into a recession, allowing the Federal Reserve to cut rates "at a leisurely pace" and to get through inflation-reduction with a soft landing. Gruenwald recently raised his growth projection for the economy and he says the strong economy is letting the Fed take its time in cutting rates, but that current levels of 5.25 percent are too high. He doesn't expect the central bank to cut rates below 3 percent, which he expects it to reach with a few rate cuts this year starting in June and four to five cuts next year. Larry Tentarelli, founder/chief technical strategist, Blue Chip Daily Trend Report says the market's upward trend has room to run. As a technician, Tentarelli says the most bullish signal is a market at new highs because there is no overhead resistance, and while he expects some small, normal pullbacks along the way, he expects the long-term move to be higher. Plus, David Trainer, president at New Cons

Kim Blanton of the Boston College Center for Retirement Research – where she writes the Squared Away blog -- says that Americans wind up falling into some classic psychological traps when it comes time to claim Social security benefits, and often take the money before they need it based on flawed thinking, reducing their retirement benefits for life. She highlights how savers -- even when confronted with numbers showing that their lifetime benefits will be significantly better with a late start, and assuming they have a long life -- instead jump at the chance to get a smaller amount of money so long as they can start receiving it now. Nicholas Marshi, editor at the BDC Reporter, talks about the struggles business development companies had at the end of 2023 and how they have been performing in the new year, with an outlook for what's ahead as the interest rate cycle starts to change. Plus Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi makes BlackRock U.S. Equity Factor Rotation his "ETF of the Week," and Ken A

Joe Kalish, chief macro strategist at Ned Davis Research, says that the big picture still argues for overweigting stocks relative to bonds and cash so long as the Federal Reserve follows through on making rate cuts and the economy avoids recession. While economic conditions make it look like a soft landing is in place now, Kalish is concerned about the outlook for 2025, noting that his concern level rises the longer the Fed holds off on rate cuts. Kalish says that the central bank can cut rates while still having restrictive policies, and that if it keeps rates tight for too long, cuts would come too late to avoid much rougher times. Also on the show: Bloomberg reporter Saleha Mohsin talks about her new book, "Paper Soldiers: How the Weaponization of the Dollar Changed the World Order" and how long the U.S. can maintain its position as the world's financial superpower; Brent Thurman, chief executive officer at Money Pickle discusses the latest developments in the fiduciary rule governing the behavior of finan

Jeffrey Cleveland, chief economist at Payden & Rygel, says that current conditions -- with inflation falling significantly year-over-year and no attendant hike in unemployment and no recession -- are the proverbial soft landing, and he believes these conditions can persist at least through the rest of the year. The soft landing as the dominant macro story will give the Federal Reserve leeway to cut interest rates less than expected, Cleveland says, and he expects central bankers to make cuts cautiously and reluctantly. By comparison, in the Talking Technicals segment, Chris Vermeulen, chief market strategist at The Technical Traders says that he thinks the stock market has one last leg up before the indexes -- which are showing signs of topping out -- take a turn for the worse, triggering a correction that he expects to start before election day in November. Further, Vermeulen says the rough market conditions will stick around, rather than representing a buying opportunity on the rebound. Plus, Larry McDo

Steve Sosnick, chief market strategist at Interactive Brokers, says "This is one of the most momentum-driven markets I can recall ... where the winning stocks in one month continue to be the winning stocks the next month and then continue to win again the following month." Yet he believes in being fearful at times when others are greedy, because there are enough warning signs to make investors justifiably concerned that the rally can't last forever. Sosnick says now that the strong economy has made it that the Federal Reserve doesn't need to make rate cuts now, though he still expects them later this year. Also on the show, Kyle Guske, investment analyst at New Constructs, says that recently revealed accounting concerns may be the catalyst that knocks data-center REIT Equinix from its lofty perch, so he put the stock back in The Danger Zone, but Samuel Adams, chief executive at Vert Asset Management and manager of the Vert Global Sustainable Real Estate fund, says in the Market Call that data centers -- and p

Scott Colyer, chief executive officer at Advisors Asset Management, says he is cautious right now, but the cyclicals, materials, energy and health care tend to be strong during periods when the Federal Reserve is bringing interest rates down. He suggests riding that trend, saying "You take your cue from the Fed, now is the time that you want risk-on. Kendall Dilley, portfolio manager at Vineyard Global Advisors, says he expects the stock market to have its average draw-down of 14 percent at some point this year, but he expects it to be a buying opportunity for long-term investors. Plus, Axel Merk, chief investment officer of the ASA Gold and Precious Metals, discusses the impact that Saba Capital Management is having on the fund and on shareholders, having entered the fund as an activist, moving to change the board as it pushes for a double-digit discount to be narrowed. Merk discusses the challenge of dealing with activist investors in a junior mining fund, the potential for the fund to be liquidated, the po

Cheryl Smith, economist/portfolio manager at Trillium Asset Management, sees the economic tide as running out, and that it will be taking the stock market with it, and while she does not think it will be a steep, sharp, protracted drop, she does say investors will want to prepare for it. She suggests keeping the portfolio simple, rather than going after alternative investments built to make money even when the market is down; she says investors will likely prefer buying U.S. multinational companies rather than investing in foreign stocks and says investors should be moving the portfolio now, so that it is well-positioned  when trouble arrives post-election. Also on the show, Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, makes a young actively managed bond fund from Pimco his "ETF of the Week," Cassandra Happe discusses a WalletHub study showing that nearly early 3 in 4 Americans think tipping has gotten out of control, and money manager and financial historian Daniel Peris discusses his new book, "The Ownersh

Kim Blanton, writer at the Boston College Center for Retirement Research, calls the search for assisted living "an opaque experience" and notes -- through the story of her mother but also reporting from a hearing before the Senate Committee on Aging from January -- that most people focus more on the "living" part of the issues when they should be paying most attention to the assistance part of the plan. Nick Young, chief experience officer at Money Pickle joins Chuck on The Financial Crunch to discuss robo advisors compared to working with planning pros, Ted Rossman discusses a new BankRate.com survey showing that a growing number of taxpayers plan to boost savings rather than paying down debts with tax refunds this year, and Geoff Garbacz, principal at Quantitative Partners, brings his indicator-driven approach to the Market Call.