Money Life with Chuck Jaffe

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Midas Funds' Winmill: With low, stable rates, this gold rally still has legs Aug 04, 2025

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Thomas Winmill, manager of the Midas Discovery Fund and the Bexil Investment Trust, says that while the rally in gold is long in the tooth — at record highs having lasted twice as long as the standard rally — but he makes the case that it still has plenty of room to run, boosted by purchases made by central banks around the world. Winmill says that a rising dollar might end the rally, but that's not in his forecast; he sees rates staying low or stable, providing enough fuel that the price of gold-mining stocks "could be a triple from here." David Trainer, founder and president at New Constructs, puts Peloton Interactive back into The Danger Zone, noting that the company — which is reporting earnings this week — has turned into a meme stock that has doubled its price from recent lows, but which hasn't improved a negative economic book value, meaning the current rally could be the proverbial dead-cat bounce. Lester Jones, chief economist for the National Beer Wholesalers Association discusses the latest Beer Purchasers Index, which showed a big decline from a year ago — meaning there could be an economic slowdown ahead — but a big improvement from the numbers released a month ago, which would signal that buyers are in a "holding pattern" waiting on tariff and other news before making purchase decisions. Plus, Chuck goes off the news on how a "boring" July that saw the market reach 10 record highs may have been setting up a rough August, and how the numbers could be tougher to get a read on depending on government changes in the future.

Horizon's Ladner: Don't get too comfortable, complacent about record highs Aug 01, 2025

Show notes

Scott Ladner, chief investment officer at Horizon Investments, says he's "not super comfortable right now because everyone else is."While he doesn't see anything specific that could derail the markets, he notes that times when investors throw caution to the wind typically end badly, and that August historically has been a month for market surprises. Ladner says that earnings have been good enough to drive success this year, and that should continue, though it may reflect sluggish economic conditions and slow down a bit before the year ends. John Cole Scott, president of CEF Advisors — the chairman of the Active Investment Company Alliance — digs into his firm's data to look at whether the double-digit yields that are easily found in many closed-end fund asset categories are real and worth pursuing or if they are dangerous and headed for a fall. Plus David Miller, co-founder of the Catalyst Mutual Funds, brings his mix of wide-moat and fundamental research with insider-buying and other factors to the Market Call.

S&P Global's Gruenwald: Slower growth, higher inflation but no recession Jul 31, 2025

Show notes

Paul Gruenwald, chief economist at S&P Global Ratings, says he expects a jump in consumer prices to 3.5 percent by the end of the year, and — while he thinks the move will be temporary or a one-time response to resolution of tariff uncertainty — he expects that to make the Federal Reserve more cautious about cutting rates. That's especially true because he expects economic growth to slow from about 3% early in the year to just above 1% by year's end. Despite that damper on growth, he says the economy will avoid a recession, muddling through a period of doldrums. Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, makes the ETF variation of one of the greatest mutual funds of all time his pick for the ETF of the Week, and Chuck tackles Wednesday's news from the Federal Reserve, noting that if rate cuts happen this year — he's been skeptical for months — they will still disappoint investors and economists who now seem certain that the Fed will move at its next meeting in September.

U.S. Global's Holmes: In an ongoing bull market, ride out headwinds and headlines Jul 30, 2025

Show notes

Frank Holmes, chief investment officer at U.S. Global Investors — also the executive chairman at Hive Blockchain — says that investors should adjust to market conditions that are "sunny but … windy," with more volatility and changing conditions but generally pleasant and not hard to navigate through "because we're in a secular bull market." Holmes discusses the recent strength in the gold market — where he advocates for a mix between holding the metal and owning miners — and in crypto markets, where he says adoption is key to continued growth and value creation. Deb Boyden, head of U.S. defined contribution at Schroders discusses the firm's annual Retirement Survey, which showed that Americans who are retired are facing a reality that is significantly different than what they expected during their earning and accumulating years, which is adding surprising amounts of financial stress to their golden years. Plus Chuck answers a question from a listener who, like Chuck's wife Gail, has a portfolio that is too heavy on equities, where he needs to figure out how to best make changes to better reflect age and risk tolerance.

Veteran technical analyst sees a correction, but more about time than price Jul 29, 2025

Show notes

Matt Harris, chief investment officer at The Hausberg Group, says that he expects a correction in the not-too-distant future, but he says that it is more likely to be about time — where the market trades sideways and lets the fundamentals catch up to recent price activity than it is about stock prices. In fact, Harris is not exceptionally worried about the current rally ending, because while the market is up about 30 percent since its April lows, it is only up about 15 percent in the last year. That's good, Harris says, "but not too far too fast," especially because current performance is within the ranges of historical norms. Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at BankRate.com, says he still expects the Federal Reserve to make two rate cuts before year's end, but he's not expecting any moves when the central bank meets this week, and he says that rate cuts have already been mostly priced into the market , meaning that when reductions finally happen they will not have the full, classic impact that the market expects from cuts. Plus Drew Miyawaki, director of managed investment solutions for Westwood Holdings Group, talks about allocating assets now amid global uncertainty and ways to play foreign markets by focusing at least as much on a country's government structure and geopolitics as on its markets.

Baird's Fitterer sees muni bonds having an edge in fixed income now Jul 28, 2025

Show notes

Lyle Fitterer, senior portfolio manager for the Baird Funds — manager of the Baird Municipal Bond and Baird Strategic Muni Bond funds — says that absolute yields on fixed income looks pretty attractive, but that muni bonds have lagging some other bond types through the beginning of the year, but are poised now for better results in the second half of the year. Selma Hepp, chief economist at Cotality — chairperson of the Business Conditions Survey for the National Association for Business Economics — says that the July survey released today shows that corporate economists have reduced the odds that there's a recession moving forward, but noted that their employers are taking a more cautious approach as they deal with elevated costs in light of tariff changes and other policies. Kyle Guske, analyst at New Constructs, revisits SunRun as a pick in the Danger Zone, noting that the stock bas been cut dramatically after a huge decline in value, but recently has had a bounce from new lows that is setting up buyers for the next big decline. Plus, in the Market Call, Patrick Healey, founder/president of Caliber Financial Partners, talks about stocks and finding a dynamic balance in current conditions.

First Franklin's Ewing expects 'to hit a lot more highs before the end of the year' Jul 25, 2025

Show notes

Brett Ewing, chief market strategist at First Franklin Financial Services, says he's expecting "green lights from here" for the market with a lot of policy moves by the Trump Administration getting to where they are sorted out and where they will impact the market later in the year, including de-regulation efforts which he believes will be an active investment play. Ewing noted that the stock market has already hit 12 all-time highs this year "and I think we are going to hit a lot more before the end of the year," noting that he started 2025 with his price target for the Standard & Poor's 500 at 6,900, a level he still thinks will hold through some volatility and a possible correction before we reach the new year. Jason Akus, head of healthcare investing for Aberdeen Investments, says that current conditions for health care and biotech investing are making for "one of the most challenging, difficult and dislocated environments I've seen," but he sees "green shoots" for growth that could change the sectors' fortunes. Plus, personal finance journalist Brian O'Connor goes "Off the News" to discuss his recent New York Times story on how Americans spend their lives saving for retirement but have no plan for cashing out and managing their assets without running out of money.

Economist Silvia says now is the time when tariff price hikes show up Jul 24, 2025

Show notes

John Silvia, chief executive officer, at Dynamic Economic Strategy, says that anticipated price hikes caused by tariffs haven't happened because the business community didn't want to increase prices until it had some certainty on the taxation levels. Now that the market is approaching clarity, he expects a raft of price increases, and for the economic impacts of the tariffs to hit home, making the economy more sluggish, but not pushing it over the edge into recession. Natalie Trevithick, head of investment grade corporate bonds at Payden & Rygel, discusses the hot areas of corporate and high-yield bonds and whether their stellar performance can continue when the Federal Reserve starts cutting rates, which she is expecting to start soon. Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, makes a multi-factor index fund his #ETFoftheWeek, and Hari Srinivasan, chief executive officer at iCover Insure, discusses why nearly half of Americans don't have life insurance.

Strategist Miskin says investors should lean into bonds now Jul 23, 2025

Show notes

Matt Miskin, co-chief investment strategist at Manulife John Hancock Investments, knows that it's hard to get investors focused on fixed income when the stock market is flirting with record highs, but he says that equities are poised to experience slower gains moving forward at a point where bonds are delivering solid, steady income. He's not backing away from stocks, but with the forward price/earnings ratio for stocks near its own record highs, he is taking a more defensive posture because the math suggests that "bonds can compete with stocks" moving forward. Rob Williams discusses the 9th annual Modern Wealth Survey from Charles Schwab, which showed that Americans believe it takes roughly $840,000 in net worth to be "financially comfortable," up from about $780,000 a year ago. Plus, in the Market Call, James Abate, head of fundamental strategies at Horizon Investments — portfolio manager for the Centre Funds — talks infrastructure investing and more.

Crossmark's Doll on his highly accurate '25 forecasts and market's limited upside Jul 22, 2025

Show notes

Veteran Wall Street observer Bob Doll, chief investment officer at Crossmark Global Investments, returns to the show to review how his annual predictions for the year ahead are turning out midway into 2025, and despite the headlines and the volatility and uncertainty surrounding the market, Doll appears to be on pace for his best year ever, with at least nine of his forecasts looking like they might finish the year in the money. Doll says the stock market may not have much more upside left this year, particularly if the Federal Reserve doesn't lower rates and inflation stays higher for longer, but even if those things mute the market, he doesn't think they will send it falling significantly from here. Jim Lee, founder of StratFi, says that benign long-term trends for stocks have made him somewhat bullish, leading him to expect gains for the market in the 5 to 10% range for the rest of the year. He says the lower-growth economy remains expansionary, almost a Goldilocks situation for the economics, though he notes that politics continue to take the clarity out of these conditions and will keep making investors nervous. Nick Maggiulli, chief operating officer of Ritholtz Wealth Management and blogger at Of Dollars and Data brings his numbers-driven approach to retirement planning in his new book, "The Wealth Ladder: Proven Strategies for Every Step of Your Financial Life." He discusses the book — and how consumers can determine how much they can comfortably spend each day and more — in the Book Interview.

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