Money Life with Chuck Jaffe

Latest Episodes:

Economists take a U-turn on expected recession outcome Aug 23, 2023

Show notes

Mervin Jebaraj, a professor at the University of Arkansas who chairs the Economic Policy Survey for the National Association for Business Economics, says the group's most recent poll of members showed a remarkable turnaround of sentiment from just a few months ago. Two-thirds of the economists polled were confident the economy is headed for a soft-landing scenario now, as opposed to the March survey results which showed nearly 70 percent had no confidence in a good outcome. Also on the show, Joe Ferrara, investment strategist at Gateway Investment Adviser, talks about playing defense in these confusing market times, Elliott Gue of the Energy and Income Advisor tackles the Money Life Market Call, and Chuck talks about the closure of a fund that tracked the stock picks of CNBC stock-talker Jim Cramer.

Orion's Vanneman: Storm clouds still hang over the resilient economy Aug 22, 2023

Show notes

Rusty Vanneman, chief investment officer at Orion, says that while the economy has done better than experts forecasts and predictions of a soft- or no-landing scenario are well-reasoned, the leading indicators -- which take a long time to impact the economy -- show that storm clouds remain in place, at least enough so that investors should be cautious. He talks about diversifying into this market to account for those risks. Also on the show, Bryan Armour of Morningstar discusses the firm's latest U.S. fund fees study, which shows that Americans are saving billions by continuing to adhere to cost-conscious strategies, forensic accountant Tracy Coenen discusses in 'Find Me The Money' how couples can and should commingle finances and money-management styles when first connecting to avoid trouble later, and Scott Bennett of Invest With Rules puts his rules to work in the Money Life Market Call.

Edward Yardeni: Rolling recessions, yes, but also 'rolling recoveries' Aug 21, 2023

Show notes

Edward Yardeni, president and chief investment strategist at Yardeni Research, says it is possible that long-term recession predictors like the inverted yield curve and leading indicators may not be right this time, but mostly because the economy has been going through a series of recessions in various sectors. At the same time as those niche downturns, Yardeni says there have been simultaneous recoveries occurring in other portions of the economy, creating a counterbalance that has kept the United States out of a full-blown recession and which appears likely to keep it out of any protracted decline. Also on the show, John Cole Scott of Closed-End Fund Advisors and the Active Investment Company Alliance, talks about the widest discounts the closed-end fund industry has seen in decades and how that is a big buy signal right now. Plus, David Trainer of New Constructs puts ride-share company Lyft back in The Danger Zone, noting that its recent rebound shouldn't fool anyone into thinking the company is out of the woods and looking solid for the future.

Payden's Lopez on why high-yield is working in a high-rate environment Aug 18, 2023

Show notes

Jordan Lopez, manager of the Payden High Income Fund, says that the healthy economy -- which he sees as being able to avoid a protracted and/or deep recession -- has high-yield securities in a good place, able to pay out returns that beat current inflation rates without much additional default risk. He notes that with a lot of high-yield debt currently having intermediate maturities, companies can be flexible and patient, which will help to guard against rising costs of capital until the rate trend turns. Also on the show, Lawrence McMillan, president of McMillan Analysis, says the market has been pushing against support levels and if it breaks through 4,300 on the Standard and Poor's 500, it could break out of its current range and fall significantly; still, he feels like most of the downside pressure is a short-term risk, with longer-term technical indicators holding up reasonably well. Plus, Christian Munafo of Liberty Street Advisors and the Private Shares Fund talks about burgeoning opportunities in private-equity and venture-capital investing, and David Miller of the Catalyst Mutual Funds talks in the Market Call about using insider-buying as a buy/sell factor in stock selection.

NFCU's Frick: Recession was never a danger, yield curve doesn't matter Aug 17, 2023

Show notes

Robert Frick, corporate economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, says that, in hindsight, the economy was never in real danger of a recession because of the strong consumer and with the consumer now getting stronger the economy will be able to move forward at reasonable growth levels. Frick also calls the inverted yield curve and the leading economic indicators 'irrelevant,' noting that conditions were so changed by the pandemic that the key numbers to watch changed. He watches spending, and while he feels good about prospects, Frick is not optimistic due to economic challenges facing the nearly one-third of Americans who qualify as 'lower-income.' Also on the show, Tom Lydon of VettaFi turns to uranium for his ETF of the Week. And the Market Call features a first in the history of the show -- coverage of preferred securities -- with Douglas Crimmins of Relative Value Partners talking about generating income at reasonable prices.

Allan Sloan, on why the economy's biggest threat isn't inflation Aug 16, 2023

Show notes

Financial journalist Allan Sloan -- a seven-time winner of business journalism's highest honor, the Loeb Award -- says that while it appears the country can avoid a recession, America can't avoid long-term financial trouble if leaders in Washington can't find a way to compromise and make progress on financial goals. He says the Fitch Ratings downgrade of U.S. credit is a sign that the markets recognize how intractable the country's political divide is. In The Big Interview, Rohan Reddy, director of research at Global X ETFs, talks short-term Treasury investing in a high-rate market with an inverted yield curve, but also touches on other investment themes driving pockets of the market today. In the Market Call, Mike Liss of the American Century Value fund, discusses relative-value investing and the ease of finding reasonable bargains today.

Cambiar's Barish: Rising cost of capital will help value stocks Aug 15, 2023

Show notes

Brian Barish, president and chief investment officer for Cambiar Investors, says that rising interest rates have increased the cost of capital for businesses, which is shifting which industries and businesses can thrive. The increased cost of capital is changing market conditions to where value and growth investing are now on a more equal footing, and should be more balanced moving forward. Leo Leydon, president of Financial Focus Advisory Services, says the economy has had its recession in the form of two negative GDP quarters last year, and that people expecting a bear market have been wrong; while he expects a pullback in the market, Leydon thinks it will be short enough to be treated like a buying opportunity. Susan Fahy examines the latest 'Credit Gauge' from VantageScore, which shows that delinquencies are up slightly but that American consumers are using credit more cautiously. Plus, forensic accountant Tracy Coenen gets real in discussing pre-nups, post-nups and 're-nups,' and showing how some cases involving 'Real Housewives' cast members highlight the struggles couples have when dividing both assets and debts when the relationship and the money don't turn out as anticipated on the wedding day.

Virtus' Terranova says we've already seen the hard landing Aug 14, 2023

Show notes

Joe Terranova, chief market strategist at Virtus Investment Partners, says the worst is over for the economy -- the worst being the horrible stock and bond market of 2022 -- and that while recessionary conditions exist or may bubble up in some sectors, the overall market is likely to be strong, retaining or growing the gains the market has experienced thus far this year. David Trainer, president and founder at New Constructs puts Wayfair back in the Danger Zone, noting that with the stock having more than doubled this year, recent good news has merely made the situation more dangerous. Also on the show, Chuck takes a listener's question on declaring for Social Security benefits and Craig Copeland, director of wealth benefits research at Employee Benefit Research Institute, talks about the negative impacts that caring for loved ones can have on the caregivers' retirement confidence.

Wells Fargo's Cronk: The full (negative) impact of Fed moves hasn't hit yet Aug 11, 2023

Show notes

Darrell Cronk, chief investment officer at Wells Fargo Wealth and Investment Management, says the slow-developing impacts from the Federal Reserve's monetary tightening policy 'still lies before us,' putting the market 'in a vulnerable spot' as it enters August, September and October, historically the toughest months of the year. As a result, he expects a 'tactical correction' late this year, and urges patience while that plays out. Also stressing patience on this show is Jason Brown of The Brown Report, who notes that the market has hit a band of resistance short of returning to all-time highs and he expects it to struggle to break through, although he thinks support levels will hold up because the negatives have been priced in. He expects a choppy, range-bound market that works well for options and covered-call strategies but is hard on directional traders who need bullish or bearish trends. Plus, Scott Caraher, head of senior loans at Nuveen says rate hikes are stressing low-rated companies and are likely to spur new defaults, but also creating opportunities in higher-rated paper that can get through the economic downturn and thrive when rates eventually start to reverse their course

Touchstone's Thomas: 'The stock market has gotten ahead of itself' Aug 10, 2023

Show notes

Crit Thomas, global market strategist at Touchstone Investments, says the stock market's strong run makes investors feel good, but it has gotten to a point where the market is expecting more that a slowing economy that is dealing with inflation can deliver. Thomas says the current earnings recession is problematic -- regardless of whether the broad economy enters a recession -- because it shows that micro issues and what is happening at the company level will be more important than the macro, big-picture issues moving into 2024. In the ETF of the Week, Tom Lydon of VettaFi looks at a new fund that puts a different twist -- driven by artificial intelligence -- on 'Buy on the dips.' Ted Rossman of Bankrate.com looks at how inflation and rate changes are impacting credit-card users, and what it all says for the big picture at a time when credit-card debt nationally now exceeds $1 trillion. In the Market Call, Dorrit Lowsen, president of Change Finance, talks stocks through the lens of her firm's unique take on ESG investing.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Money Life with Chuck Jaffe

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected