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It is likely that 2025 will bring tension between the Federal Reserve and the Federal government. After last week’s strong jobs report, the possibility of further interest rate cuts has greatly diminished, and everything is pointing to higher bond yields which are rising to their highest levels since 2023. The futures market is now predicting only one interest cate cut in September. Indeed, some analysts are even beginning to consider the possibility of rate hikes in 2025, after a University of Michigan survey showed consumers’ inflation expectations jumped to 3.3% in January from 2.8% the month prior. Stocks are now back to pre-election levels.

The showdown this year will be betw...

Wall Street analysts are now predicting that the S&P 500 will report earnings growth of 11.33% in 2024 and 14.4% in 2025. While these are estimates, the outlook is very strong, and has even been revised up since the end of last year. We are in the midst of a “soft landing” with expectations of rate cuts ahead by the Fed, which is a bullish scenario.

Inflation has come down to 3%, and while prices are still 21% higher than when the pandemic began in early 2020, the inflation swap market is previewing 2% inflation in one year’s time. Low unemployment and real wage gains are keeping the consumer positive, and stimulative fiscal policy is still providing a tailwind to the econom...