Money Life With Chuck Jaffe Daily Podcast

Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management, says that for all of the concerns that tariffs have created for the economy, the situation playing out in the courts now has put a cap on how much can be done that reduces the chance of recession. Jacobsen says that the bond market is signalling potential concerns now while the stock market is suggesting that "everything is fine," and he notes that both messages can be correct amid uncertainty around inflation, government debt levels and more. Jacobsen also discusses the sentiment numbers, which suggest that consumers are miserable, but he says that Americans aren't yet reflecting that attitude with their spending habits. Yetin a Survey Said interview to open the show, Chip Lupo analyzes the latest WalletHub Economic Index, which showed that consumer optimism is plummeting and that it is starting to impact those spending decisions. Plus David Trainer, president at New Constructs, introduces the concept of "fake dividend stocks" in the Danger Zone thi

Jim Thorne, economist and chief market strategist at Wellington-Altus Private Wealth, says the target he was setting for the stock market entering 2025 holds, and that means 7,000 on the Standard & Poor's 500 "is doable this year, and I think we will rally nicely into the mid-term elections." Thorne believes the economy can avoid a recession, which will slowly help to turn the soft data as consumers and investors regain confidence, which — coupled with interest rate cuts which he says are overdue — will keep the United States markets not only moving up but the best place to invest in the world. John Cole Scott, president of Closed-End Fund Advisors, looks at two mainstream media articles that named "the best closed-end funds" and digs into the data to compare those picks to his own — made on previous appearances on The NAVigator — to see how well the one-size-fits-all advice actually suits investors. It's a lesson in evaluating funds, but also on sizing up the sources of investment recommendations. Plus,

John Lekas, president and senior portfolio manager at Leader Capital Corp., says that focusing on the numbers rather than the headlines shows a market that has the potential to gain 5 to 10 percent before year's end, with solid gains in the bond market as well, particularly in collateralized mortgage obligations. Lekas says he's not worried about inflation remaining sticky because stocks often perform well during inflationary times; he thinks the dollar will get 10 percent weaker over the course of the year — and notes that the dollar is his primary worry — but he notes that the dollar's change is not convincing him to invest internationally. He's still sold on the domestic market, and says the currency volatility makes the international picture murkier and less attractive. Kelley Wright, editor at Investment Quality Trends, discusses value stocks for the long haul in the Market Call, and Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, leans into the changing market conditions by picking an active thematic rota

Laurence Kotlikoff, professor of economics at Boston University and the founder of Maxifi.com — which helps investors bring economics into their financial planning decisions — says investors who have spent decades thinking the stock market rebounds from every dip and decline could be in for a different story with a coming recession, and he thinks they should be trying to lock in their standard of living rather than focusing on historic rates of return. To that end, he says he has cut his personal equity exposure from 60 percent of the portfolio to 20-25 percent. "I do see only downside risk from what's going on," Kotlikoff says. "Even if there is nothing changed on average, the uncertainty itself is enough to produce a recession and a big drop in the stock market." Ted Rossman discusses a recent Bankrate.com survey which showed that more than half of Americans say they will spend less on discretionary items like travel, dining out and live entertainment, but he also notes how plans to limit spending often fai

John Petrides, portfolio manager at Tocqueville Asset Management, says that today's heightened volatility should have investors spreading their bets, "because the world is so unsettled right now that it's hard to have conviction to lean into one position, one asset class or one investment all on one side of the boat at one time." He says the market has ridden out a storm but isn't settled, and investors will want to extend their international investments to get good values, but will want to capitalize on premiums currently available in bonds, will want to diversify geopolitical risk with gold and will want to be selective on domestic stocks as they watch the tariff and economic situations play out. Plus journalist Sara Bongiorni, who wrote a book in 2007 called “A Year Without Made in China,” which chronicled her efforts to simply avoid goods made in China for 12 months, discusses how hard she thinks it will be for Americans to minimize the impact of tariff policies, noting that certain industries — from shoe

Jack Janasiewicz, senior vice president and portfolio strategist at Natixis Investment Managers, says the market is in the middle of "one big range trade, and we're probably a lot closer to being at the top of the range rather than the bottom," which means there is more likely room to move down from here rather than to post big gains. Janasiewicz says the the slowing economy needs more time to work through the hard data, which will take time, and will likely lead to a volatile market within the current range. Janasiewicz says the market must also deal with short-term concerns over the weakening dollar, but says he think those worries are overblown when it comes to their long-term impact; like most analysts right now, he likes gold as a dollar diversifier to help ride out the issues. Brian Griggs, head of portfolio strategy and solutions at Nuveen, says that investors have long had too much dependence on large-cap domestic stocks and an over-reliance on duration in fixed-income allocations, which is leading to

Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, says that investors appear divorced from fundamentals, buying dips, chasing rallies and generally hoping for a lot of things to go right as the market climbs "a huge wall of worry" and mostly ignores that earnings growth forecasts of 12 percent entering the year are now being predicted at about 7 percent. Sosnick expects interest rate cuts later this year, but notes that they will be made from a position of economic weakness, and he also thinks the stock market is much more likely to re-test its April lows — right after tariff policies were announced — than to set new record highs, noting that just the conditions that are clear and aren't muddled by uncertainty should make investors think "Buckle in for volatility." Just over a month after making an actively managed commodities fund the ETF of the Week, Todd Rosenbluth head of research at VettaFi, turns his focus back to commodities, this time highlighting an index-based option from Aberdeen Investments.

Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management, says that investors watching headlines about the economy, the weakening dollar and more need to realize that policy shifts and global changes play out over long stretches of time, so that investors should react in small, modest ways. For Zaccarelli, that has included adding gold to the portfolio as a dollar diversifier and reducing risk while waiting to see how the economy unfolds and creates chances to be opportunistic buyers in areas like small-cap stocks and more. Rachel Perez discusses a survey done by Secure Data Recovery which looks at Americans' obsession with tracking their data — from hours sleeping to weight to all things financial — which found that 70 percent of the Americans who track their spending (and nearly two-thirds of those who track savings) say that watching and analyzing the numbers makes them anxious. Plus retired economics teacher David Mayer discusses his new book, "Economics in Plain English," and why in chal

Karl Mills, partner at Cerity Partners, says investors have survived all kinds of events that seem as bad or worse than anything they are facing now, which is a reason to "stay along for the ride," even if that means moving to the slow lane — where he is positioned now — and being moderately defensive. Mills says he looks at current events "like friction," in that the "don't  prevent things from happen, but they make it harder for things to happen" by slowing growth, raising prices and cutting into sales, which will dampen market results while they play out. Mills notes that domestic market valuations remain high, international markets are priced more attractively and also benefit from the low expectations investors have of how foreign investments will turn out amid ongoing tariff questions.George Bory, chief investment strategist for fixed income at Allspring Global Investments, discusses the potential short- and long-term outcomes resulting from last Friday's downgrade of the United States' credit rating by

Fritz Folts, chief investment strategist at 3Edge Asset Management. says the uncertainty about tariff policy — which has pushed uncertainty over interest-rate and monetary policies nearly out of sight — has made it particularly hard for investors to decide where to go with their money now. While the hard economic data is good, Folts notes that the concern is how quickly it may change once tariff chaos hits consumer prices; the result is that he's splitting his equity assets 50-50 between domestic and international stocks, and is looking at short-duration bonds and gold  to hedge the stock exposure. Selma Hepp, chief economist at Cotality, discusses the latest National Association for Business Economics Business Conditions Survey, released today, which shows that economists' share Folts' concern about the coming months, with 75 percent of the survey respondents putting the probability of a recession in the next year at 25 percent. Just 15 percent of economists were that strong on recession chances in January.

James St. Aubin, chief investment officer at Ocean Park Asset Management, says the stock market is pricing solid corporate earnings and generally strong economic growth momentum, but those gains haven't ended the uncertainty around tariff policies. While the market seems to think the impacts will be muted, St. Aubin says we are in a waiting period to see how consumers, markets and economies are truly impacted by tariffs, and the generally positive view leaves more potential downside risk that investors should guard against. Mark Gatto, co-chief executive officer at CION Investment Group, discusses how private markets have been reacting to the policy turmoil and how they have been steadier and less volatile than public markets amid the broad market swings caused by current events. Plus Adam Bierman, a founder of MedMen — one of the earliest public entrants into the marijuana business — discusses his book "Weed Empire: How I Battled Gangsters, Investment Banks, and the Department of Justice to Build the Cannabi

Andrew Foster, chief investment officer at Seafarer Capital Partners — manager of the Seafarer Overseas Growth Fund — says emerging markets are poised to thrive in an environment where the dollar is weakening against not only foreign currencies but gold, Bitcoin and "a bag of Doritos." Foster says that the fundamentals are improving for emerging markets, which are showing the potential for a second consecutive year of 12 percent growth in earnings despite tariff and trade concerns. He says stronger stock profits combined with currencies getting stronger against the dollar is "a good setup" for investors looking to diversify a portfolio. Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, also talks international investing, going abroad — though to developed markets rather than emerging markets — with his pick for the ETF of the Week. Plus, Chuck talks about how investors might want to adjust portfolio fits — and follow the advice from recent guests — now that the market has bounced back and crossed into positive te

George Milling-Stanley, chief gold strategist at State Street Global Advisors, says he expects gold to trade between $3,100 and $3,500 for the remainder of the year, but is making the bullish case for new record price levels as high as $3,900 an ounce, noting that he believes the new bottom level for gold is $3,000 an ounce, up by $1,000 in the last year. Milling-Stanley says gold has been working well as a geo-political hedge, providing ballast to portfolios that have been whipsawed by current economic policies, but he acknowledges that gold has not done a great job in its traditional role as a counter-weight to inflation, because inflation levels have not been high enough for long enough for gold to deliver in that role. Kristy Akullian, head of iShares investment strategy for the Americas at BlackRock, says that Tuesday's consumer price index numbers didn't show the impact of tariff-related price increases, but those could impact the numbers as soon as next month; meanwhile, the current CPI print should en

Vincent Reinhart, chief economist and macro strategist at BNY Investments, says that Monday's temporary halt to the tariff battle between the United States and China significantly reduces the potential for a recession, but it doesn't create the clarity that investors and business leaders are seeking. He believes the U.S. will continue to deliver solid results long-term, but warns that the road to those long-term gains is likely to be bumpy, and even notes that "for now, cash looks pretty attractive." Larry Tentarelli, editor at Blue Chip Daily Trend Report, says that the market's gains Monday continue a trend that has been building since the market bottomed after "Liberation Day." He says the recent moves have crossed trend lines and moved the Nasdaq out of bear-market territory and the recent gains have more room to run. Plus, Paula Fleming, chief spokesman for the Better Business Bureau of Eastern Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont, talks about avoiding summer scams around roofing, home construc

Talley Leger, chief market strategist at The Wealth Consulting Group, says the stock market over-reacted to the downside over tariff announcements and that investor sentiment was so sour that it flashed big buying signals to him. Now that there has been some easing of tariff tensions with the United States and China announcing a deal on Monday, Leger says he thinks the market can push through the trouble, sustain a 2 percent growth rate and work through volatility to end the year with the Standard & Poor's 500 in the 6,500 range, about 15 percent up from where it started the day. David Trainer, founder and president at New Constructs, puts FreshPet back in the Danger Zone, noting that the stock has a franchise that might attract potential buyers, but it has a business that can't see a clear path to profitability as it exists now. David Brady, president, Brady Investment Counsel talks stocks in the Money Life Market Call. 

David Kelly, chief global strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, says that using tariffs "is like throwing a grenade as an offensive weapon when you are in a small room. You are much more likely to damage yourself than anybody else," which is why he is expecting the Trump Administration to back away from its heavy demands rather than go into a trade war. Despite being "one Tweet away from a solution," Kelly worries that the economy will suffer damage — particularly if it's not cleared up soon — but he notes that he does believe a recession is in the offing, with the good news being that he thinks that slowdown will be shallow and short-lived, passing by the end of the year. Peter Chung, director of research at Presto Research, a firm that trades digital assets, checks in on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and discusses their strong rebound since taking a nosedive along with the stock market heading into "Liberation Day" and through the subsequent downturn; he discusses how digital assets are being imp

Economist Daniel Altman — who publishes the Daniel Altman's High Yield Economics newsletter — says that the Federal Reserve and its chairman Jerome Powell provided more certainty than the market was expecting on Wednesday by effectively confirming that fighting inflation, rather than unemployment, is Job One. That means interest rates will stay higher for longer, with cuts not occurring until late this year or into 2026. Altman worries about the potential for stagflation and says that the job market may be weaker than the numbers are suggesting, but he does believe the worst-case outcomes can be avoided with appropriate policy decisions. Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist at Allianz Investment Management, says that the soft economic data like consumer confidence suggests that the economy is headed into a big slowdown, but the hard data isn't validating the biggest worries yet. Ripley says fundamentals remain strong, and that there are some plusses — like falling energy prices — that have been overlo

Economist Steven Durlauf, director of the Stone Center for Research on Wealth Inequality and Mobility at the Harris School of Public Policy Studies at the University of Chicago, says that the federal budget deficit is the biggest source of the country's trade deficit, meaning politicians have failed "to seriously address the relationship between what the government wishes to do and how much it costs." If politicians can't cut budget deficits and, potentially, raise taxes, Durlauf says, tariffs won't fix the problem, and will cause new troubles. Durlauf sees the tariffs creating a one-time price hike of 2 to 3 percent, he expects unemployment to rise by about 1 percent, and he expects stagflation while the government sorts out tariffs and ultimately settles on lower levels than have been in current headlines. Howard Dvorkin, chairman at Debt.com, talks about how consumers who were already acting stretched are likely to respond to feeling the pinch of tariff-induced price hikes, and whether that will be the thi

Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial, says that while the economy is starting to point towards likely outcomes — an economic slowdown that leads to stagflation but likely stops short of recession — the extremes are still possible. That means the outcomes run from a potential trade war to a no-landing scenario until at least 2026. Roach discusses the challenges faced by international economies and markets right now, as well as whether stagflation or recession is worse for consumers. Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at BankRate.com, discusses what he expects to hear from the Federal Reserve later this week, but also notes that investors who are scared of the current markets can find safe havens in banking products, once again creating CD ladders that can deliver above-inflation returns while also dealing with rate cuts likely to arrive later this year. Plus Robert Farrington, founder of The College Investor, discusses the end of student-loan relief that has been in place for the last five years,

Odeta Kushi, deputy chief economist at First American Financial Corp., says she expects the housing market to remain sluggish for as mortgage rates remain above 6 percent; while she expects the Federal Reserve to cut rates during the second half of the year, she's not expecting conditions to change much. That said, she noted that First American's Housing Recession Indicator — based on the trends of eight economic variables — is not flashing red, largely because new home sales have remained strong enough to overcome the other headwinds that home builders are facing. David Trainer, founder and president, New Constructs, puts electric-vehicle maker Rivian back in the Danger Zone; the stock first appeared there as an IPO and is way down since, but Trainer questions whether there is any way to hit the brakes on what he sees as a slide that ends near zero. Lester Jones, chief economist for the National Beer Wholesalers Association, discusses the latest Beer Purchasers' Index, which is an economic buzzkill as it sho