JPMorgan: GDP Growth 'Is Like Running on Red Bull'
*By Michael Teich*
President Trump's top economic advisor Larry Kudlow said this week that economic growth could top [4 percent](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/18/trump-advisor-kudlow-says-economic-growth-could-top-4percent-for-a-quarter-.html).
And while JPMorgan ETFs global market strategist Samantha Azzarello agrees, she does doubt its sustainability.
"It’s like running on Red Bull, which you can not do forever," she told Cheddar in an interview Thursday.
The economy is getting a jolt from tax cuts, government spending, and high consumption. But trade tensions have weighed on the markets recently, and as Azzarello explained, we're late in the cycleーthe bull market turned 9 years old in March, its longest ever run.
"There's fatigue with this bull market, which is bizarre. We should feel good that the earnings growth is so good," she said.
"If you contrast the earnings data, which is so positive and so strong, with how much the market is up, it literally doesn't make any sense."
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/u-s-economy-running-on-red-bull-but-wont-last-says-market-strategist)
Buying a new home is tough right now; but for first-time buyers, it's an especially challenging time, with obstacles like rising mortgage rates and record-breaking home prices. The housing market is not expected to get much friendlier, as mortgage rates are expected to continue to climb as the Federal Reserve proceeds with its plans for rate hikes in an effort to stifle inflation. Jonathan Miller, President and CEO of real estate appraiser Miller Samuel, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Virtual care and digital medicine provider Biofourmis recently raised $300 million in a Series D round led by General Atlantic and with participation from CVS Health. Biofourmis offers at-home care and digital therapies backed by artificial intelligence, which can remotely monitor patients while they are at home. The company says it hopes its technology can improve patient outcomes while reducing the cost and burden of care. Kuldeep Signh Rajput, Founder and CEO of Biofourmis, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
The world’s largest producer and shipper of palm oil, Indonesia, announced that it’s banning all exports of the commodity. Besides being the most widely used cooking oil globally, it’s also used in about half of all consumer products in supermarkets such as shampoo and detergent. John Quelch, Dean of Miami Herbert Business School at the University of Miami joins Cheddar News to explain how the ban could impact prices in the United States.
Dave Gray, the head of workplace retirement offerings and platforms at Fidelity Investments, dives into the financial services company's newest initiative to allow investors to allocate up to 20 percent of their savings to Bitcoin. He also discussed some of the educational opportunities Fidelity is providing when it comes to crypto."What we've created here is really a first of its kind account that can be in a workplace 401(k) plan that employers can make available to their employees that allow them to defer money from their paycheck in the account or transfer money from a mutual fund in the account or from that Bitcoin account into a mutual fund," he said.
Dr. Michael Bottlang and Dr. Steve Madey, co-founders of WaveCel, join Cheddar Innovates to share their breakthrough in hard hat design that could have ramifications for protecting against head trauma across industries.
Melissa Snover, Founder & CEO of Nourished, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss her one-of-a-kind business that offers customizable, 3D printed vitamins that offer less hassle, cost, and waste than traditional vitamins.
Stocks closed higher Thursday as investors focused on big tech earnings, including a strong report from Facebook parent company Meta. The movement was largely led higher by the tech sector, and the Nasdaq saw gains after recent volatility. However, the index is still on pace for its worst month since March 2020. Stuart Kaiser, Head of Global Equity Derivatives Research at UBS, joins Closing Bell to discuss today's close, the Federal Reserve's plan to tackle inflation, and more.