Kudlow: Tech Stocks Still 'Ain't Bad', Even With Correction
*By Carlo Versano*
The White House dispatched chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow to speak to reporters Thursday morning as markets turned deep red in a day marked by volatility and which added to the sell-off in tech stocks.
Kudlow told Cheddar's J.D. Durkin the administration remains bullish on the economy ー and he noted that the tech sector, in particular, was up 50 percent since President Trump's election, "even with this correction."
"That ain't bad," he said.
Kudlow wouldn't disclose whether he advises Trump to speak less critically of the actions of the Federal Reserve ー for which presidents typically reserve a church-and-state type attitude. Trump, for his part, called the Fed "loco" on Wednesday for raising interest rates.
Kudlow told Cheddar: "The advice I give to the president is the advice I give to the president. It's entirely private."
Stocks closed mixed on Wednesday, but two indexes - the Dow and the S&P 500 - ended the session with a new record. Akshata Bailkeri, Equity Analyst at Bruderman Asset Management, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where she says there is a consensus for robust consumer spreading in 2022, especially as the Omicron variant is proving to be milder than other COVID-19 strains.
John Quelch, Dean of Miami Herbert Business School, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says the retail giant is acting in accordance to President Biden's new law banning goods from China's Xinjiang region. Quelch also elaborates on the importance of China in Walmart's overall strategy.
Cheddar's Chloe Aiello has our cannabis year-in-review, breaking down how several states legalized adult recreational use and greenlit medicinal use in 2021. She noted that while a cannabis legalization and decriminalization bill was introduced in Congress this year, potential FDA involvement in the industry, as well as a 25 percent excise tax, killed any chance the bill had of moving forward. Aiello also speculated that some form of cannabis reform could be rolled out in 2022, as the midterm elections draw closer.
Jim Worden, Chief Investment Officer at Wealth Consulting Group, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says the period between Christmas and New Year's is difficult to predict due to a lack of institutional volume, with the Omicron variant adding even more uncertainty on Wall Street.
Prices at the pump this year reached a seven-year high, and a new forecast from GasBuddy shared with CNN predicts that gas prices will only continue to rise in 2022 and that the national average could even reach $4.00 a gallon; however, analysts at GasBuddy say anything could happen when it comes to gas prices in the future, as the pandemic has made it difficult to make any predictions about the economy. Consumer Energy Alliance federal policy advisor Michael Zehr joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
