Stocks slipped again Thursday as investors braced for more interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve, and the volatility is once again stirring up debates over whether the U.S. economy is headed for a recession.
"Our view right now is that for the next six months the U.S. economy should be okay," said Ahmed Riesgo, chief investment officer for financial services company Insigneo.
He said the strength of the January jobs report has put downward pressure on stocks because it showed resilience in the economy that many investors interpreted as a sign that more rate hikes were coming. Recent reports showing "sticky" inflation have had a similar effect.
These trends increase the odds of a recession, he added, because the uncertainty around inflation makes it more likely the Fed will make a policy mistake.
"Our base case is not a recession," he said. "But when you look a little bit further out over a 12 month period, I think the chances of a mild recession in the United States are very elevated."
He also cited recent comments from Fed officials as evidence for this theory. The nation's top bankers have signaled they are committed to bringing inflation down to 2 percent annually, while also saying hitting that goal effectively requires inducing a recession.
3M has fired prominent company executive Michael Vale due to “inappropriate personal conduct and violation of company policy,” the maker of Post-it notes, industrial coatings and ceramics announced on Monday.
Cheddar News attended the upfront presentation by NBC Universal and broke down how this year's event was different from previous years due to the ongoing writers' strike.
Steve Sosnick, chief strategist with Interactive Brokers, joined Cheddar News to discuss Monday's light trading session ahead of debt ceiling discussions on Tuesday. Sosnick also weighed in on what the Federal Reserve could have in its sight.
General Motors (GM) has submitted a safety recall notification to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for 994,763 sports utility vehicles with defective airbag inflators.
Wall Street drifted higher ahead of reports that will show how much a slowing economy is hurting what’s prevented a recession so far: solid spending by U.S. households.
