WESCAP Q2 2025 Quarterly Commentary: Resilient Markets, Shifting Risks, and What Lies Ahead
In April, harsh U.S. tariff announcements disrupted global stock, bond, and commodity markets due to fears of inflation and recession. However, as we noted in early April, this was largely a negotiating tactic, and most proposed punitive tariffs were delayed or softened.
Read MoreRead MoreHow Scammers Are Stealing Billions—And How to Stop Them
There has been an alarming rise of sophisticated online scams, as highlighted in a recent article from The Economist, which we’ve attached here. Here are some of the key takeaways:
(more…)Read MoreU.S. Announced Tariffs and Investment Implications
The last 6 weeks of the first quarter 2025 were characterized by increased economic and investment uncertainty, much of it due to lack of clarity regarding U.S. tariff policy and resulting concerns about short-term detrimental inflation and growth.
(more…)Read MoreWESCAP Economic and Investment Outlook for 2025
Will inflation reaccelerate after declining significantly last year? Will this cause interest rates to rise again, putting stress on borrowers and the economy? Are U.S. stocks priced to perfection, so that any less-than-perfect outcome will cause a sharp decline in prices? Will the new Republican-led federal government help or hurt the economy and investment assets? In this report, we explore these topics. We discuss how investors should be positioned in 2025.
(more…)Read MoreWESCAP Q4 2024 Quarterly Commentary: A Challenging Quarter for Investments Amid Rising Interest Rates
Portfolio results for the last quarter of 2024 were weak with most investment categories posting negative returns. A rise in long term U.S. interest rates had a detrimental effect on most fixed income and equity assets.
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