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On September 15, more than 12,000 autoworkers from the United Autoworkers Union (UAW) walked off the job as contract negotiations with Ford, GM, and Jeep-maker Stellantis have yet to produce a new contract for the 146,000 active union members at the three companies.

Over the weekend, Moody’s Investors Service, one of the three main credit rating agencies, signaled the US Sovereign Credit Rating could be subject to a future downgrade by changing the assigned Outlook from Neutral to Negative.

September 8, 2023 The Fed has hiked rates eleven times since March 2022. The driving force behind the market’s ups and downs since then has been Federal Reserve policy and inflation data, with corporate earnings yielding center stage. The focus on macroeconomic data and central bank policy was warranted coming off an unprecedented global shutdown…

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City will hold its 46th annual Economic Policy Symposium this week in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Up until the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation reading, the Fed had been on quite a winning streak. Annualized CPI had declined for 12 consecutive monthly readings, evidence that while prices for goods and services were still increasing, the pace of price inflation was moderating and moving back towards the Fed’s 2% target.

1099-DIV – Reports ordinary and qualified dividends and short- and long-term capital gains distributions for taxable and tax-exempt accounts. 1099-B – Reports exchange and redemption activity in non-IRA accounts.

“The rating downgrade of the United States reflects the expected fiscal deterioration over the next three years, a high and growing general government debt burden, and the erosion of governance relative to ‘AA’ and ‘AAA’ rated peers over the last two decades that has manifested in repeated debt limit standoffs and last-minute resolutions.”

By Dr. George Calhoun – Hanlon Investment Management Advisory Board Member Executive Director of the Hanlon Financial Systems Center

In May, stock indices were being pushed higher despite most of the component stocks trending downwards, because the overwhelmingly dominant size of the mega-caps allowed them to control the overall market direction.

Sean Hanlon, CEO and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Vestbridge Advisors, Inc. talks about and explains the financial environment from the 2023 Mid Year Update.