Markets Rally Big in Q1! Can it Continue and with What Leadership?
April 10, 2023
By Mitchell Anthony
The first quarter of 2023 was volatile for both the economy and the financial markets. Expectations for economic growth and expectations for inflation mostly fell during the quarter but optimism for the soft landing ultimately prevailed. Inflation has been a tremendous burden on the US economy for the last two years and consumers are close to the end of their discretionary savings and they have been spending more and getting less for quite a while now. Consumers have yet to show frustration or walk away from the higher prices but it would seem that this sort of mentality is near. The financial markets mostly performed poorly in 2022 as inflation ran out of control and the Fed looked terribly behind in his job fighting inflation. Stocks, Bonds REITS, and Crypto all fell hard. However optimism has started to prevail in 2023 as many of the leading economic indicators showed clear signs of a significant slowdown that will curtail if not end the inflation cycle that we have endured. At this point it is unclear what lies ahead for economic growth but inflation seems set to re-anchor near the 3 to 3 ½% level by the end of 2023.Read more
