Research & News
Asset Allocation Bi-Weekly – Activist vs. Accommodative Treasury Issuance (August 26, 2024)
by the Asset Allocation Committee | PDF The Federal Reserve and the US Treasury are independent government agencies with the shared objective of economic prosperity. While the Treasury manages government finances and executes fiscal policy, the Fed focuses on monetary policy as it aims to maintain price stability and full employment. Despite the Fed and… Read More »
Bi-Weekly Geopolitical Report – The Recent Iranian Election: Results & Implications (August 19, 2024)
by Daniel Ortwerth, CFA | PDF The Iranian political landscape experienced a major earthquake on May 19, when the country’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, died in a helicopter crash on his return from a visit to neighboring Azerbaijan. Consequently, in June and July, Iran conducted a two-round presidential election with a surprising result. In a country… Read More »
Asset Allocation Bi-Weekly – Is the Sahm Rule Right? (August 12, 2024)
by the Asset Allocation Committee | PDF While there has been some speculation that the US economy may be headed for a recession, one indicator suggests it has already begun. The “Sahm Rule,” a widely used metric for determining the early stages of recession, was triggered in July. Created by former Federal Reserve economist Claudia… Read More »
Bi-Weekly Geopolitical Report – The US Geopolitical and Economic Bloc as an Investment Region (August 5, 2024)
by Patrick Fearon-Hernandez, CFA | PDF More than a decade ago, we at Confluence began describing how United States voters have become more reluctant to shoulder the costs of global hegemony. We’ve shown how increased populist isolationism in the US and other Western nations helped embolden Chinese General Secretary Xi, Russian President Putin, and other… Read More »
Asset Allocation Bi-Weekly – The Price of Central Bank Independence (July 29, 2024)
by the Asset Allocation Committee | PDF Despite the formal separation of the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department in 1951, the two bodies continued to collaborate closely on economic policy for nearly two decades. The coordination aimed to improve the effectiveness of initiatives like stimulating economic growth or preventing the overheating of the economy. While… Read More »
Bi-Weekly Geopolitical Report – Meet Ferdinand Marcos Jr., President of the Philippines (July 22, 2024)
by Daniel Ortwerth, CFA | PDF Seven short weeks ago, we published a report on the brewing tensions between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, focusing on their dispute over the Second Thomas Shoal. Despite the tight time interval since that report, the brisk pace of continuing developments in the area and… Read More »