Thoughtful Money with Adam Taggart

If we care about the future of the economy, then we have to pay close attention to the policies that shape it. We are currently living in an age of extreme -- and in certain cases, unprecedented -- levels of monetary and fiscal policy. Is that wise? Or should market forces be allowed to play out more & free us from the constant intervention of the central planners? To explore this, we welcome...

In order to succeed, it's critical to understand the rules you're playing by. And the rules for investing may have recently changed. There's a good argument to be made that we are now in an era of fiscal dominance. Today's guest, one of the smarter you'll get the chance to hear from, is certainly making that case. So what exactly is fiscal dominance? Why is it important for inv...

Is the market downdraft that sent stocks 5% lower from their recent all-time highs over? It's looking like it could be. But the market is at a "critical juncture" observes portfolio manager Lance Roberts. The S&P is getting quite close to its 50 and 20 Daily Moving Averages. If it rises above them, then we're likely back off to the races and new all-time highs could be in the...

With the market now expecting less than 2 rate cuts this year -- perhaps none at all until next year according to Bank of America -- what does that mean for the economy? Can it handle "higher for even longer" interest rates without slowing markedly? Or, even worse, something systemic breaking? And what impact will these higher rates likely have on stock, bonds and other asset prices? To...

WORRIED ABOUT THE MARKET? SCHEDULE YOUR FREE PORTFOLIO REVIEW with Thoughtful Money's endorsed financial advisors at https://www.thoughtfulmoney.com Stocks have sold off sharply since hitting all time highs just 3 weeks ago. Bond prices are falling, too. What's going on here? Is this just a needed pullback to remove excessive froth before the market resumes rising to all-time highs? Or is...

On the famous fear/greed index, after spending most of the past year and half in "greed", we've suddenly switched to "fear" over a very short time frame. The S&P has broken below both its 20 and 50 Daily Moving Averages. Inflation printed hotter than expected, making Wall Street start to doubt the Federal Reserve's ability to deliver expected rate cuts. And geopolit...

Well, the relentless bull rally that began in November is over. Stocks fell hard this week, with the S&P breaking below 5000 on Friday. It's now down nearly 300 points from its all-time hit, which it hit just 3 weeks ago. How low is this pullback likely to go? Portfolio manager Lance Roberts and I discuss just that in this week's Market Recap, as well as sticky inflation, rising bond y...

The headline economic data gives a comforting sense the economy is strong. The media headlines tell us the consumer is "resilient" But if you ask most Americans, they'll tell you they're struggling. Last year, a Forbes Advisor survey revealed that nearly 70% of respondents either identified as living paycheck to paycheck (40%) or—even more concerning—reported that their income do...

This is a live Special Report with geopolitical expert Ryan Bohl, MidEast analyst for the RANE Network. Given the serious nature of and confusion around the escalation of hostilities between Iran & Israel, I've brought Ryan on the program to ask him: - The drivers of tension between Iran and Israel - What led to this weekend's attack? - What do you expect to happen from here? - What im...

The price of gold has experienced a breakout over the past month and a half. What does that mean? Is that a sign that investors are worried about higher inflation to come? Or that capital is fleeing to safety in advance of approaching economic trouble? Or is this price surge due to speculative zeal? For answers, we turn to capital manager Axel Merk and his team at Merk Investments, who manage seve...

When I last interviewed today's guest back in December, he said that the forecast of his proprietary model made him about "as bullish as he'd ever been on stocks" heading into 2024. And to give credit where credit is due, his positioning was spot on the money. The S&P 500 & NASDAQ both increased by 11% in Q1 So what is his model telling us to expect in Q2? To find out we&...

The unending string of up weeks we saw in stocks in Q1 has ended here in April. The market had a volatile week, with the S&P ending roughly 100 points lower and bond yields continuing to rise, with the UST 10-year now over 4.5% Notably, the S&P has broken below the bullish trendline it has been trading in since the bull rally began back in November. The breakdown is unconfirmed as of yet....

In Q1, investors could do no wrong. Making money was easy as almost every asset class rose to new highs as markets anticipated coming interest rate cuts from. But here at the start of Q2, things are starting to feel a lot less safe. Suddenly stock prices are plateauing, and services inflation plus a swiftly rising oil price are quickly dashing hopes of rate cuts anytime soon. Will the markets offe...

Today's guest expert is concerned that too many investors, giddy with the ferocious market gains since November, are increasingly willing to pay prices for assets that only make sense if the pace of gains continues into the far future. This is called "extrapolating the unsustainable" and is a hallmark of late stage price melt-ups. Historically, this behavior has not ended well for th...

There's a lot of uncertainty in the world right now -- geopolitical, economic, social, and environmental. At times like this when the path forward is unclear and the stakes are high, it's wise to tap the counsel of those with a strong command of the lessons of history, and the practical experience of a lifetime in the market trenches. There are few who fit that description better than Dr M...

Are cracks starting to appear in the bull market rally? Portfolio manager Lance Roberts thinks so. His technical dashboard is now showing sell signals as volatility is increasing and the S&P has broken beneath its 20 Daily Moving Average. Next week should be telling. If the S&P rises and closes back above its 20 DMA, that should mean the bull trend is intact. But if not, and the 20 DMA bec...

The Federal Reserve is one of, if not the most, significant institutions in the world given the global impact of its policy decisions. It influences the price of nearly everything, as well as the availability of jobs, the stability of our banking system, and the purchasing power of our money. When the Fed Chair speaks, the entire world stops to listen. But the average person has a poor understandi...

Stocks have delivered a great ride over the past year and a half. That has attracted retail investors back into the markets with a vengeance. Household equity ownership is currently near an all-time high. Does this bull market still have plenty of room left to run? And if so, what are the skeptics misunderstanding? For insight, we have the good fortune to turn to Dr. Ed Yardeni, President of Yarde...

When I interviewed today's guest expert back in August of 2021, when inflation was 5%, he made the bold prediction that the CPI would eventually hit 9%, a prediction that seemed unthinkable at the time -- but it indeed proved true less than a year later. He then called for inflation to moderate substantially, which it also then did. Where does he see inflation headed from here? To find out, as...

Nearly every asset class saw gains in Q1 -- stocks, the dollar, gold, Bitcoin and real estate. Will the rally keep powering higher through the remainder of 2024? Portfolio manager Lance Roberts thinks, while anything is possible, stocks are increasingly at risk of a pull-back, especially as the Presidential election approaches. Markets hate uncertainty, and with a close election expected, not just...

Animal spirits have certainly been running wild in the stock market of late. The S&P is up over 1,000 points (roughly 25%) in the past 4.5 months. Is this a new era of easy gains as giddy bulls are proclaiming? One investors should jump in and make the most of? Or is this the latest incarnation of irrational exuberance? And is caution warranted instead? For insight, we're fortunate to spea...

Recent inflation reports show that it's proving "sticky", stubbornly refusing to recede down to the target rates that central banks are shooting for. But rather than simply staying sticky, could it actually start surging again? Today's guest expert thinks it could due to growing global economic imbalances. If that happens, what will the implications be? And can investors to proac...

The global economy is awash in too much debt, which continues to pile up at an exponential rate. History is clear how such eras end. The purchasing power of currency gets destroyed. To understand why the barbarous relic has risen to an all-time high and may have an even better year lying ahead, we have the good fortune to speak today with macro & precious metals expert Egon von Greyerz, Founde...

As Q1 concludes, corporations are starting to enter the blackout period preventing them from buying back their stock until they've released their quarterly earnings (weeks away for most companies) That temporarily removes THE most important buying support for shares. Combine that with other expected net liquidity reductions in Q2, such as the end of the Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP) and the...

Portfolio manager & Fed-watcher Axel Merk shares his immediate take-aways from this week's FOMC release and press conference with Fed Chair Jerome Powell. He'll also take live Q&A from viewers WORRIED ABOUT THE MARKET? SCHEDULE YOUR FREE PORTFOLIO REVIEW with Thoughtful Money's endorsed financial advisors at https://www.thoughtfulmoney.com #federalreserve #interestrates #inflat...