Q1 NEWSLETTER
Office Updates and Events
- Our annual Shred Event will take place May 7th @ 3PM at our office. See here for more details and to RSVP!
- Stay tuned for other events to be announced later this summer/fall!
Tariffs
The big buzzword of Q1 was unquestionably “Tariffs”. The Capital Group piece below provides a deeper look into what a “tariff” even is and their potential impacts.
Market Commentary
Wall Street got off to a good start to begin the first quarter of 2025 and continued to rally for much of the quarter. Several of the benchmark indexes reached record highs in January through mid-February. However, U.S. stocks closed the first quarter in a tailspin, unable to keep pace with major global stocks. Throughout March, investors worried about the impact of a trade war, rising inflation, and a potential economic recession. Both the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) moved little for much of the quarter, however, core prices (excluding volatile food and energy segments) increased on an annual basis, moving farther from the Federal Reserve's 2.0% target rate. In response, the Federal Reserve maintained the federal funds target rate range at 4.25%-4.50%.
Immediately following the end of Q1, Wall Street endured its worst week since the Covid crisis as investors shunned risk in response to inflation and recession fears following President Trump's sweeping tariffs and China's immediate retaliatory response. Despite a better-than-expected jobs report, comments made by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated that, while the economy was in a good place, the administration's current economic policy raised the risk of higher unemployment and inflation.
Read more about this topic on our website!