Money Life with Chuck Jaffe

Zach Jonson, chief investment officer at Stack Financial Management, says that the market is reaching all-time highs with 'weaker and weaker breadth and more narrow selectivity,' and that this dichotomy indicates that the risk of a correction is rising. Jonson says that investors who are significantly overweight in equities due to the market's hot run over the last year might want to pull back now to avoid a potential crunch as they watch this skirmish between the market's fundamentals and technicals play out. Also on the show, Nicholas Marshi, editor at BDCReporter.com, discusses the current earnings season and why he sees a 'golden age' ahead for business development companies, Odeta Kushi, deputy chief economist at First American Financial Corp. talks about the changing dynamics of the housing and real estate market, and Michael Robinson, chief technology strategist for Money Map Press, talks tech stocks in the Market Call.

Lindsey Bell, chief investment strategist at Ally Invest, says that while the market has seen great numbers thus far this year, there is room to go higher -- potentially by double digits -- once the market has clarity on how the Federal Reserve will respond to inflationary pressures. Bell notes that there will be 'rockier days ahead,' but she is optimistic not only for the rest of 2021 but for next year as well, noting that most of the red flags are worrisome but not real triggers for potential protracted downturn. Also on the show, Tom Lydon of ETFTrends.com makes a new fund from a big-name fund company that only just entered the exchange-traded fund space his pick as 'ETF of the Week,' and legendary financial talk-show host Moe Ansari of Compak Asset Management, lets Chuck turn the mic around on him as he talks stocks in the Market Call.

Veteran market observer Marc Chaikin, the founder of Chaikin Analytics, says that the market has been consistently making higher highs and higher lows since November of 2020, and that upward grind is likely to continue for at rest of the year -- Chaikin thinks the market will gain another 10 percent by year's end -- so investors who are worrying about problems and second-guessing the market's moves are hurting themselves and their portfolios. Also on the show, Ted Rossman discusses the latest Bankrate.com, which shows that the average consumer has more than a hundred dollars of unused (and potentially lost) gift cards at home, author Scott Jarred talks about his new book on how consumers can 'Future Hack' their financial lives, and Chuck answers a question from a listener who is unhappy with how former employers have been running his old retirement-savings plans.

Robert Frick, corporate economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, says that nervous investors are worried about numbers that are much more solid than they appear in headlines. Frick notes that retail sales, for example, could come down 5 percent from current levels and they'd still be booming. He sees strong economic growth even as the headline numbers start to reflect the movement from recovery mode to pre-pandemic normals. Also on the show, Adam Rozencwagj of Goehring and Rozencwajg says that a decade-long bear market in commodities has ended and that there are strong signs for a bull market ahead, helped along by the localized supply shortages arising from the pandemic. And Jeffrey Hirsch, editor-in-chief of Stock Traders' Almanac, says that the stock market is likely to see heightened volatility but mostly sideways movement through the fall.

David Trainer, president and founder of New Constructs puts technology giants Amazon, Alphabet and PayPal in the Danger Zone this week, noting that the companies are among the companies in the Standard and Poor's 500 that are most likely to miss earnings estimates for the upcoming reporting season, thanks to investments in other companies that ultimately distort their financial picture. Also on the show, Chad Moutry discusses the findings of the July Economic Outlook survey released today by the National Association for Business Economics, author Christopher Cox talks about his book 'The Deadline Effect' and offers suggestions for how procrastinators -- like Chuck -- can get things done before the last minute, fixed-income manager Jerry Paul of ICON Advisers stops by for a bonus NAVigator talking opportunities for yield in closed-end funds, and Chuck answers an audience-member's question on federal account protections.

Katie Stockton, founder and managing director at Fairlead Strategies, says that the market's recent volatility has changed investor sentiment but that mood change actually is creating buying opportunities. Stockton says she does not see much pressure for a correction in the market now, in spite of the market's nervousness; she notes that much of the downside nervousness is around mega-cap stocks, again creating opportunities for investors away from the headlines. Looking at fundamentals, Jeff Weniger, head of equity strategy for WisdomTree Asset Management, says that the current market theme is 'inflation, inflation, inflation' and that the reflation/inflation story will likely drive much of the market action for the next year or two. In the NAVigator segment, Patrick Galley of RiverNorth Capital Management talks about how the narrowing of discounts in muni-bond closed end funds doesn't change the attractiveness of the asset class, nor make its relatively high tax-equivalent yields less attractive. And in the Market Call, Clark Kendall of Kendall Capital gives his take on both stocks and ETFs.

Ken McAtamney, manager of the William Blair International Leaders Fund, says that an 'underinvestment in [capital expenditures] around the world' has created a void that is now being filled around the world. He noted that beyond physical infrastructure in the United States and Europe, there will be expansive spending on data and digital infrastructure around the globe that will carry the recovery into the next few years. McAtamney is positive on developed Europe and emerging markets -- and specifically China -- as areas that should shine coming out of the pandemic recovery. Also on the show, Tom Lydon of ETFTrends.com focuses on inflation fears with his pick for the 'ETF of the Week,' Meredith Stoddard of Fidelity Investments discusses the firm's 2021 Couples and Money survey, and Charlie Farrell of Northstar Investment Advisors talks stocks and ETFs in the Market Call.

Stock market volatility is up as the markets try to sort out whether inflationary increases are permanent and when the Federal Reserve will decide it's time to raise interest rates, and that backdrop -- coupled with renewed fears of how Covid-19 could impact the business world -- should make volatility the norm for at least the remainder of the year, according to JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist for TD Ameritrade. Kinahan says the market 'is telling us that you shouldn't be expecting inflation for awhile,' and he notes that the market's technicals are mostly in line with the strong fundamentals to make it that a crash or a recession doesn't seem to be in the offing. In Left Brain Thinking today, Noland Langford of Left Brain Investment Research talks about the durability of the cashless society movement and says that Visa, PayPal and Square are poised for massive growth on that front, without even factoring in cryptocurrencies as a future form of cashless payment. And in the Market Call, financial adviser Adam Lampe of Mint Wealth Management talks stocks.

Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist for Leuthold Weeden Capital Management, says that inflation is the big risk facing the market, but he downplays the potential for inflation to last once supply-chain issues and demand levels normalize post-pandemic. Meanwhile, he makes the case that the stock market could rise from now through the end of the year and still enter 2022 relatively cheap, with the Standard and Poor's 500 trading at less than 20 times earnings, a level which would keep the bull market rolling. Also on the show, Ted Rossman of CreditCards.com discusses Americans' tipping habits and how they talked a better game than they played during the coronavirus epidemic, and Bernie Horn, manager of Polaris Global Value fund talks about where in the world he's investing and what stands out to him now in the Market Call.

Scott Colyer, chief executive officer at Advisors Asset Management, says that for all the talk that the Federal Reserve has started talking about hiking interest rates, he doesn't see it happening until 2022 or beyond, and that means that investors don't have to change strategies now to stay in line with the central; bank. He expects returns for the rest of the year to loosely resemble what happened during the first six months, an upward grind made on the back of increasing worries. Also on the show, Dave Stinnett, head of Vanguard Strategic Retirement Consulting, talks about the 20th anniversary edition of Vanguard's 'How America Saves' study, David Trainer, founder of New Constructs, puts the Robinhood IPO in 'the Danger Zone,' and Rob Spivey, director of research for Valens Securities, talks stocks in the Market Call.