Money Life with Chuck Jaffe

Les Nanberg of Cornerstone Wealth Management in Boston said he sees big slowdowns in economic activity around the world, including the United States, and ntoed that itnerest rate cuts will not do much to stem weakness, especially with a trade war making growth and recovery more difficult. He expects to see a recession start before the year is up, and has had clients go 10 percent lighter than normal on equities as they play defense; he is also mostly in Treasuries on the bond side, noting that he fears weakness in rates too. While Nanberg's analysis was based on fundamentals, D.R. Barton jr. of 10MinuteMillionaire.com talked technicals and he believes the market will actually go higher over the rest of the year, and Charles Rotblut of AAII.com discussed his group's investor sentiment survey, which showed a lot of bearishness that he suggested might represent a buying opportunity. Amid all of those market disagreements, Chuck also chatted with Kimberly Clausing, author of 'Open: The Progressive Case for Free Trade, Immigration, and Global Capital.'

Gary Bradshaw of the Hodges Fund discusses how the changing interest-rate environment and growing nervousness about the stock market is making blue-chip, dividend-paying stocks like Verizon and Coca-Cola ideal defensive positions, providing safe, rising yields at times when income is harder to generate. Also on the show, Tom Lydon of ETFTrends.com makes a high-yielding municipal-bond fund his 'ETF of the Week,' Odeta Kushi, deputy chief economist at First American, talks the real estate market in a declining-rate environment, and Richard Barrington of MoneyRates.com discusses the best cities to downsize and retire in.

With volatility returning to the market and many investors expecting a downturn, Tim Clift, chief investment strategist at Envestnet, said investors should look to rebalance portfolios to protect gains, be opportunistic buyers on dips but to mostly expect the market's volatility to amount to a flat ride through to the end of the year. That would leave 2019 as a double-digit gainer, he noted, so while flat doesn't sound good, holding onto current gains likely will keep investors satisfied, and it leaves room for the market to grow as it heads into the election year. Also on the show, Jimmy Hausberg and Michael Policar of HighTower Advisor discuss alternative investment types and diversifying from traditional allocations, with Hausberg favoring defined-outcome funds while Policar likes core private real estate. Leonard Wright of the American Institute of CPAs discussed investors' current levels of pleasure and pain, and Sandy Villere III of the Villere Funds talked stocks and concentrated portfolios in the Market Call.

In a wide-ranging show, Chuck discusses the world of meat substitutes and the investment potential of the developing market with Arun Daniel, senior fund manager at J.O. Hambro, and he talks about the the potential to make serious money -- and which demographic is doing it -- from the side-gig economy with Kathy Kristof, founder of SideHusl.com. Also on the show, author Chris Dumont talks about how you can 'Kick Some Financial Ass,' while David Goodsell of the Natixis Investment Managers' Center for Investor Insight talks about how market volatility confuses investors.

Wall Street veteran Bob Doll, chief equity strategist at Nuveen Asset Management, said that ths strength of the American consumer means that the economy can hold off a recession until 2021, but he noted that he expects choppy and frustrating markets without recession, and said he worries abut the yield curve if the Federal Reserve has to cut three times and can't make the curve much steeper. Doll -- who also reviewed his forecasts for 2019 on the show -- said investors should be looking to buy the dips but also to trim during the rallies. Also on the show, Jeffrey Cleveland, chief economist at Payden and Rygel, was a bit more optimistic about the economy, though he agreed with Doll about a recession being at least two years off. David Trainer of New Constructs put GoDaddy and Dropbox in the Danger Zone.

Fritz Folts, chief investment strategist at 3Edge Asset management, said the domestic stock market is as overvalued now as it was before the Internet bubble burst in the late 1990s, which is why he has turned defensive in his investment strategy, going near minimum levels on equity allocations and underweight the US in equities -- with his bond allocations heavy on Treasuries but shying away from the credit markets -- as he anticipates an economic slowdown ahead that Federal Reserve rate cuts won't stop. Also on the show, Ben Jones of BMO Global Asset Management talks a change in IRS rules allowing employers to offer lump-sum payouts in exchange for pension liabilities and discusses what factors pensioners should consider before accepting an offer, and Dana D'Auria, portfolio manager at Symmetry Partners talks ETFs and traditional funds as she makes her Money Life debut in an extended Market Call.

Alan McKnight, chief investment officer at Regions Asset Management, said that the economic data shows a slowing economy that needs to respond from Wednesday's Federal Reserve rate cut by showing signs of revenue growth in order for the market rally to continue. Despite danger signs he sees in the market, McKnight noted that America remains the best place to invest, with emerging markets also looknig relatively attractive while Europe and Japan are likely to struggle for the foreseeable future. Also on the show, Tom Lydon of ETFTrends.com made an agricultural-commodity product his ETF of the Week, Catherine Collinson of the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies discussed the readiness of self-employed workers, and George Putnam III of the Turnaround Letter covered value investing and stocks in the Market Call.

Michael Gayed of the Lead-Lag Report said that the market's reaction to today's anticipated Federal Reserve rate cut could show how long the bull market can continue. He noted that if the Fed steps in but there is no steepening of the yield curve, it's a problem because central-bank actions -- both domestically and abroad -- are not going to normalize long-term bond yields. That's a sign that the bull market is not healthy, Gayed said. Likewise, in the Market Call, Mark Yusko of Morgan Creek Capital Management noted that he is looking to get into the few market areas that are on sale and unloved, and he noted in 'Hold It or Fold It' that he would be leaving momentum in favor of a bear-market fund because of his concerns for the market's health. Also on the show, Michael Policar and Jimmy Hausberg of HighTower Advisors discuss a case of a consumer looking to make an allocation change because the market's health makes them nervous, and Jill Gonzalez of WalletHub talks about how consumers should react to the Capital One data breach.

Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM, said that the domestic economy is far from falling into a recession, but he noted that the manufacturing sector in the U.S. is nearing a recession and manufacturing globally is already there. 'It seems silly to me,' Bruselas said, 'to think that what is happening in the global economy won't happen in the United States,' which is why expects extended Fed rate cuts to help stave off sowing global conditions through at least the end of next year. Also on the show, Brent Schutte, chief investment strategist at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management, said he hopes the Fed will take a bigger-tna-expected step this week because it's necesary to hold off building inflationary pressures. Plus, Chuck has the Weird Financial News and we revisit a recent chat with Ted Rossman of CreditCards.com.

Brian Levitt, global market strategist for Invesco, said that investors need to overcome their fears to stay invested as the market continues to climb the proverbial wall of worry to new heights. Levitt noted the cycles 'end the same way, with the federal Reserve killing them with interest rate hikes.' With the Fed about to cut rates, Levitt noted that the current cycle could go on 'a lot longer than people expect.' Also on the show, Sara Rutledge of the National Association for Business Economics discusses her group's quarterly survey - released this morning - while Sam McBride puts a popular stock in the 'Danger Zone' and Richard Peterson of MarketPsych Data discusses how investors are feeling and thinking in current market conditions.