Money Life with Chuck Jaffe

Adam Grimes, president of Talon Advisors, says in the Talking Technicals segment that he expects "strength coming into the end of the year," with the stock market re-touching and potentially breaking all-time highs, but "from that point, I will get pretty defensive" because of the "very significant selloff" he expects in stocks. Grimes notes that he expects a protracted bear market for stocks, which doesn't change his long-term positive outlook for equities but which he says will hurt investors who haven't seen that kind of downturn in about 15 years. Nobel Prize winner Sir Angus Deaton returns to the show to discuss his new book, "Economics in America: An Immigrant Economist Explores the Land of Inequality," which is out today and which discusses how societal problems were exacerbated by economic platitudes and not enough attention paid to workers and the poor living through trouble. Plus, forensic accountant Tracy Coenen returns with the latest "Find Me The Money" segment, talking about the right way to hire an attorney to help guide you through the divorce process, and Chuck discusses a recent statement from Dave Ramsey about how easily the well-known financial guru has "beaten the market" over the last three decades.

David Trainer, founder and president at New Constructs, says that Affirm Holding's gains this year -- the stock has more than doubled year-to-date -- have fooled investors into thinking there might be value in the purveyor of buy now, pay later programs, so he put the company back in "The Danger Zone" for the third time in three years. Trainer noted that the stock -- despite this year's gains -- is down more than 80 percent from when he first said it was headed for trouble in 2021, and he says the firm remains a "zombie stock," likely to run out of money within two years. Also on the show, Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst/Washington bureau chief at BankRate.com discusses the agreement in Congress that allowed Congress to avoid a government shutdown this weekend, but what lies ahead for lawmakers and the economy, financial adviser Eric Beiley of the Beiley Group worries about the economic troubles ahead and suggests bak CDs as a possible alternative for investors who want to be on the sidelines now, waiting for trouble to pass. In the Market Call, Art Amador of Equbot -- which oversees the AI Powered Equity ETF -- discusses artificial intelligence driving investment decisions.

Craig Johnson, chief market technician at Piper Sandler, says "the trend between here and year-end is up, and 4,825 [on the Standard and Poor's 500] is my objective, and he expects the rally to broaden -- moving beyond the Magnificent Seven that have led to this point in the year -- and spreading into small- and mid-cap stocks. Chris Huemmer, senior client portfolio manager, at Flexshares, talks about why he believes real assets and natural resources play are important to help balance out a portfolio in the conditions that lie ahead; he also likes parts of the bond market -- notably junk bonds -- disdained by most of the show's recent guests. Duncan Farley, manager of the BlueBay Destra International Event-Driven Credit Fund -- which Morningstar places at the very top of its peer group over its five-year existence -- talks about how special situations are plentiful in the current marketplace, but the risks associated with those better yields are not so high as to turn off investors who can get 5 percent yields on money-market accounts. Plus, in the Market Call, Jordan Kahn, chief investment officer at HCR Wealth Advisors, talks stocks in the Market Call.

Victoria Fernandez, chief market strategist at Crossmark Global Investments, says it typically takes about a year from the start of a rate-hike cycle to impact the revenues of companies and then another nine months before layoffs and other fallout hits home. She says soft landings require increases in government spending, banks to ease lending requirements and labor costs coming down, and those factors aren't in the cards. Coupled with higher energy costs, the continuing strain on consumers and more, Fernandez says the economy and market is likely to take a hit early next year. Also on the show, Tom Lydon of VettaFi hums the tune of a new specialty fund for his ETF of the Week, Catherine Collinson of the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies discusses their new research -- out today -- showing how the expectations of pre-retirees differ from the realities experienced by actual retirees, and Adam Peck of Riverwater Partners talks social investing in the Market Call.

Emily Roland, co-chief investment strategist at John Hancock Investment Management, says that there is a lot of value opening up in fixed income, allowing bonds to do "more heavy lifting" in a portfolio than in recent years. She notes that bonds will ride out the choppy market until a recession sets in and yields fall precipitously, at which point bond prices will rise, goosing returns amid an economic contraction. Roland made it clear she does not believe in a no-landing" outcome, but she says "the time to prepare a roof is when the sun is shining," and investors should be working on their portfolios now. Also on the show, financial advisor Chris Collins discusses the latest results from Northwestern Mutual's 2023 Planning and Progress Study, which showed that even millionaires -- and a surprising number of them -- worry that they will outlive their money, Chuck discusses how podcast host "Dr. Matt, the Cash-Flow King" wound up being charged this week with running a Ponzi scheme, and Will Rhind of GraniteShares discusses "disruptive stocks" in the Market Call.

Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial, says that while he expects the stock market to challenge its support levels and take a small step back soon, he expects "a buying opportunity between now and year-end" because the market cycle has plenty of strength -- particularly in industrial and energy stocks -- to keep the bullish phase running. Still, he expects a recession early in 2024, but says the market is prepared for a downturn that he expects to be short and shallow. In the Book Interview, Princeton University history professor Michael Blaakman discusses America's first market mania, the land rush of Revolutionary times and how it dictated much of what the country has seen and done since. Forensic accountant Tracy Coenen returns for another episode of "Find Me The Money," talking about protecting your finances post-divorce, making a clean break on joint accounts, updating beneficiaries to retirement accounts and insurance policies and stopping an ex from accessing new credit in your name. In the Market Call, Chuck Carlson of Horizon Investment Services -- editor of The DRIP Investor newsletter -- talks stocks and has five potential buys during the "Quick and Dirty" portion of the interview.

David Trainer, founder and president at New Constructs, puts an initial public offering into the Danger Zone for the third straight week, always jumping on deals he considers overpriced before they are even out of the box. Trainer says that this week's pick, Birkenstock, is another company that can show profits, but where the private-equity backers are pushing to get way more for those profits than the market is paying for the competition. Trainer's last two picks -- ARM Holdings and Maplebear (Instacart) -- have dropped below their IPO pop prices almost immediately after coming out. In The Big Interview, Stash Graham of Graham Capital Wealth Management, says that"there is pain ahead" for the economy; he says the business cycle starting to shift in ways where the higher cost of capital caused by increased interest rates and the struggles consumers and businesses are seeing due to lingering inflation are going to hit home and create serious market problems. Plus, Ted Rossman discusses Bankrate.com's latest study, which shows that many consumers are responding to current conditions by starting their holiday shopping now, and James Abate, manager of the five-star Centre American Select Equity Fund, talks stocks in the Market Call.

Jeanette Garretty, chief economist at Robertson Stephens Wealth Management, says that Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell's message this week was largely positive -- suggesting we're "in a mode to get a soft landing" -- but the market seized on confusing parts where he suggested that the central bank is not afraid of going through some pain. Garretty notes that there are already plenty of "pain points" already visible in the economy, but that it hasn't created real trouble yet. The question, she noted, is whether that pain will be felt down the line. Also on the show, John Cole Scott of Closed-End Fund Advisors talks about how muni-bond closed-end funds have seen discounts widening well past historic norms -- but notes that investors may want to be cautious before diving in -- Chuck answers a listener's question on unit investment trusts, and Matt Fox, president of Ithaca Wealth Management, says that technical indicators suggest the market will challenge support levels -- taking a small setback -- before they can start to make the next leg up.

Doug Roberts, chief investment strategist at Channel Capital Research, says the Federal Reserve is putting "arrows in the quiver" to deal with a recession if it happens, but that the central bankers have signaled that "if there's a rough landing ... they won't be so quick to react to it." Roberts says the economy remains strong -- and that the U.S. is still the best market in the world -- despite the market acting like it's in a correction. He sees the narrow, large-cap rally continuing for the foreseeable future. Plus, Tom Lydon, vice chairman at VettaFi, picks up on the quality theme he discussed a week ago, but turns in the small-cap direction with his "ETF of the Week," Chuck goes off the news with a consumer story that impacts every adult in the country -- and which serves as a reminder to take care of your financial chores -- and Tom Graff, head of investments at Facet, returns to the Market Call to discuss exchange-traded funds.

Sir Angus Deaton, a Nobel Prize winning economist and Princeton University professor, says that economic policy for the last few decades has paid little to no attention to "the negative consequences of trade, of disruption, of people losing their jobs to automation to globalization and what-not" and he thinks the Inflation Reduction Act has started to reverse that, though the progress maybe short-lived given current politics. Deaton weighs in on the UAW strike and the importance of unions and what he sees as the best possible outcome not only of the current situation but in the ways Corporate America and workers will deal with technological improvements from here. Also on the show, Miles Tullo discusses the latest research from J.D. Power on consumer preferences at the point of sale; debit cards are the not-surprising winner, but alternative methods -- including buy-now-pay-later choices -- are increasingly popular. Plus, portfolio manager Andrey Kutusov of Seven Canyons Advisors, talks international growth investing in the Market Call.