Oil Reactions & Fed Moves

Each week, the Stokes Family Office staff puts together a list of our favorite news and updates on all things wealth management. From financial planning, portfolio construction, tax and estate planning, and retirement plan services to anything we found interesting.  Enjoy this week’s curated list for your weekend reading!

ECONOMY NEWS

Jobs and War: The Fed Needs to Ease

• Scott Grannis: While the latest jobs report disappointed expectations, broader trends still point to modest economic growth and a possible soft landing. With geopolitical tensions increasing demand for safe assets, the Fed should consider easing policy to prevent monetary conditions from tightening further.

Three Things – Not Great, Bob

• Cullen Roche: In the name of brutal honesty and the handful of Mad Men who are disrupting the global economy, let’s talk about whether the things going on these days are…not great.

The Fed Has a Big Problem on Their Hands

Sonu Varghese: A surprisingly weak jobs report combined with still-elevated inflation has put the Federal Reserve in a difficult position. Carson Group argues the Fed must balance slowing economic growth with persistent inflation pressures, making the path for interest rate policy increasingly complicated.

Related:

• • • • Geopolitics & Markets
      • AI & Future Prosperity
      • Energy Stocks, Housing, & the Overstretched Consumer
      • Shelter Inflation & The AI Gamble
      • A New Fed Chair, Manufacturing, & Diversification

MARKETS NEWS

For the Best Long-Term Bet in the AI Economy, Look to the Past

• Daniel Sotiroff: AI isn’t the first game-changing technology for the economy. Here’s what investors can learn from previous waves of innovation.

Are We Due For a Correction?

• Ben Carlson: The market’s resilience in the face of bad news shows how unpredictable short-term market moves are; corrections will happen eventually, but trying to predict when or why is usually a losing strategy.

A Surprising Outcome of the Railway Bubble

• Sam Ro: Technological revolutions create disruption and hype cycles, but history shows that innovation ultimately drives long-term economic growth—even as entire industries rise and fall.

CHART(S) OF THE WEEK

Via Redfin, there are 600,000 more home sellers than buyers, giving the buyers who are in the market negotiating power. Only five metro areas are seller’s markets, most of which are located in the Northeast. The South and West are home to the strongest buyer’s markets. See more.

Want to hear more from our team? Check out the Lagniappe Podcast. 

THIS WEEK’S EPISODE: Nearing two weeks of conflict involving Iran and the broader Middle East, the Stokes brothers break down the impact on global oil markets, where prices surged and then retreated during a volatile week. They also explore the political ramifications abroad and at home, along with how the unfolding events may influence consumer sentiment and economic outlook.

APPLE  |  SPOTIFY

Stokes Family Office is 100% Family Owned, and has been continually operating in the New Orleans Area for over 35 years.  As a family office, we are focused on family wealth, financial planning, and tax planning. We are your local experts for Gulf South wealth management.