Economic Commentary – March 31, 2025
This wake-up is a bit more than usual, an old-fashioned jangly alarm clock disrupting a fitful sleep. Significant tariffs will be imposed by the US this week on a wide variety of products and trading partners. At the same time, previously imposed trade actions (especially steel and aluminum tariffs), federal employment reductions, and federal health […]
Q1 2025 Economic Recap
Chief Economist Jeanette Garretty provides a recap for Q1 2025. She discusses consumer confidence, personal income, Federal government employment, job creation, and tariffs.
FOMC Commentary – March 19, 2025
FOMC Interest Rate Announcement, Summary of Economic Projections (SEP) and Fed Chairman Powell Press Conference There were a few surprises in the Federal Open Market Committee Interest Rate decision this morning. The top line number – the Fed Funds target rate—was left unchanged at 4.25%-4.5%, as expected. However, the less visible but certainly significant decision to […]
Powell’s ‘Biggest Tell’ on Where Rates are Going
January 31, 2025 – Jeanette Garretty says the Fed was “very confident” after their decision to pause rate cuts this week. She says Powell’s “biggest tell” is his repeated mention that Fed policy is still restrictive and thinks they will cut again when they can. She discusses the potential economic impacts of the proposed tariffs. […]
FOMC Commentary – January 29, 2025
By Jeanette Garretty, Chief Economist The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced today it would leave the target Feds Funds interest rate unchanged at 4.25%-4.5%. Although financial markets expressed some mild disappointment that rates were being held steady, the announcement was widely anticipated. Much has been written about today’s FOMC Interest Rate Decision, marking the […]
2025 and Beyond: Investment and Wealth Planning Outlook Webinar
Jan 24, 2025 – Chief Investment Officer Stuart Katz and Head of Wealth Planning Mallon FitzPatrick have a conversation moderated by Chief Economist Jeanette Garretty as they offer their perspective on markets and wealth planning. Disclosures Investment advisory services offered through Robertson Stephens Wealth Management, LLC (“Robertson Stephens”), an SEC-registered investment advisor. Registration does not […]
Home Is Where the Heart Is
By Jeanette Garretty, Chief Economist January 14, 2025 – Economists, lenders and policy analysts are given to talking about the US housing market in notably clinical terms. A blizzard of monthly data on, for example, “housing starts,” “building permits,” and “new home sales” (from the US Census Bureau), “existing home sales” (from the National […]
Robertson Stephens Named to Newsweek’s America’s Top Financial Advisory Firms 2025
Award recognizes the firm’s impact and commitment to delivering excellent client service. SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 19, 2024—Robertson Stephens Wealth Management, LLC (“Robertson Stephens”), a $7 billion registered investment advisor, announced today that it has been named one of America’s Top Financial Advisory Firms 2025 by Newsweek and Plant-A Insights Group, which developed its list by […]
FOMC Commentary – December 18, 2024
By Jeanette Garretty, Chief Economist Confirming recent expectations in financial markets, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced a further 25bps cut in the Fed Funds rate while changing projections for rate cuts in 2025. The Fed Funds target range is now 4.25%-4.5%. In the accompanying Summary of Economic Projections (SEP), the members of the FOMC […]
FOMC Commentary – November 7, 2024
By Jeanette Garretty, Chief Economist Today, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the Federal Reserve announced a 25 bps Fed Funds rate cut, resetting the target Fed Funds rate to 4.5-4.75%. This represents a full 75 bps reduction in short term rates since the Fed began to move monetary policy to a more “neutral” […]
FOMC Commentary – September 18, 2024
By Jeanette Garretty, Chief Economist The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced a cut in the Federal Funds target rate by 50 bps to a target range of 4.75%-5.0%. At the same time, the FOMC announcement emphasized the continuing strength of the US economy, as well as the fact that while inflation has cooled considerably, […]
FOMC Commentary – July 31, 2024
By Chief Economist, Jeanette Garretty The statement released at the end of the FOMC meeting today was predictable and, quite frankly, a bit boring. The Fed Funds target rate (aka, “the policy target”) was left unchanged at 5.25-5.5%, and the usual “data-driven” waiting-and-seeing language was included. The one notable aspect of the statement was the clear […]