TV veteran Consuelo Mack speaks to two leading financial experts tonight — in a bid to inform investors about what to expect under Donald Trump’s “wild card” presidency.
Mack’s WEALTHTRACK New Financial World: U.S. sees her get the lowdown from Ed Hyman, Wall Street’s No. 1-ranked economist for a record 36 years, and top investor Matthew McLennan.
Hyman, chairman and founder of Evercore ISI, will lay out what could happen under Trump’s leadership, as he describes exactly how the financial world has changed in the past year.
He and mutual fund manager McLennan, head of Global Value Team and portfolio manager at First Eagle Investment Management, give Consuelo conflicting details about the economy.
Mack says: “Hyman and McLennan think President-elect Donald Trump is a wild card. Hyman says Trump’s policies of cutting taxes, spending on infrastructure and rolling back regulations could be good for economy and business. The market has already rallied strongly in anticipation of those moves.
“McLennan says the market is way ahead of itself and worries that Trump’s spending and tax cuts will overheat the economy, substantially increase debt levels and prove to be inflationary.”
Hyman predicts a modest pickup in GDP growth, inflation, and interest rates and says: “Here in the states, I would say the main thing it looks like is more growth, our wages are accelerating, and you still have strong employment. And I think that combination of employment and wages will get consumer spending up.”
Where are the good times in the USA? Hyman notes the USA is “booming” in key cities and added Des Moines, Iowa, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Buffalo, New York, to his list of approximately 40 cities that are in the black.
Good news? Hyman believes the U.S. recession “is years away”. He says: “It won’t happen until inflation doubles and the Fed will be forced to react by raising interest rates.”
Hyman also discusses “wild cards” like Brexit and Trump’s actual day-to-day governing.
Hyman and his investment team are united on recommending one sector that will do well this year: financials, with one way to invest through an ETF, specifically Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF).
Meanwhile, McLennan approaches the forecast more cautiously. He cedes the economy has improved under Obama yet debt levels and uncertain interest rates make it “hard to find many investment opportunities”.
He says he looks for companies with “stable businesses that will keep up with the economy and generate high free cash flow.” Oracle and Omnicom are some of his investment recommendations.
Consuelo Mack WealthTrack’s New Financial World: U.S. premieres Tonight, Friday, January 6 at 7.30/6.30c on public television (check local listings**) and on wealthtrack.com.
**New York metro area premiere dates:
Friday, January 6 at 7:30 p.m. on WLIW21
Saturday, January 7 at 8:00 a.m. on THIRTEEN
Sunday, January 8 at 9:00 a.m. on NJTV
**Los Angeles area premiere dates:
Saturday, January 7 at 8 a.m. on PBS SoCal World
Sunday, January 8 at 11:30 p.m. on KLCS
Monday, January 9 at 4:30 p.m. on PBS SoCal 2
Tuesday, January 10 at 11:30 p.m. on KVCRDC 24.3 Desert Cities Channel