Market Insights – Fourth Quarter 2026
Interest Rates Are More Normal Than Risky One of the biggest market developments in 2026 has been the sharp rise in global interest rates. The U.S.-Israel war against Iran triggered a sharp increase in oil prices in February. Neither the war nor oil prices have since abated, causing inflation to remain stubbornly sticky. Not surprisingly, […]
Market Insights – Third Quarter 2026
Still Narrow Leadership in a Topsy-Turvy Year So far in 2026, the U.S. stock market has shown an uncanny resemblance to last year. In both instances, a policy initiative sparked a sharp selloff in stocks, e.g. the global trade war in 2025 and the military conflict with Iran in 2026. The selloff brought the stock […]
Market Insights – Second Quarter 2026
Chaos in Commodities After 2025 was jolted by a global trade war and a U.S. government shutdown, investors had hoped for greater stability and lower volatility in 2026. However, the first quarter of 2026 has been far from tranquil as geopolitical events have dominated headlines. A surprising common denominator emerges across these events; they all […]
Market Insights – First Quarter 2026
A Mid-Cycle Economic Revival The current administration entered this presidential term with an ambitious growth agenda based on reform and stimulus. While most policy initiatives were accommodative, there were also some restrictive measures aimed at improving balance in global trade and productivity from government spending. Unlike Trump 1.0 when stimulative tax cuts preceded the burden […]
Market Insights – Fourth Quarter 2025
Dichotomies and Bifurcations After consecutive years of strong returns, global stock markets were expected to take a breather and slow down in 2025. Those expectations seemed to be on track during the first two quarters. After a solid start to the year, prospects of a global trade war raised the specter of a recession and […]
Sandip Bhagat Breaks Down the Resilience and Sustainability of the U.S. Economy on Nasdaq TradeTalks
Whittier Trust’s Chief Investment Officer joined Nasdaq experts and the Head of Macroeconomic Research & Market Strategy at Guggenheim in an in-depth conversation on earnings growth tailwinds, the implications of a bifurcated economy, and whether or not we’re in an AI bubble. Although the first half of 2025 was rattled by trade fears, uneven consumer […]
Market Insights – Third Quarter 2025
The Calm After The Storm The first half of 2025 delivered all the thrills and scares of a turbocharged roller coaster. The twists and turns were sudden and startling; the ups and downs were vicious and violent. The ride left investors shaken from a potentially calamitous experience where mistakes would have been easy to make […]
Market Insights – Second Quarter 2025
A Growth Scare … And Likely No Worse The momentum from two years of remarkable economic resilience and strong market returns came to an abrupt halt in April 2025. The catalyst for market turmoil this time around was an unexpected turn in the administration’s global trade policy. April 2, 2025 was touted as Liberation Day […]
Whittier Trust CIO, Sandip Bhagat, Featured on NASDAQ TradeTalks Panel
Sandip engaged in a healthy debate with top industry professionals and economists about the recent turmoil in the markets as a growth scare threatens to devolve into a recession or stagflation. Risk assets have sold off in the midst of high policy uncertainty and fiscal austerity from government job cuts. In the span of just […]
Market Insights – First Quarter 2025
Shifting Gears In The Economic Cycle The U.S. economy has now remained resilient to the massive post-pandemic inflation shock for well over two years. As a result, the economic outlook has changed dramatically from the inflation peak in June 2022. We trace this progression to assess where we stand now and what lies ahead. The […]