Little bits of hope The US economy grew by 2.6% in the third quarter, higher than the 2.3% that was initially expected. This is the first quarter of positive growth in 2022 – remember the first two quarters, which showed a slowdown in economic growth, were the textbook definition of a recession. Unfortunately, a large part of that growth was driven by a smaller trade deficit, which is a one-time thing for the quarter and not necessarily indicative of true economic growth. Moral of the story: Consumer spending is the bulk of what drives our economy. It contributed to 1.4% growth in this latest quarter, but that’s down from 2%…

It’s a mess Some level of normalcy has finally returned in my life, and I’m so happy to finally be back in your inboxes. A lot has happened since the last time I wrote to you so this week is a bit more of a catch-all of the important developments that have created complete chaos in the markets in the last month. At the top of the list, without a close second, is the Federal Reserve. They have turned the financial markets completely upside down by doing the most aggressive 180 turn in monetary policy literally ever. Actually, this has been the most aggressive monetary tightening cycle ever. They let…