No, not the movie. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly actually was a western starring Clint Eastwood—but we’re talking this week. There’s good news, bad news, and maybe (ugly?) news. This is going to be a very interesting week.
After spending a week in Hawaii to relax and take a look from afar (and Hawaii is afar) at all the “shenanigans” going on back on the mainland, it becomes clear: the U.S. is mentally disturbed. Really. Sitting on the beach or by the pool and following all the goings-on back home, there’s no other answer. The mainland is crazy land.
Well, the good news is that it appears the government shutdown is coming to an end. Kind of. The House needs to sign off on the agreement and the President needs to sign it, but it’s looking good. However, it’s only short-term funding—so come the end of January, more funding will be needed. Kick that can further down the road.
The bad news is this should never have happened. Purely political. Senate Minority Leader Schumer is terrified of House member AOC. She wants his job (and may get it). Showing just how political the shutdown was, there was no agreement until air traffic was affected. Congress couldn’t get back home easily. Who cared about food subsidies, no paychecks for government workers, etc., etc.? Airline delays? Instant agreement. That’s crazy.
Let’s not forget the “maybe” news: tariffs. The Supreme Court is set to announce if Trump’s tariffs are legal. Maybe they are, maybe they’re not. It’s BIG news. If they’re not legal, what happens? How do financial markets react? Maybe it’s bullish, maybe it’s bearish. THIS is really crazy. Trump has already pledged tariff rebates to Americans (pressure on the Supreme Court?). Are tariffs already collected due to be refunded to the countries that paid them? MAYBE.
Having viewed the financial markets from Aloha land, it now makes sense. Markets go UP on bad news because it’s really good news, because the Fed may lower interest rates—but if they do, inflation may rise, which is bad news, but still good news because stocks go up to outperform inflation. Got it? Maybe ALL news is good. Bad news is so 2009. Whew. No wonder Hawaii is a happy place. Who cares.
Back to being a crazy mainlander.
Bill Taylor is the CEO and Chief Market Strategist at Digital Wealth News, offering expert insights on markets and asset classes. A proud Horned Frog and Texas Christian University grad, he played college basketball while there. With a strong finance background and passion for digital innovation, Bill shares thought leadership on market trends and portfolio strategy for our audience.
