Co-founder and CEO of New Vision Wealth Management, Ryan Lemond, has ruled out that the US Federal Reserve will change its monetary policies, stressing that interest rates in the United States will be, according to the Fed’s announcement, “higher for a longer time.”
He also expected the Fed to raise interest rates by 25 basis points, in principle, in light of the current conditions.
Lemond explained that the persistence of inflation rates in the world’s largest economy is the reason why interest rates will be higher for a continuous time, pointing out that the prices of services in the US economy are high, and they are not affected by the increase in interest rates.
He explained that the only way in which service prices can decrease in America is through an economic recession or slowdown in the country, and for this reason came statements from the Federal Reserve’s minutes that pave the way for citizens in the United States to the possibility of an economic recession during the current year.
Lemond also ruled out that any economic data would appear during the first quarter of this year indicating a slowdown in the US economy, stressing that corporate profits are usually high in the first quarter of each year, in addition to the increase in bank profits higher than usual as a result of the increase in interest rates.
Regarding the performance of US stock indices, the co-founder and CEO of New Vision Wealth Management said that since the beginning of the year until today, the performance of US stocks is very bad, with the exception of only 9 stocks.
He also confirmed that the markets’ performance is likely to become worse during the coming period, and made it clear that a collapse in Wall Street is unlikely, but a decline is highly likely.
Regarding the best ways available to invest now, Lemand emphasized that maintaining cash and benefiting from interest rates of up to 5 percent represents an excellent return.
He also indicated that there are available opportunities to invest in European stocks, as well as energy-related commodities and others, in addition to investing in the Gulf markets and benefiting from the profits resulting from new offerings in the Gulf markets, as well as benefiting from the dividends of companies in the region.
“Gold is not for short-term trading,” said LeMand, who predicted the metal’s rally would continue to reach $2,500 an ounce within two years.