Silver Linings - Q3'19 Investment and Economic Commentary

Turn on CNBC or Bloomberg for any amount of time, and you will want to have a couple of shots of your favorite stiff drink. We see weak manufacturing, continued uncertainty around Brexit, and a never-ending trade war. On top of all this, we see market participants are flocking to safer U.S. Treasuries. Yes, there are a lot of points of weakness in the current economy. However, let's take a look at the silver linings.

First, The U.S consumer continues to provide strength to the current economy. Inflation is low, which places less pressure on households' budgets. At the same time, we are seeing that income is increasing. Strengthening personal budgets allows for individuals to have more purchasing power and is a real source of strength for the U.S. economy. At the same time, unemployment came in at 3.5% for September, a low reading.

Second, during the past quarter, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates twice. The Fed decreased rates to address concerns regarding a slowing e