It’s no secret that today’s political landscape is one of the most volatile in the U.S. since the Civil War. In this episode, we invited Dan Clifton, partner and head of policy research at Strategas Securities, to sit down with Greg Dowling on the FEG Insight Bridge to connect politics, policy, and markets today. Listen in as Dan breaks down some of the most important moving targets for the market, from China’s geopolitical risk to the Biden administration’s Build Back Better Program and the historically large infrastructure bills being debated in Congress. Dan also offers some valuable insight into how the proposed tax bill may impact future S&P 500 earnings and thoughts on the debt ceiling. Dan shares words of wisdom for investors as he details how the “September to remember” has now become the October, November, and even December to remember as markets attempt to absorb the blows of the ongoing political dramas in D.C.
This episode was recorded on October 21, 2021.
Chapters
00:00:00 Intro
00:00:32 Episode Overview
00:01:23 A brief introduction of Dan and Strategas Securities
00:02:45 How Dan originally got into the investing business
00:04:44 The current political environment
00:06:38 What’s in store for October and November now that the “September to remember” has passed
00:09:50 Breaking down Biden’s Build Back Better program
00:14:47 The nuts and bolts of the Infrastructure Bill
00:17:30 Dan’s tax rate forecast and its potential impact on future S&P 500 earnings
00:24:38 The near-term future of the debt ceiling
00:27:33 Jerome Powell’s chances of reelection
00:32:02 Upcoming elections and musical chairs in seats of the House and Senate
00:37:59 Geopolitical risk re: China
00:43:45 Lightning Round