Recessionary fears in the US are a little overworked, said Doug Gordon, Senior Portfolio Manager for Tactical Asset Allocation Strategies at Russell Investments. Recessionary fears were justified may be two months ago, but the strength of the US labor market including the strong payroll gains in the past three months and comparatively lower weekly unemployment claims numbers indicate resilience.
To the extent the unemployment problem is solved, the labor market supports a more resilient consumer in the United States, which can backstop and mitigate some of the recessionary risks.
Russell Investments thinks that paints a relatively low recessionary probability in the US, which was also echoed by Federal Reserve officials James Bullard recently. While the Fed pushes its data driven argument for rate rises, the Fed officials admitted they didn’t see high risks of a recession in the US, he added.
Breakthrough drugs generally attract investors’ attention in the pharmaceutical industry although generics make up bulk of the sales in most geographics. Average life expectancy is rising, thanks to the wonders of modern pharmacology, and pushing consumers toward generic versions of expensive brands for cost reasons.
