The Pandemic in Retrospect: Nightmare + Comeback

Pandemic Retrospective - 

In terms of equity returns, the last fifteen months proved to be one-fifth nightmare and four-fifths wonderment as capital markets and the global economy staged an astonishing comeback from a devastating, COVID infused rout.  The chart below illustrates some of the key milestones since December 31, 2020:

The boxes outlined in red highlight the major legislative and Federal Reserve actions taken over this period.  These combined with a series of smaller actions over the last fifteen months provided an astonishing COVID response, as detailed below (dollar figures tallied by the Committee for Responsible Federal Budget):

Legislative Action - $5.95 trillion in spending and tax breaks authorized by Congress.  $3.6 trillion has been committed or disbursed to date.

Federal Reserve Action - $5.98 trillion available for asset purchases, liquidity measures, loan programs, lending facilities and interest rate & reserve requirement changes effected by the Federal Reserve.  $2.9 trillion has been committed or disbursed.

Between Congress and the Federal Reserve, $6.5 trillion has been committed or distributed thus far, leaving another $5.4 trillion available in the unlikely scenario economic conditions deteriorate from here.  Add in President Biden’s proposed $3 trillion, 10-year infrastructure plan and the economy has significant policy support for quite some time.  Such support will add to the deficit, the mounting national debt and taxes, all things we are keeping a close eye on.  

---------------

^{Advisory services are offered through Darrell Capital Management, LLC, an Investment Advisor in the Sate of California.  All content is for informational purposes only.  It is not intended to provide any tax or legal advice or provide the basis for any financial decisions. Nor is it intended to be a projection of current or future performance or indication of future results. Investing always involves risk and the possible loss of capital. Opinions expressed herein are solely those of Darrell Capital Management, LLC.  The information contained in this material has been derived from sources believed to be reliable but is not guarantee as to accuracy and completeness and does not purport to be a complete analysis of the materials discussed. Being registered as an investment advisor does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Social media posts reactions and comments should not be viewed as endorsement or testimonials. The information contained herein should in no way be construed or interpreted as a solicitation to sell or offer to sell advisory services to any residents of any state other than the state of California or where otherwise legally permitted.}