The Fed’s likely next step: Setting conditions for future rate cuts

As expected, the Federal Open Market Committee decided to keep its key interest rate, the federal funds rate, unchanged at 5.25%–5.50%. We believe lower-than-expected price data and the economy’s gradual weakening mean we should start seeing rate cuts by May this year.

What biodiversity loss could mean for the global economy—and why investors need relevant data now

What do the golden toad, paradise parrot, Little Swan Island hutia, and Yarkon bleak all have in common? They’re 4 of 19 animal species identified as extinct in 2011 primarily due to climate change and severe weather.[1] Between 1950 and 2021, the world also lost 50% of its living coral.[2]

Unrest in Russia: Stay calm, invest on

The paramilitary Wagner Group’s armed rebellion against the Russian government was short-lived but shocking. It has of course raised questions from a geopolitical perspective. We at Allspring know that uncertainty and global unrest also are part of the equation investors globally are trying to solve right now. Below, four of our investment leaders provide their insights on the situation’s potential impacts on various asset classes as well as possible risks we’re monitoring for.

Bear with us: An evaluation of valuation for those on the fence about getting defensive

The first six months of 2022 saw a precipitous 20% drop in the S&P 500 Index, plunging equities into their 15th bear market in the past 100 years. We’re now 16 months into this bear market—are investors prepared for what happens next?