Welcome to Viewpoints, a monthly bulletin from PDS Planning to our valued clients and friends. Our goal with each issue of Viewpoints is to provide you with a wide variety of perspectives on life and wealth. Feel free to share with others.
- Ukraine and Russia: Since the Russian’s invaded Ukraine on February 24, an estimated 3 million people have fled the country, around 5% of the total population, according to the UN. Over half have found refuge in Poland. (Source: CNN)
- Gas Prices: The price for a barrel of oil has been on the move. Russia was responsible for 10% of the global oil production and after starting the war with Ukraine, the price began to climb. Prices per barrel rose as high as $139.13, more than double the price from a year ago. Fortunately, the price has since fallen back under $100 and hopefully we see prices at the pump fall back as well. The US imported only 3% of their crude oil from Russia before implementing their import ban. (Source: Yahoo Finance and Al Jazeera)
- China’s Renewed Lockdown: As mask mandates lift throughout Ohio and the country, Coronavirus is still here and still an issue. A spike in cases in China has led to a number of technology and manufacturing companies shutting down, potentially leading to more supply chain backups. (Source: Wall Street Journal)
- Bear Market: A bear market is defined as a drop in value of 20%. During the trading day yesterday (3/14), the Nasdaq reach that mark. It has since recovered today, but volatility will remain elevated and it’s likely to re-test those lows. To learn more about bear markets and bull markets, check out our blog post. (Source: Yahoo Finance)
- Happy Pi Day: Monday, March 14 (3/14) was national Pi day! It’s a day to celebrate the mathematical constant Pi, 3.14159265358979… It’s also just a great excuse to eat Pie.
On Interest Rates
The Federal Open Market Committee [FOMC], a branch of the Federal Reserve [Fed], is expected to vote to implement an interest rate hike at the conclusion of their meeting Wednesday, March 16th. For more information on the Fed, interest rates, and monetary policy, check out our recent blog post linked below
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