Michael Townsend
Host at WashingtonWise Investor
Political analyst, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Helping investors understand how policy and politics in Washington affect the markets and your investments.
Articles
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2 weeks ago |
advisorperspectives.com | Michael Townsend
This commentary was originally posted on April 8th. Washington: What to Watch Now is a regular column that analyzes only those political and regulatory issues that could potentially affect investors. For more, listen to the WashingtonWise podcast on Apple Podcasts. Members of Congress from both parties were among the many caught off guard by last week's Rose Garden tariff announcement. President Donald Trump announced that a universal 10% tariff on all imports would begin on April 5th.
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2 weeks ago |
schwab.com | Michael Townsend
MICHAEL TOWNSEND: On April 2, shortly after the market closed for the day, President Trump walked into a crowded Rose Garden ceremony at the White House and began speaking about his plan for tariffs. I was watching in my office, just a few blocks away from the White House. Like most analysts—as well as investors, corporate executives, members of Congress, and many others—I had been anticipating the president's April 2 comments.
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3 weeks ago |
advisorperspectives.com | Michael Townsend
After weeks of uncertainty about tariffs that have rattled markets, trade partners and U.S. companies, President Donald Trump on April 2nd announced a sweeping tariff plan that went beyond what most analysts anticipated. The plan imposes a universal baseline tariff of 10% on all imports and higher tariffs on 60 countries with which the United States has significant trade deficits. Markets initially reacted negatively, with overnight futures sharply down following three days of gains.
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3 weeks ago |
schwab.com | Michael Townsend
After weeks of uncertainty about tariffs that have rattled markets, trade partners and U.S. companies, President Donald Trump on April 2nd announced a sweeping tariff plan that went beyond what most analysts anticipated. The plan imposes a universal baseline tariff of 10% on all imports and higher tariffs on 60 countries with which the United States has significant trade deficits. Markets initially reacted negatively, with overnight futures sharply down following three days of gains.
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1 month ago |
schwab.com | Michael Townsend
Modal can be closed by pressing Escape key. MIKE TOWNSEND: It was pretty easy to be a stock market investor the last couple of years. In 2023, the S&P 500® was up more than 24% for the year. In 2024, it finished the year up more than 23%. But 2025 has been much more of a rollercoaster. Things started out well—on February 19, the S&P 500 hit an all-time high, up more than 4% since the beginning of the year. Since then, the market has been confused by the barrage of initiatives coming out of Washington.
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New WashingtonWise podcast is out this morning, with a great conversation with @JeffreyKleintop about the implications of the China trade war on investors, consumers, companies and the two economies. Lots to dig into in this episode - give it a listen! https://t.co/byjJ78d9pA
My new WashingtonWise podcast is out! I dig into one of the wildest weeks for policy and the markets in memory. Lots of talk on tariffs, trade deficits, the Fed, the big tax bill and more. My colleague Stephanie Shadel joins me to discuss how investors can keep calm amid this
Was planning to drop a new episode of my WashingtonWise podcast this morning, but given yesterday's tsunami of news, ended up re-recording much of the episode. We've pushed back release to Friday morning. Stay tuned.
