State of the Union
One thing US citizens see every year is the State of the Union address, delivered by their president, who in this case is Joe Biden. The State of the Union address is meant to discuss the past year with the citizens, along with talking about current issues and plans for the next year. This speech comes at a time where war is taking place in Europe between Russia and Ukraine, adding some extra layers to this speech.
To open, Biden addressed the Ukraine situation by clearly stating the United States’ opposition to Russia, announcing that Russian planes would no longer be able to fly through American airspace and that troops would now be active in neighboring NATO countries in case Russia moved further west of Ukraine. The idea of further punishment of Russia gained bipartisan cheers, and any concerns about oil were placed aside as he announced that nations around the world agreed to release 60 million barrels of oil from reserves. More importantly, Biden talked about the US economy, touting the number of jobs created in the last year. Declaring that we are about to beat COVID, President Biden noted the amount of infrastructure projects that were going to start this year because of the infrastructure bill being passed, which could benefit construction companies like Caterpillar and Terex as this looks to be a long-term project. Inflation was also discussed, with the president promising to decrease prices as best as possible with his economic plans to help low-income and middle-class citizens. The market is up 14 percent since Biden took office, but the market is down 10 percent since the New Year, and further volatility could be met at the midterm elections, which provides opportunity once again.
I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.
