Faris Lee Investments

Talks of tariffs and trade wars have dominated the news lately as the U.S. negotiates abroad over everything from immigration deals with Mexico to intellectual property protection (or lack thereof) in China. Though a deal was reached with Mexico earlier this month, an agreement has yet to be made with China. Even if the two countries do reach amicable terms, what kind of an impact will these types of trade wars and levies have stateside? “If the trade war challenge continues for too long or the U.S. experiences a retaliating …

This year got off to an interesting start, considering it ushered in the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The 35-day shutdown — spanning from Dec. 21, 2018, to Jan. 25, 2019 — caused The Conference Board’s U.S. Consumer Confidence Index to fall from 136.4 points in November 2018 to 128.1 in December 2018. This 8.3-point drop represented the largest single-month dip since July 2015. The index fell another 6.4 points to land at 121.7 in January. In February, the index rebounded, rising to 131.4 and approaching its 18-year high …