reis_logo_footerAt this month’s REIS meeting, Dr. David Jones, Executive Professor of Economics and Finance at Florida Gulf Coast University, presented his take on how the Trump Administration will affect the U.S. economy.

Dr. Jones predicts that the economy will be on the rise through the end of 2018. He declined to offer a forecast beyond that mark because, as he light-heartedly informed REIS members, he was taught to only predict around one corner, not two.

The first corner in that analogy is the future of the U.S. economy during the first two years of the Trump Administration, while the second corner is how Trump’s potential desire to get reelected may cause him to change his stance on important economic issues.

After recognizing that some experts predict that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates 2-3 times in 2017, Dr. Jones predicted that interest rates will increase four times in 2017 and six times in 2018, ending in an interest rate of about 3%.

Finally, admitting that he is not an expert in stocks, Dr. Jones cautioned that with interest rates so low for so long the value of stocks may be artificially high and their true value currently unknown.

Thank you to Dr. Jones for his entertaining and highly informative presentation, and thank you to State Insurance Agency for sponsoring the event.