{"id":16588,"date":"2026-01-06T11:56:35","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T16:56:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eastwindsorchamber.com\/site\/?p=16588"},"modified":"2026-01-06T11:56:35","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T16:56:35","slug":"2025-year-in-review-better-than-forecasted-by-a-wide-margin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eastwindsorchamber.com\/site\/2025-year-in-review-better-than-forecasted-by-a-wide-margin\/","title":{"rendered":"2025\u00a0Year in Review –\u00a0Better Than Forecasted\u2014By a Wide Margin"},"content":{"rendered":"

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2025\u00a0Year in Review –\u00a0<\/strong>Better Than Forecasted\u2014By a Wide Margin<\/strong><\/p>\n

Entering 2025, markets were clouded by volatility and pessimism. Trade policy uncertainty, high interest rates, inflation fears, and global conflicts dominated headlines. Many forecasts expected trouble.<\/p>\n

We took a more balanced view. Ongoing conversations with leading Wall Street firms and respected market strategists acknowledged risks\u2014but not a collapse. That perspective proved right.<\/p>\n

For the third straight year, markets delivered exceptional results. A brief April pullback tied to tariff concerns was a short-lived overreaction within an otherwise strong economy and ongoing bull market. Bull markets don\u2019t end simply because they\u2019re \u201cold\u201d\u2014they end when disrupted by sharp rate hikes, energy shocks, major conflicts, or punitive tax increases. None occurred.<\/p>\n

What Drove the Stronger-Than-Expected Results?<\/p>\n

Tariffs<\/u><\/strong>: Initial announcements proved to be negotiating positions. Final outcomes were far less disruptive than feared.<\/p>\n

Interest Rates<\/u><\/strong>: After years at restrictive levels, rates declined and are expected to ease further\u2014supporting growth & investment.<\/p>\n

Tax Policy:<\/u><\/strong>\u00a02 notable elements:<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

1)\u00a0Eliminating taxes on tips and overtime boosted take-home pay for millions of workers. Tax returns are expected to be larger in April due to this.<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0Newly added tax policy for immediate expensing\/tax deduction of capital equipment accelerated investment across construction, manufacturing, trucking, and automotive industries\u2014creating jobs and lifting wages.<\/p>\n

Corporate Profits:<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0S&P 500 earnings rose 10\u201313% so far this year. Well above early forecasts. Strong profit growth remains the primary driver of market gains and the outlook for 2026 remains favorable.<\/p>\n

Economic Growth:<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0GDP is tracking near 3%, far exceeding early-year expectations despite trade concerns.<\/p>\n

Wages:<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0Wage growth continued to surprise on the upside.<\/p>\n

Energy Prices:<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0Oil fell from roughly $80 to near $60 per barrel, easing inflation pressures and benefiting households and businesses alike.<\/p>\n

Infrastructure Investment:\u00a0<\/u><\/strong>Traditional projects\u2014roads, bridges, airports\u2014continue to drive long-term job growth. Also,\u00a0Technology infrastructure, especially AI-related data centers, is fueling nationwide construction and manufacturing demand.<\/p>\n

Global Markets:<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0European equities are near record highs, supported by a weaker dollar and increased defense spending by Germany\u2014benefiting both European and U.S. manufacturers.<\/p>\n

Deregulation:<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0A shift toward a more business-friendly regulatory environment is lowering costs and encouraging investment.<\/p>\n

The Bottom Line:\u00a0<\/u><\/strong>Political noise never stops, but markets respond to fundamentals: profits, interest rates, energy costs, and economic growth. All moved in a favorable direction in 2025.<\/p>\n

Some on Wall Street are now calling this a \u201cGoldilocks\u201d economy\u2014not perfect, but close. Labels aside, the foundation behind today\u2019s growth is real, broad-based, and far stronger than most expected at the start of the year.<\/p>\n

We look forward to meeting or speaking with you at anytime regarding your personal investment plan. Please give us a call with any questions you may have.\u00a0\u00a0Our office number is 860-623-0104.\u00a0\u00a0We wish you and your families all the best and look forward to a bright 2026!!!<\/p>\n

Warmest Regards,<\/p>\n

Brian, Arnie, Dan, JT and Tom K.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As usual this commentary is based solely the opinions of Brian Cassidy, Arnie Magid, Daniel Kelly, JT Galloway and Tom Kanyok.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Nothing in the above written material is endorsed by, or written by, or provided by Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., or by any other outside party or firm.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a Broker\/Dealer, Member FINRA\/SIPC.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Cassidy Financial Services, LLC. and Cambridge are not affiliated.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  2025\u00a0Year in Review –\u00a0Better Than Forecasted\u2014By a Wide Margin […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-releases"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eastwindsorchamber.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eastwindsorchamber.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eastwindsorchamber.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eastwindsorchamber.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eastwindsorchamber.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16588"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.eastwindsorchamber.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16588\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16589,"href":"https:\/\/www.eastwindsorchamber.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16588\/revisions\/16589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eastwindsorchamber.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eastwindsorchamber.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eastwindsorchamber.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}