The Eye of the Beholder

Are rising interest rates good or bad? The market seems to think they’re good — the Dow is up nearly 5% this week. The S&P climbed 6% and the Nasdaq is downright giddy, levitating past 8%. But if you’re a speculator living on margin, have an adjustable rate mortgage or are a small business owner wearing out the chip on your credit card, you may think differently. Rising interest rates could put the kibosh on your future plans. According to the Fed’s playbook, “slowly killing the economy” will ultimately save it. Unless, of course, Russia’s war in the Ukraine further impedes supply chains. Or the West’s laundry list of sanctions force Russia to sell cheap oil and energy elsewhere, like China or Kazakhstan.