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Welcome to Investing Insights. I'm your host, Ivana Hampton.

Expectations are shifting across the markets and economy.

Inflation's gripped tightened before loosening again.

The Federal Reserve predicted interest rate cuts would come.

The stock market is waiting, and so are bond investors.

Yet the promise of artificial intelligence is stirring up optimism.

Tom Lorisela is joined the podcast to discuss the biggest headlines from the first half of the year.

He's Morningstar Inc.'s Global Markets Editor and Smart Investor Newsletter Editor.

Here's our conversation.

Welcome back to the podcast, Tom.

Glad to be here.

The Federal Reserve scaled back its interest rate forecast from three cuts to only one this year.

Talk about how the markets are reacting to this pivot.

It's been an interesting reaction out there in the markets.

On the one hand, you do have the Fed saying that it expects to be cutting rates less.

You would think that that would not be good for the equities market.

You would think it would not be great for the bond market.

But the market seemed to be taking it in stride almost as if they don't really believe

that's what is going to be happening with the Fed.

Stocks have held in well.

Bonds have bounced back from the worst levels of the year.

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