The U.S. Federal Reserve released its minutes from June's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting yesterday, revealing that the central bank was going to follow the same script of tapering bond purchases and remaining coy on interest rate hikes.
In his appearance on CNBC's "Squawk Box" (Asia) Wednesday evening, Money Morning's Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald said he and the markets weren't hanging on the words of the Fed unless they answered the question of whether they would deviate from previous statements, or if they were going to accelerate the inevitable interest rate hike.
"The answer to both of those questions was no," Fitz-Gerald said. "Which is why you saw a relatively sedate positive day in the market, traders like that because they know it's not going to rock the boat."
He also wasn't impressed by the Fed's economic data, predictions, and conclusions on the U.S. economy's health, given that the Fed failed to predict the financial crisis and have routinely gotten their forecasts wrong.
Fitz-Gerald is instead keeping his finger on the pulse of the corporate world, where he sees CEOs holding on to a lot of capital, increasing productivity, and preparing for improved second-quarter earnings.
"I'm placing my bets with CEOs who understand the world's environment, these are guys who understand how to interpret certainty versus the hesitancy or lack of clarity we get from the Fed," Fitz-Gerald said.
In the following video, Fitz-Gerald discusses which industries are positioned well despite the uncertainty caused by the Fed, and names companies with solid fundamentals. Take a look at these top picks.
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