Written by Members of the Castleview Investment Committee

Even as the Russia-Ukraine conflict dominates current headlines, Covid-related complications continue to percolate in the background. In our view, these two world-shaping headlines are not distant neighbors, but may well be related cousins. Perhaps not everything presented publicly about the happenings in Ukraine are as they first appear. The accusations presented in public testimony before the UN Security Council earlier in the month involve the U.S. government’s role in the work of confirmed Ukrainian biolabs. If these revelations are accurate, then we might expect a hardening of opposition between the U.S. and Russia over Ukraine in the not-too-distant future.

Looking back over the first half of the year, our prior stated concerns regarding slowing economic growth, persistently elevated consumer prices and latent risks emanating from increased interest rates appear mostly on target...