Kingsview CIO Scott Martin On News Nation – with Connell McShane – 10.6.25
Click here to listen to the full interview.
CONNELL MCSHANE: Question for you — are we in a recession? There’s new analysis out from Mark Zandi that finds nearly half of the fifty states in the nation are experiencing a recession right now, and almost fifteen others are treading water. From Chicago, Scott Martin joins us now. Scott’s the Chief Investment Officer at Kingsview Wealth Management. Good to see you. I have a map that I’m looking at — it’ll pop up on the screen — showing which states are in recession, and I have bad news for you, my friend, because Illinois here is in one, according to Mr. Zandi. The orange states, twenty-two of them, are in recession. What do you make of that? Does it depend on where you live and what your local economy looks like right now?
SCOTT MARTIN: You draw really nice circles, by the way, Con — there’s no recession in your drawing skills, I’ll tell you that much! It’s funny, a lot of those states are ones my family and I have visited this year. And it’s interesting — many of those states, if you noticed on that map, are suffering from some sort of political strain, whether it’s economic or legislative. That’s probably part of it. We’ve also had what I’d call rolling “blackout” slowdowns across the country. Meanwhile, states that have shown a little more fiscal responsibility have done better. The states that have been a bit more “state-rights”-leaning have also fared better economically and tend to be more business-friendly. So yes, depending on where you live definitely determines how the economy feels. But hey, if you’re a guy like Mark Sanchez, I think you’re feeling a recession no matter where you are! That said, people like that — whether it’s Mark Sanchez or others — are still going out, hanging out, and spending money in certain states, while there are other places nobody wants to visit or invest in. That really determines the local economy and whether it’s picking up or slowing down.
CONNELL MCSHANE: Wow, that was a lot — you’re speaking very fast this morning… or this afternoon! Alright, we’ll get to Mark Sanchez, but let me ask you about one other specific issue in the economy: housing. In the middle of all this, President Trump really went after homebuilders — kind of interesting comments. He says they’re sitting on two million empty lots while we continue to face a housing shortage. What do you make of that?
SCOTT MARTIN: Rates are definitely part of it. I think, Con, there’s been stress from President Trump about the housing market in general because, as we all know, its economic impact on average Americans is huge. There’s a reason we want to get housing starts moving again — and that’s something the Federal Reserve has struggled with over the last year or so, keeping rates high instead of cutting them. Lower rates would stimulate housing. The problem, though, is that the housing market has other issues beyond just interest rates. When you look past the question of whether banks are lending or borrowers can afford to borrow, there are deeper, systemic challenges that go beyond the Fed’s policies. Until we address those broader issues — things like supply shortages, zoning, and construction costs — the market won’t fix itself. There’s a lot more going on than just interest rates.
CONNELL MCSHANE: There are a lot more things going on. And coming back to that Mark Sanchez comment — you must be a Bears fan if you think taking a shot at Sanchez is going to insult me as a Jets fan. I’ve got way bigger problems with the current Jets! Poor guy — Sanchez was years ago.
SCOTT MARTIN: I don’t think Mark Sanchez could even save the Jets right now! But I’m a Vikings fan, and I probably shouldn’t talk — J.J. McCarthy and the boys are struggling in their own right. Honestly, we’d probably take a guy like Sanchez right now to fix our quarterback problems.
CONNELL MCSHANE: Facing a felony charge… that’s a rough one. Thanks, Scott. Scott Martin covers it all.
