It isn’t a flood of panic to raise interest rates, but it will change the price of capital and the ranking of assets.

In a low-interest-rate environment, many assets can be supported by liquidity; once rates rise, the market will evaluate profits, valuations, and risks more seriously. For investors, what truly matters isn’t predicting every rate hike, but assessing whether the interest-rate core will remain higher for the long term—and whether corporate earnings can absorb the increase in funding costs.