MSN (May 21)
“Donald Trump may be doing the world a big favor.” The “chaos” he has unleashed has “inadvertently produced an opportunity to create a better world.” And that “world where American and western power is limited and contained could not only end up being more peaceful but, over time, more prosperous.” Trump has loosened “the American grip on global power… an essential first step towards achieving a more just and balanced international order.”
Tags: Balanced, Better world, Chaos, Contained, Favor, Global power, Inadvertently, International order, Just, Limited, Opportunity, Peaceful, Prosperous, Trump, U.S., Western power
Minnesota Star Tribune (May 21)
“The world changed” in 2020 when “a police officer murdered George Floyd on a Minneapolis street corner.” Corporations put money and muscle into doing things better. In 2025, however, “a national backlash has slammed the brakes on investments aimed at improving deep-seated socioeconomic disparities…. President Donald Trump issued executive orders banning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in the public and private sectors.” U.S. corporations fell in line “by stepping back their public-facing efforts.”
Tags: Backlash, Banning, Corporations, Deep-seated, DEI, Executive orders, Floyd, Investments, Minneapolis, Money, Murdered, Police, Socioeconomic disparities, Trump, U.S.
Impact Investor (May 20)
“Place-based investing strategies are emerging as powerful tools for driving growth, climate resilience, and social progress, particularly in the UK, where institutional allocations have increased substantially.”
Tags: Allocations, Climate resilience, Emerging, Growth, Institutional, Place-based investing, Powerful tools, Social progress, Strategies, UK
New York Times (May 20)
The Chinese century “may already have dawned, and when historians look back they may very well pinpoint the early months of President Trump’s second term as the watershed moment when China pulled away and left the United States behind.” China “already leads global production in multiple industries — steel, aluminum, shipbuilding, batteries, solar power, electric vehicles, wind turbines, drones, 5G equipment, consumer electronics, active pharmaceutical ingredients and bullet trains.” China is “laser-focused on winning the future.” In contrast, “Mr. Trump is taking a wrecking ball to the pillars of American power and innovation. His tariffs are endangering U.S. companies’ access to global markets and supply chains. He is slashing public research funding and gutting our universities, pushing talented researchers to consider leaving for other countries. He wants to roll back programs for technologies like clean energy and semiconductor manufacturing and is wiping out American soft power in large swaths of the globe.”
Tags: 5G, Aluminum, Batteries, Bullet trains, Chinese century, Clean energy, Consumer electronics, Drones, Electric vehicles, Endangering, Global markets, Innovation, Laser-focused, Manufacturing, Pharmaceutical ingredients, Research, Semiconductor, Shipbuilding, Solar power, Steel, Supply chains, Tariffs, Trump, Wind turbines, Wrecking
South China Morning Post (May 19)
“China’s economy mostly remained resilient in April, despite feeling the effects of the astronomical tariffs in place before last week, when Washington and Beijing agreed to remove or pause most of the duties imposed as part of their tempestuous trade war.” Though consumption softened, manufacturing fared better than expected. “China’s industrial output rose 6.1 per cent, beating estimates, while domestic consumption up 5.1 per cent–slightly below expectations.”
Tags: Agreed, April, Beijing, China, Consumption, Duties, Economy, Estimates, Industrial output, Manufacturing, Resilient, Tariffs, Trade war, Washington
Washington Post (May 19)
“Markets came under pressure Monday morning as investors dumped stocks, U.S. bonds and the dollar in early trading after the United States lost its triple-A bond rating, signaling new worries about the outlook for the world’s largest economy amid President Donald Trump’s trade war and heightened federal deficits.”
Tags: Bonds, Dollar, Dumped, Economy, Investors, Markets, Outlook, Pressure, Rating, Stocks, Trade war, Trading, Triple-A, Trump, U.S., Worries
Bloomberg (May 19)
“‘Sell America’ is back as Moody’s pushes 30-year yield to 5%.” Just a week after traders “had to react quickly to weekend news of an improvement in trade relations between the US and China,” they will again have to paddle hard, but this time in the opposite direction. Rising Treasury yields are also expected to “complicate the government’s ability to cut back by running up its interest payments, while also threatening to weaken the economy by forcing up rates on loans such as mortgages and credit cards.”
Tags: 5%, China, Economy, Government, Interest payments, Loans, Moody, Mortgages, Rates, Sell America, Threatening, Traders, Treasury yields, U.S., Weaken
Detroit Free Press (May 17)
“As car buyers rush to get in front of tariffs — which are widely expected to boost sticker prices — the flood of demand has been pushing new vehicle prices ever higher, with the trend unlikely to stop any time soon.” The average new vehicle sales price “in April surged 2.5% to $48,699 compared with March. Prices rose 1.1% compared with April 2024,” making it “the strongest April sales since 2021.”
Tags: $48, 2.5%, 2021, 699 Rose, April, Boost, Car buyers, Demand, Flood, Higher, New vehicle, Prices, Rush, Sticker prices, Strongest April, Surged, Tariffs
Market Watch (May 17)
“President Donald Trump’s move to defuse an ugly trade war with China not only sparked a massive stock-market rally but also drove down the chances of a recession — for now.” Though it’s a welcome sign of relief, numerous obstacles remain. Nobody can rest assured. “Ongoing trade wars have not gone away, for one thing. Trump could change his mind or the U.S. could fail to strike more economic-friendly deals with China, after that 90-day pause, and other countries.” Moreover, the uncertainty has “made households and business hesitant to spend, hire and invest. Confidence has plunged in the past few months, and anxiety is unlikely to fade quickly.” U.S. growth remains likely “to taper off sharply this year.”
Tags: 90-day pause, China, Confidence, Deals, Defuse, Hire, Households, Invest, Obstacles, Recession, Relief, Spend, Stock-market rally, Trade war, Trump, U.S., Ugly, Uncertainty
Reuters (May 15)
“Equity investors took comfort from the lower duty rates, pushing the S&P 500 Index up 5% this week, to higher than where it started the year. Business leaders are clearly less impressed. Sustained gloom from industry titans like Walmart will keep pressure on the president to reconsider his own pricing power.” Though Walmart “is trying to hold the line on food even as the cost of bananas, coffee, avocados and flowers increases,” the retailer disclosed this week that “tariffs would force it to raise prices.”
Tags: Business leaders, Cost, Duty rates, Equity, Food, Gloom, Industry titans, Investors, Pressure, Pricing power, Raise prices, Reconsider, S&P 500, Tariffs, Walmart
