Barron’s (January 27)
“Japan is the market’s ‘Big Story.’” Proposals for a “looser fiscal policy” have resulted in “big moves in the yen and Japanese government bonds that have investors increasingly on edge around the world.” Now all eyes are on the 40-year JGB auction, which really “matters for U.S. and European investors. If prices fall, sending yields higher it, it could make Japanese bonds attractive enough for local investors to move money invested abroad back to Japan.”
Tags: 40 year, Abroad, Europe, Investors, Japan, JGBs, Looser fiscal policy, Market, Money, Prices, U.S., Yen, Yields
MarketWatch (January 26)
“The U.S. dollar took another hit on Monday, weakening to its lowest levels in four months, as talk of a coordinated intervention to prop up the competing Japanese yen intensified. A stronger Japanese currency could end up translating into trouble for U.S. stocks, as it did on Aug. 5, 2024, when a sharp unwinding of the yen carry trade was blamed for a selloff in global equities.”
Tags: Blamed, Carry trade, Coordinated intervention, Currency, Dollar, Japan, Prop up, Selloff, Stocks, U.S., Unwinding, Weakening, Yen
Washington Post (January 25)
“The open split that emerged last week between the United States and some of its closest allies highlights the seismic changes that are in store for the global economy amid the transition from full-blown U.S.-led globalization to an unruly new order.”
Tags: Allies, Global economy, Globalization, New order, Open split, Seismic changes, Transition, U.S., Unruly
MSN (January 23)
“UPS reported sharply lower earnings in the third quarter and said it expects lower revenue and thinner profit margins ahead.” The global shipper cited “a slowing global economy…for its gloomy forecast,” and its concern over “global macroeconomic uncertainty” has broader implications. “UPS is something of an economic bellwether, as its trucks move an estimated 6% of US gross domestic product and 3% of global GDP, the broadest measure of economic activity.”
Tags: Bellwether, Earnings, Economy, Global macroeconomic uncertainty, Gloomy forecast, Lower, Profit margins, Q3, Revenue, U.S., UPS
Financial Times (January 19)
“Trump’s bizarre designs on Greenland and his willingness to inflict financial pain on allies” mean that “the U.S. has squandered its most valuable financial asset: trust. It risks paying a heavy price for this for decades to come.” The U.S. remains the only market “big enough to absorb” giant capital flows so this “is not about ‘sell America.’” Europe is not going to sell its $8 trillion worth of Treasuries overnight. Rather, Trump’s latest move provides “a big incentive for investors to buy more bonds and stocks from elsewhere over time…. to spread things a little more globally.”
Tags: $8 trillion, Allies, Asset, Bizarre, Bonds, Capital flows, Europe, Financial pain, Greenland, Heavy price, Incentive, Investors, Risks, Sell America, Squandered, Stocks, Treasuries, Trump, Trust, U.S., Valuable
CNN (January 15)
“For China, the record $1.2 trillion annual trade surplus its authorities reported Wednesday is resounding proof of the resilience of its economy in the face of US trade friction.” The record surplus “also tells another story: one of the far-reaching potential for China’s massive export engine to reshape the global economy – and help Beijing win more leverage in its rivalry with the United States.”
Tags: $1.2 trillion, China, Economy, Export engine, Friction, Global economy, Leverage, Potential, Proof, Record, Resilience, Trade surplus, U.S.
The Week (January 14)
“President Donald Trump has renewed his efforts to take over Greenland, and tapping into the Danish territory’s natural resources is a key part of the strategy. But even if Trump were to somehow make Greenland a U.S. territory (something Denmark vehemently opposes), experts say the island’s harsh climate and environment make mining Greenland’s natural resources an unachievable goal.”
Tags: Climate, Denmark, Efforts, Environment, Experts, Greenland, Mining, Natural resources, Opposes, Renewed, Strategy, Trump, U.S., Unachievable
Market Watch (January 14)
“For investors, a meaningful erosion of central-bank independence would weaken the Fed’s inflation-targeting discipline and be negative for both stocks and bonds, as markets have long operated under the assumption that Fed independence will hold.” Although “we do not expect the Trump administration to capture the Federal Reserve, continued pressure on central-bank independence is likely to weigh on the U.S. dollar.” Ultimately, “market calm is conditional on the Senate acting as a backstop to Fed independence. If that condition is misread, markets will break down.”
Tags: Bonds, Capture, Central bank, Discipline, Dollar, Erosion, Fed, Independence, Inflation, Investors, Markets, Negative, Senate, Stocks, Trump, U.S., Weaken
OilPrice.com (January 12)
“Regardless of how investable Venezuela will be in the future, the U.S. control over its oil industry would change the power balance in the oil markets, giving the U.S. more sway in longer-term supply. This would leave OPEC and the wider OPEC+ group including Russia and Kazakhstan with potentially diminished clout in influencing the oil market balances and prices.”
Tags: Clout, Control, Diminished, Future, Investable, Kazakhstan, Market balance, Oil industry, OPEC, Power balance, Prices, Russia, Supply, U.S., Venezuela
Barron’s (January 8)
“There are few winners in the U.S. stock market from higher tariffs,” but investors are betting and hoping to win if the Supreme Court strikes Trump’s tariffs down. “The Supreme Court may or may not issue a Friday ruling regarding the legality of President Donald Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose tariffs without the approval of Congress. But investors already appear to be betting that the court will strike a blow against the levies.”
Tags: Congress, Emergency powers, Investors, Ruling, Stock market, Supreme Court, Tariffs, Trump, U.S., Winners
