The Times (May 13)
“The United States is expected to lose $12.5 billion in international travel spending by the end of the year.” According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) “reports of tourists being stopped at the border, visa detentions, a tariff war waged by the Trump administration and a higher exchange rate” are all factors in what they estimate will reduce 2025 spending by foreign tourists in the U.S. to $169 billion, “down 7 per cent from $181 billion last year and 22 per cent from the peak before the pandemic.”
Tags: $12.5 billion, $169 billion, 2025, Border, Exchange rate, International travel, Pandemic, Reduce, Spending, Tariff war, Tourists, Trump, U.S., Visa detentions, WTTC
Bloomberg (May 12)
“Xi Jinping’s decision to stand his ground against Donald Trump could hardly have gone any better for the Chinese leader…. The Trump administration’s retreat from sky-high tariffs wouldn’t have occurred if China hadn’t responded so forcefully, not only with retaliatory duties but also export controls and other steps.”
Tags: China, Decision, Duties, Export controls, Forcefully, Leader, Responded, Retaliatory, Retreat, Sky-high tariffs, Trump, U.S., Xi
Barron’s (May 12)
“The Nasdaq Composite entered a new bull market on Monday as the stock market surged after the U.S. and China agreed to ease back tariffs for 90 days. The tech-heavy index rallied 4.4%, closing more than 20% above its April 8 low to exit the bear market that began on April 4.” That wasn’t the only good news. “The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1,161 points, or 2.8%, closing more than 10% above its April 8 low to exit a technical correction. The S&P 500 rallied 3.3%.”
Tags: Bear market, Bull market, China, Dow Jones, Ease, Nasdaq, Rallied, S&P 500, Stocks, Surged, Tariffs, Tech-heavy, Technical correction, U.S.
South China Morning Post (May 9)
“Hong Kong must wake up to the dangers of US port and shipping threats “ While the world obsesses about Donald Trump’s tariffs, “a quieter but potentially more lasting confrontation is taking shape that could remake global trade infrastructure.” The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) recently “concluded an investigation into China’s shipbuilding and maritime sectors” and “its impact on the global trade architecture could be just as profound. If Hong Kong is “to remain a serious player on the international stage, we must respond with urgency, clarity and conviction” to measures that could include “per-voyage service fees on Chinese-built and Chinese-controlled vessels calling at US ports, as well as proposed tariffs on Chinese-made ship-to-shore cranes and other key port equipment” while requiring that LNG carriers be US-built, “phasing out Chinese-made ships from the trade.”
Tags: China, Confrontation, Dangers, Global trade, Hong Kong, Infrastructure, Maritime, Per-voyage service fees, Port, Ship-to-shore cranes, Shipbuilding, Shipping threats, Tariffs, Trade Representative, Trump, U.S.
Financial Times (May 9)
“China’s exports grew sharply in April despite Donald Trump’s ‘liberation’ day tariffs on shipments to the US, strengthening Beijing’s hand ahead of crucial trade negotiations due to start this weekend.” Chinese companies were able to divert “trade flows to south-east Asia, Europe and other destinations following the imposition of prohibitively high tit-for-tat tariffs between the world’s two largest economies.” Though year on year exports to the U.S. dropped by 21% in April, China’s overall global exports increased 8.1%.”
Tags: April, Beijing, China, Divert, Europe, Exports, Liberation day, Shipments, South-east Asia, Tariffs, Trade negotiations, Trump, U.S.
Chicago Booth Review (May 8)
The United States “will miss having reliable data.” The U.S. government “has recently taken steps to pare its infrastructure for economic data collection and analysis, including shuttering the Bureau of Economic Analysis Advisory Committee and the Federal Economic Statistics Advisory Committee.” Based on a March poll, economists ”expressed broad concern about how eroding the government’s data-collection resources might affect the quality of American economic information—and the decisions based on it.” There responses suggested “that less reliable statistics won’t just be a problem for policymakers.”
Tags: Analysis, Bureau of Economic Analysis Advisory Committee, Data collection, Decisions. Statistics, Eroding, Federal Economic Statistics Advisory Committee, Government, Infrastructure, Pare, Policymakers, Quality, Reliable, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (May 7)
“Just as other countries need U.S. help against China, the reverse is also true.” President Trump himself, however, stands “in the way” of constructing such a “new trading system…. He simply doesn’t make much distinction between China and allies: They’re all ‘ripping us off.’” The President’s “willingness to hit friendly nations with tariffs, cozy up to Russia and threaten allies like Denmark and Canada has deeply undermined allies’ trust. With the U.S. closing its market, others are more reluctant than ever to push China away.“
Tags: Allies, Canada, China, Denmark, Friendly nations, Market, Reluctant, Tariffs, Threaten, Trading system, Trump, Trust, U.S., Undermined
New York Times (May 6)
When Warren Buffet unexpectedly announced his retirement at the end of 2025, “people in the crowd, many of whom were in tears, rose from their seats in a standing ovation for a singular figure in the business world.” The Oracle of Omaha, as he is known, “is often described as a symbol of American capitalism. In truth, he is an outlier. He is more the conscience of capitalism, willing to speak uncomfortable truths about the system’s ills while others remained silent.” A humble billionaire, Buffet “always comes across as a gentleman, and in an age of distrust he has become a trusted figure.” No doubt, another “of his biggest accomplishments” was “using his annual Berkshire letters and marathon Q&A sessions with shareholders to educate generations about business, investing and life itself.”
Tags: Berkshire, Buffet, Capitalism, Conscience, Educate, Gentleman, Humble, Oracle of Omaha, Outlier, Ovation, Q&A, Retirement, Shareholders, Tears, Trusted, U.S., Uncomfortable truths
The Economist (May 3)
“Relations between America and China are at a low ebb. Tariffs of well over 100% on both sides have severed trade. Each is striving to dominate 21st-century technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). A massive military build-up is under way. In the previous cold war such rivalries came to a head over flashpoints like the Berlin airlift and the Cuban missile crisis. Today American resolve is likely to be tested over Taiwan—and sooner than many think.”
Tags: AI, Berlin airlift, China, Cold war, Cuban missile crisis, Dominate, Flashpoints, Low ebb, Military build-up, Relations, Resolve, Rivalries, Severed trade, Tariffs, Technologies, Tested, U.S.
Business Insider (May 2)
“Investors are on edge as President Donald Trump’s ’America First’ policies seem only to diminish the appeal of US assets, but to famed economist Nouriel Roubini, the fears are overblown.” This may seem surprising for the economist known as ‘Doctor Doom,’ but he is also known a contrarian who now “sees US markets constraining Trump’s most aggressive policies, and ensuring a continuation of American exceptionalism.” He urges investors now to discount the nation’s key advantage: technological leadership.
Tags: Advantage, America first, Appeal, Assets, Contrarian, Diminish, Doctor Doom, Economist, Exceptionalism, Fears, On edge, Overblown, Roubini, Trump, U.S.
