Financial Times (April 23)
“While company leaders have generally avoided public criticism of the US president, they have been forced to confront his tariffs — which include levies of 145 per cent against export powerhouse China — on quarterly earnings calls with analysts this month.” Through Tuesday, “tariffs were cited on more than 90 per cent” of earnings calls while “recession” arose on 44 per cent. Corporate leaders also spoke of “escalating expenditures, gummed-up supply chains and a hit to the world’s largest economy.”
Tags: Analysts, Avoided, China, Confront, Criticism, Earnings calls, Economy, Escalating, Expenditures, Export, Leaders, Rrecession, Supply chains, Tariffs, Trump, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (April 21)
“If the White House wanted a test of how firing Jerome Powell would go over in the markets, it succeeded on Monday. U.S. stocks and the dollar plunged while yields on long-term Treasurys climbed after President Trump renewed his attacks on the Federal Reserve Chairman.” The President “thinks he can bully everyone into submission, but he can’t bully Adam Smith, who deals in reality. Markets know tariffs are taxes, and taxes are anti-growth.” It is clear that the “Trump tariffs are the biggest economic policy mistake in decades.” What remains unclear is the President’s ability to see reality. “Markets are spooked because they don’t know if Mr. Trump listens to anyone but his own impulses.”
Tags: Adam Smith, Anti-growth, Attacks, Bully, Dollar, Fed, Firing, Markets, Mistake, Plunged, Powell, Reality, Spooked, Stocks, Submission, Tariffs, Taxes, Treasurys, Trump, U.S., White House, Yields
Bloomberg (April 16)
Investors have learned that “there’s no way to guess what America will do next. With its on-again, off-again tariffs, the US administration has demonstrated a rare and reckless willingness to shock markets.” Given the “radical uncertainty, a financial crisis isn’t out of the question.” It is regrettable “that policymakers need to contemplate a self-inflicted crisis of this kind. But the possibility must be taken seriously. Regulators everywhere should do what they can to be ready.”
Tags: Crisis, Financial Crisis, Investors, Markets, Off-again, On-again, Policymakers, Radical uncertainty, Rare, Reckless, Regrettable, Regulators, Self-inflicted, Shock, Tariffs, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (April 14)
“The biggest issue in financial markets these days, other than tariffs, is the fate of U.S. dollar assets. Are President Trump’s herky-jerky decision-making and border taxes causing the world’s investors to shy away from the dollar and U.S. Treasurys?” Amid the volatility, that remains to be seen, but any shift would occur “’at the margin’ because the U.S. remains too big a market, and its financial system too liquid, to ignore.” Still, the potential impact should not be dismissed lightly. “Even a modest shift from Treasury bonds” could have enormous repercussions.
Tags: Bonds, Decision-making, Dollar assets, https://www.wsj.com/opinion/is-there-a-new-trump-risk-premium-tariffs-trade-policy-bonds-us-dollar-investing-9bee401d?mod=hp_opin_pos_4#cxrecs_s Financial markets, Impact, Investors, Jerky, Liquid, Margin, Shift, Tariffs, Taxes, Treasurys, Trump, U.S., Volatility
Washington Post (April 9)
“Trump grabbed a life preserver. In announcing a 90-day pause on most tariffs… he acknowledged, however reluctantly, the harsh realities of economics, foreign policy and domestic politics.” While the pause is “indeed worth rejoicing,” it is only a partial pause as the trade war continues with China. “Investors, business and consumers will still be living with uncertainty. For the long term, Trump and his team are well advised to come up with a less volatile economic strategy.”
Tags: Business, China, Consumers, Economic strategy, Economics, Foreign policy, Investors, Lfe preserver, Partial, Pause, Politics, Realities, Tariffs, Trade war, Trump, Uncertainty, Volatile
New York Times (April 6)
“It’s downright scary,” but the future is “not in America.” President Trump and his administration are “focused on what teams American transgender athletes can race on” while “China is focused on transforming its factories with A.I. so it can outrace all our factories.” Trump is ramping up “tariffs while gutting our national scientific institutions and work force that spur U.S. innovation.” Meanwhile, China is ramping up “research campuses” and “A.I.-driven innovation to be permanently liberated from Trump’s tariffs.”
Tags: A.I., China, Factories, Future, Gutting, Innovation, Outrace, Race, Research campuses, Scary, Scientific institutions, Tariffs, Transforming, Transgender athletes, Trump, U.S.
Market Watch (April 4)
Trump’s tariffs are sparking the “worst week for stocks since 2020” and leading the VIX volatility index to a new high for the year. “U.S. stocks showed signs of ‘capitulation,’ or a move toward ‘panic selling,’ on Friday” as the “tariffs wreaked havoc in the stock market… stoking fears of a trade-war escalation that could lead to a recession.”
Tags: China, Destruction, Economic growth, Empower, Families, Global trading system, Higher inflation, Highest, Rules, Tariffs, Tax increase, Trump, U.S., Unemployment, Wealth
Wall Street Journal (April 3)
“The tariffs Trump announced would lift the average duty above the previous peak of 1930. It is by far the most disruptive component of an agenda that may be one of the most disruptive of any new president since the 1930s, one that includes slashing immigration, government spending, taxes and regulations.” The timing for all this is striking. “The economy he inherited was the envy of the world with growth of 2.8% last year, faster than almost every other major developed economy, an unemployment rate of just 4.1% and inflation of 2.8%. Stocks were at record highs.”
Tags: 1930, Disruptive, Duty, Economy, Government spending, Growth, Immigration, Inflation, Regulations, Stocks, Tariffs, Taxes, Timing, Trump, Unemployment
New York Times (March 31)
President Trump is poised to introduce what are at least “the nation’s highest tariffs since the 1940s.” Unfortunately, these will lead to “lower economic growth, higher inflation, higher unemployment, the destruction of wealth and a tax increase on American families.” In addition, they “will deal a blow to the rules underlying the global trading system and further empower China.”
Tags: Destruction, Economic growth, Empower, Families, Global trading system, Higher inflation, Highest, Rules, Tariffs, Tax increase, Trump, U.S., Unemployment, Wealth
FeightWaves (March 20)
“FedEx Corp. reduced its full-year guidance for the third consecutive quarter because of intensifying macroeconomic headwinds and uncertainty in the U.S. industrial economy, which are crimping higher margin B2B shipping services.” One major source of uncertainty is “the rapid escalation of tariffs and tariff threats from the United States, which is inviting retaliation and worries of diminished consumer demand because of higher prices.”
Tags: B2B, Consumer demand, FedEx, Guidance, Headwinds, Industrial economy, Intensifying, Macroeconomic, Prices, Reduced, Retaliation, Shipping services, Tariffs, Threats, U.S., Uncertainty, Worries
