Reuters (December 30)
““China’s gravy train will bypass Wall Street,” where the “easiest money from selling Chinese shares in New York is destined to fade.” Given renewed protectionism, global investment banks will also find it more challenging “to use their international networks to help companies find acquisition targets abroad…. It will be a harder slog for less money as the China gravy train makes fewer stops on Wall Street.”
Tags: Acquisition, Challenging, China, Gravy train, Investment banks, Networks, Protectionism, Shares, Targets, Wall Street
Wall Street Journal (July 18)
To “counter U.S. protectionism, the EU and China are drawing closer together.” While the EU remains at odds with China on certain trade issues, Trump’s tariffs have helped to paint China in a better light globally. “China has increasingly used the mounting trade spats to portray itself as a protector of the rules-based international order, while chastising the U.S. for disrupting global commerce…. China’s engagement with the EU is driven by its desire to keep open world markets that its manufacturers need to thrive.”
Tags: China, Commerce, EU, Manufacturers, Markets, Protectionism, Protector, Tariffs, Trade, Trump, U.S.
Reuters (April 23)
“For investors, the key question is whether the ECB’s carefully calibrated exit plan from its ultra easy policy could be scuppered by trade tensions, especially if the dispute between the United States and China sucks in the euro zone. The ECB would have to alter its march towards a more normal policy stance if growing risks from protectionism, exchange rates or market swings end up depressing inflation.”
Tags: China, ECB, Euro zone, Exchange rates, Exit plan, Inflation, Investors, Market swings, Protectionism, Risks, Trade tensions, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (April 25)
Will protectionism be as welcome once the costs are realized? The Journal reports “Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced Monday that the Trump Administration will raise the cost of new single family homes in the U.S. as part of its promise to ‘make America great again.’” The Journal adds, “Mr. Ross didn’t put it quite that way.” Ultimately, however, the 20% tariff on lumber from Canada Mr. Ross did announce “will add an additional $1 billion in new costs for U.S. construction.”
Tags: Canada Construction, Costs, Homes, Lumber, Protectionism, Ross, Tariff, Trump, U.S.
New York Times (February 21)
“While not as dangerous as protectionism and xenophobia,” blaming robots for job losses and economic disruption “is also a distraction from real problems and real solutions.” We’ve been through this before. “Automation is the hero of the story in good times and the villain in bad. Since today’s middle class is in the midst of a prolonged period of wage stagnation, it is especially vulnerable to blame-the-robot rhetoric.” Bad policies can result in disruption, but economic history has repeatedly shown “that automation not only substitutes for human labor, it complements it. The disappearance of some jobs and industries gives rise to others.”
Tags: Automation, Dangerous, Disruption, Jobs, Labor, Protectionism, Robots, Wage stagnation, Xenophobia
Economist (November 11)
China’s global shopping spree is creating backlash as nations rush to embrace protectionist measures. The Economist believes the Chinese purchases should be welcomed, rather than shunned “for the spread of Chinese capital should bring benefits to its recipients, and the world as a whole.”
Tags: China, Protectionism
Financial Times (November 7)
The growth of the G20 into a useful forum was “one of the few bright spots in the aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers.” The world’s economic challenges remain, but the G20 appears to be stumbling. The Financial Times urges leaders in Seoul preserve this valuable forum. While cooperation through the G20 “cannot solve all the world’s problems, it can prevent a slide into protectionism.”
The growth of the G20 into a useful forum was “one of the few bright spots in the aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers.” The world’s economic challenges remain, but the G20 appears to be stumbling. The G20 is not perfect, yet the Financial Times urges leaders in Seoul preserve this valuable forum. While cooperation through the G20 “cannot solve all the world’s problems, it can prevent a slide into protectionism.”
Tags: Cooperation, G20, Lehman collapse, Protectionism
