Washington Post (February 8)
China’s President Xi Jinping would like the renminbi to become a globally recognized reserve currency. He “seeks to capitalize on the dollar’s value slipping to a four-year low and gold recently hitting an all-time high amid uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s tariffs, threats to Federal Reserve independence and myriad geopolitical crises.” However, China appears to be “in no position to achieve his vision absent self-sabotage by the United States and free market reforms he is hesitant to undertake.”
Tags: Capitalize, China, Dollar, Fed, Geopolitical crises, Gold, Independence, Renminbi, Reserve currency, Self-sabotage, Tariffs, Threats, Trump, U.S., Uncertainty, Vision, Xi
New York Times (February 5)
“Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada announced on Thursday a sweeping plan to offer billions of dollars in incentives and tax breaks for auto industry investment designed to help turn Canada into a global leader in electric vehicles.” Through the new policies, the Prime Minister intends “to transform Canada’s economy and make it less reliant on a single trade partner after President Trump’s economic assaults and threats on Canada’s sovereignty have frayed relations between the two nations.”
Tags: Auto industry, Canada, Carney, Economy, EVs, Global leader, Incentives, Investment, Prime minister, Reliant, Tax breaks, Threats, Trade partner, Trump, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (January 28)
“President Trump this week said he thinks a weaker dollar is “great,” but he should be careful what he wishes for. Many politicians over the years have contemplated a weaker greenback as an economic miracle cure. They often discover that a weak dollar is a liability.”
Tags: Careful, Cure, Economic miracle, Greenback, Liability, Politicians, Trump, Weak dollar
New York Times (January 24)
“The world will remember Trump’s Greenland outburst.” The President’s “immoral threats against a loyal NATO ally have escalated a crisis in U.S.-European relations, weakened one of history’s most successful alliances and hurt American interests in tangible ways…. Leaders in Beijing and Moscow are no doubt thrilled. America is less safe than it was a week ago.”
Tags: Alliances, Ally, Beijing, Crisis, Escalated, Europe, Greenland, Immoral, Less safe, Moscow, Nato, Outburst, Threats, Thrilled, Trump, World
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
Fortune (January 18)
“The greenback dropped while precious metals rallied Sunday as financial markets started reacting to President Donald Trump’s new tariff threats.” On Saturday, Trump announced 8 European allies would face “a 10% tariff starting on Feb. 1 that will rise to 25% on June 1, until a ‘Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.’” His latest threat revived smoldering fears centering on “U.S. debt and reserve currency status.”
Tags: 10%, 25%, Allies, Debt, Fears, Financial markets, Greenback, Greenland, Precious metals, Rallied, Reserve currency, Tariff, Threats, Trump
New York Times (January 17)
“President Trump is celebrating the anniversary of his return to power by accelerating his attack on the rule of law.” Just a “year into his second term, America risks losing a central feature of our democracy: that we are a country ruled by laws, not by one man…. On behalf of Americans who are now living without a functioning system of federal law and order, Congress should step up and end this self-interested destruction.”
Tags: Accelerating, Anniversary, Attack, Congress, Democracy, Federal law, Functioning, Laws, Order, Risks, Rule of law, Trump
Wall Street Journal (January 14)
“Trump wants to run the economy hot. There’s a good chance he’ll succeed,” but most presidents and Congresses avoid “juicing the economy” for good reason. The short-term results might be appealing, but “the long-term consequences” are real. “Ever-rising debt leaves future generations poorer and risks a debt crisis. Loosening credit and dialing back regulations, when valuations are already stretched, could end in market bust.”
Tags: Congresses, Consequences, Credit, Debt, Debt crisis, Economy, Future generations, Juicing, Presidents, Regulations, Risks, Trump, Valuations
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
