South China Morning Post (November 26)
“No winter lasts forever, but the deep chill in the Beijing-Tokyo relationship set off by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan could last a long time.” There is speculation “that Japan’s new prime minister could tighten her hold on power should relations between Beijing and Tokyo remain frosty, but there is one big wild card: “US President Donald Trump’s reluctance to show open support for Japan, America’s closest ally in the region.”
Tags: Ally, Beijing, Deep chill, Frosty, Japan, Power, Relationship, Reluctance, Speculation, Support, Taiwan, Takaichi, Tokyo, Trump, U.S.
Washington Post (November 25)
“President Donald Trump’s foreign policy is unconventional, but it’s also becoming predictably unpredictable.” Fortunately, Volodymyr Zelensky “has grown more astute at handling Trump.” He knew how to handle Trump’s latest “gambit and acted accordingly.” It seems Zelensky has transformed the lopsided peace proposal. “Ukraine could still come out ahead at the end of this nerve-wracking exercise.” While “there’s nothing wrong with talking,” American negotiators should “never forget who is really to blame for this awful conflict.”
Tags: Astute, Blame, Conflict, Foreign policy, Gambit, Handling, Lopsided, Negotiators, Nerve-wracking, Russia, Trump, U.S., Ukraine, Unconventional, Unpredictable, Zelensky
The Economist (November 19)
“In America’s foundation myths, the humble mortgage rarely features.” Though uncelebrated, housing loans have driven “the American dream, which centres on home ownership, ever since the federal government began subsidising property loans a century ago,” but their power is waning. “America’s huge mortgage market is slowly dying” and “Donald Trump’s remedies threaten to inflame a housing crisis.”
Tags: American dream, Dying, Foundation myths, Government, Home ownership, Housing crisis, Humble, Loans, Market, Mortgage, Property, Remedies, Trump, U.S., Uncelebrated
Wall Street Journal (November 9)
“President Trump has a big tariff problem: His border taxes are raising prices on tariffed goods, they’re unpopular with voters, and the Supreme Court might rule that his “emergency” tariffs are illegal.” To win back support, he has just promised “a dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone.” This latest “hail Mary” is founded on, among other logical fallacies, a “contradiction that Mr. Trump can both pay a tariff rebate and pay down the national debt.” The WSJ editorial board has “advised Mr. Trump from the beginning that tariffs would do economic harm, and so they are.”
Tags: 2000, Border taxes, Contradiction, Dividend, Economic harm, Emergency, Illegal, Logical fallacies, National debt, Prices, Rebate, Supreme Court, Tariff, Trump, Unpopular, Voters
New York Times (November 6)
“President Trump’s barrage on global trade appears to have taken a hit” during questioning in front of the Supreme Court. “Concerns are growing that the Supreme Court could scramble the Trump administration’s tariffs strategy. That may be welcome news for free-trade advocates, but it could also unleash more uncertainty for businesses and Wall Street.” Market reaction was rapid as “the yield on 10-year Treasury notes spiked to 4.15 percent,” a sell-off that suggests “bond holders are fretting that an adverse ruling could deprive the government of revenues needed to offset the federal deficit.”
Tags: Barrage, Bond holders, Businesses, Free trade, Fretting, Global trade, Market reaction, Revenues, Scramble, Sell-off, Supreme Court, Tariffs strategy, Treasuries, Trump, Uncertainty, Wall Street, Yield
Washington Post (November 4)
America may still be “the world’s leading scientific research power, but competition is growing more fierce.” Even though “it’s a dangerous time to dull the country’s competitive edge,” Trump’s moves against universities have done just that. “Scientists in the United States increasingly see European bureaucracy as a safer setting for conducting their cutting-edge research than their home country’s own institutions.” The European Research Council “has seen a surge in applications,” with “nearly triple the number of proposals from Americans compared with the year before.”
Tags: Applications, Bureaucracy, Competition, Competitive edge, Cutting-edge research, ERC, Europe, Fierce, Leading, Power, Proposals, Safer setting, Scientific research, Trump, U.S., Universities
Bloomberg (October 30)
“The one-year truce struck on Thursday in South Korea is likely to only stabilize relations between the world’s two largest economies rather than resolve fundamental differences, with both sides buying time to further reduce dependence on each other in strategic areas. And it made clear just how much stronger China has become since Trump’s first term in office.”
Tags: Buying time, China, Dependence, First term, Fundamental differences, Resolve, South Korea, Stabilize, Strategic areas, Stronger, Truce, Trump
New York Times (October 26)
Under Donald Trump, a “casino… now passes for the American economy.” Distinguished by froth, Trump’s “casino economy” is “built on speculation and risk. Across markets and policy, wagers on the future are being made with other people’s money at a cost that could prove catastrophic.” While it’s true that “economies run on risk, growth and ambition…. There’s risk, and then there’s reckless gambling.”
Tags: Ambition, Casino, Casino economy, Catastrophic, Cost, Froth, Future, Gambling, Growth, Money, Reckless, Risk, Speculation, Trump, U.S.
Bloomberg (October 22)
“Six months into Donald Trump’s trade war, the resilience of Chinese exports is proving just how essential many of its products remain even after US levies of 55%.” The weaknesses of Trump’s tariffs are becoming clear. They “appear somewhat limited in their ability to control what American firms import, as China’s sway over sectors such as rare earths and electronics makes its products hard to dislodge.” On top of that, loopholes play a factor. “American importers are able to pay a lower levy by declaring the customs value of goods based on their first sale in a third country, and then raising the price when the items reach a US port. Transhipping via Mexico or Vietnam means some firms are likely not paying the full tax.”
Tags: China, Customs value, Dislodge, Electronics, Essential, Exports, Importers, Loopholes, Mexico, Price, Products, Rare earths, Resilience, Tariffs, Trade war, Transhipping, Trump, U.S., Vietnam
Washington Post (October 20)
“President Donald Trump says he beat inflation. But several conventional measures of rising prices paint a different picture. Most experts agree inflation has picked up in recent months, in part because of Trump’s tariffs. Economists expect more tariff-driven price increases in the months to come.”
Tags: Beat, Conventional, Economists, Experts, Inflation, Measures, Rising prices, Tariffs, Trump
