Reuters (January 2)
“As U.S. and Chinese delegations prepare for upcoming trade talks in Beijing, the two countries’ disputes over tariffs and trade are rattling markets, businesses, governments, consumers and workers across the globe. All of this corrosive uncertainty was entirely predictable…. Elaborate negotiations take tenacity, expertise and planning. They also take time.”
Tags: Beijing, China, Corrosive, Delegations, Disputes, Expertise, Markets, Negotiations, Planning, Predictable, Rattling, Tariffs, Trade talks, U.S., Uncertainty
The Guardian (October 1)
“British manufacturers are pulling back sharply on investment plans due to mounting uncertainty over Brexit and growing fears of a global trade war,” with only a third of firms planning to “to increase their investment in plant and machinery – a record low.”
Tags: Brexit, Fears, Global trade war, Investment plans, Machinery, Manufacturers, Plant, Pulling back, UK, Uncertainty
Wall Street Journal (April 3)
“Donald Trump hasn’t been talking about the rising stock market lately, and no wonder. Stocks have given up their earlier gains since the President unveiled his protectionist trade agenda” amid concern over “uncertainty from rising trade tension.” So far, China’s response “is measured, affecting $3 billion in annual trade or about 2% of U.S. goods exports to China, but it sends a pointed message that a larger trade war would hurt American businesses, farmers in particular.” If China subsequently moves to target “America’s biggest exports to China, such as soybeans and Boeing aircraft,” the pain will be much greater.
Tags: Boeing, China, Concern, Exports, Farmers, Protectionist, Soybeans, Stock market, Trade, Trade war, Trump, U.S., Uncertainty
IPE Real Assets (October Issue)
With the uncertainty of Brexit, “REITs have been trading at discounts to net asset value (NAV) of around 15% to 25%.” Faced with scant opportunities, some are electing to return money to unitholders through buybacks or special dividends. But there is clearly a “disconnect between sentiment in the public markets and private markets.” As REITs encounter “limited opportunities in the office space, institutional investors, particularly global investors, have made many high-profile acquisitions.” This includes “the UK’s largest-ever office deal…in July when Hong Kong’s Infinitus Property Investment bought the iconic ‘Walkie Talkie’ building at 20 Fenchurch Street for £1.28bn.”
Tags: Acquisitions, Brexit, Buybacks, Disconnect, Discounts, Dividends, Hong Kong, Infinitus, Institutional investors, NAV, REITs, Sentiment, UK, Uncertainty, Unitholders
CNN (June 21)
“If ever there were a country in need of modernization, Saudi Arabia is it.” The newly named Crown Prince “is deeply committed to carrying major reforms to fruition. He embodies dynamism, youthful boldness and a vision of possibility. But the far-ranging changes he is bringing to the conservative kingdom and to the region carry risk and no guarantee of success. In a region roiled with instability, they add another element of uncertainty.”
Tags: Boldness, Conservative, Crown Prince, Instability, Modernization, Reforms, Risk, Saudi Arabia, Success, Uncertainty, Youthful
The Economist (March 2)
The planned $30 billion merger between Deutsche Börse (DB) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE) “had been billed as a bridge between Europe’s two main financial hubs.” In tatters, the merger now stands as “a symbol of their growing competition—and of the uncertainty into which Brexit has plunged the EU’s markets.”
Tags: Brexit EU, Competition, Deutsche Börse, Europe, Financial hubs, LSE, Markets, Merger, Tatters, Uncertainty
The Economist (November 26)
“Britain is in a state of unprecedented uncertainty. The government is unclear about what sort of Brexit it wants. Economic forecasting is, as a result, as good as guesswork. The outlook for the public finances is similarly uncertain.” Nevertheless,“this year’s Autumn Statement, in sum, hinted at how painful Brexit is going to be.”
Tags: Brexit, Forecasting, Government, Guesswork. Outlook, Painful, UK, Uncertainty, Unprecedented
Bloomberg (August 30)
“The European Commission’s decision to impose a tax bill of 13 billion euros ($14.5 billion) on Apple is unjust and unnecessary. And the harm is not confined to a single company: The ruling has cast a cloud of uncertainty over Europe’s corporate-tax rules, potentially affecting all multinational investors.”
Tags: Apple, Corporate tax, European Commission, Investors, Rules, Ruling, Tax bill, Uncertainty, Unjust
Institutional Investor (July 4)
Post-Brexit “uncertainty has smacked executives at the London Stock Exchange Group and Deutsche Börse in the face. Europe’s two leading exchange operators are pressing ahead with their proposed $30 billion merger even though the referendum result poses a huge and uncertain political risk to the deal’s completion.”
Tags: Brexit, Deutsche Börse, Exchanges, LSE, Merger, Political risk, Uncertainty
Washington Post (June 24)
“British voters have defied the will of their leaders, foreign allies and much of the political establishment by opting to rupture this country’s primary connection to Europe in a stunning result that will radiate economic and political uncertainty across the globe.”
Tags: Allies, Establishment, Europe, Leaders, Stunning, UK, Uncertainty, Voters
