12 July 2019 Global equity markets are at (or approaching) all-time highs. What's not to like? In particular, the US market has been buoyed by the Sino-US trade truce achieved at the Tokyo G20 meeting, the prospect of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, and solid employment gains. Indeed, our year-end 2019 S&P 500 target of [...]
Category: USA
Trade War: Entering a New Phase?
8 June 2019 President Trump's recent decision to hike tariffs on an additional $200 billion of Chinese exports escalated the trade war. The US administration has suggested they will consider levies on a further $300 billion of US imports from its Asian partner following the June G20 meeting. It remains unclear if the imposition of [...]
China-US Trade: No Quick Fix!
23 May 2019 President Trump's decision to raise tariffs to 25% on $200 billion of Chinese imports, and his suggestion an additional $300 billion of purchases could soon be subjected to similar levies has brought the trade conflict to a new level. China is certain to retaliate. Understandably , the escalation of the trade war [...]
Global Central Banks: Taking 2019 Off!
21 March 2019 At its March meeting, the US Federal Reserve signaled it would keep interest rates unchanged in 2019. In a similar fashion, the European Central Bank (ECB) at its recent gathering signaled interest rate hikes will be delayed until next year, and additional monetary support was forthcoming. But, that's not the end of [...]