12 January 2020 The prospect that this week the USA and China will sign Phase 1 of a trade deal has buoyed financial markets. Of course, I will assess the impact of the agreement as details emerge. However, initial optimism is warranted if the plan represents the first step towards a comprehensive trade agreement (even [...]
29 September 2019 The European economy has been decelerating since 2017. Indeed, the meagre 0.2% gain in GDP during Q2 2019 suggests economic activity may be stalling. And, as Germany, Italy, and the UK all recorded negative growth rates during the interval (and with Q3 looking decidedly weak as well), financial markets are increasingly concerned [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]