Covid-19: Temporary Maybe, But Painful Shock

13 March 2020 The Covid-19 pandemic appears to be moving into a new phase. While the response differs between countries, most governments are transitioning from the contaiment phase towards focusing efforts on delaying the spread of the disease. This strategy hopes to lower the peak number of infections. The plan seeks to buy time; thereby, [...]

China: Trade Deal Won’t End Slowdown

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 [...]

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 [...]

Heading for Global Recession in 2019?

10 January 2019 Happy New Year!  I am back at work for the first time since releasing my blog in mid-December. Did I miss anything??!! In a word, it's been crazy! In September, we published our 2019 Global Strategy Outlook entitled "Turning (Even More) Defensive", in which we warned that the year ahead would be [...]