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US tariffs

World economy 1st April 2018

Phyrric US Tariffs: Protect a few at the cost of many

BoAML | President Trump enacted tariffs on imported steel and aluminum with the exception of imports from Canada and Mexico. Domestic metal producers should benefit while the rest of the economy could feel the negative repercussion of higher input prices. The bigger risk is a trade war. The current policy is unlikely to have a big impact. However, a bigger trade war would be a nudge toward stagflation, depressing real growth and boosting prices.
Facebook 's leak of users

World economy 30th March 2018

Facebook Fear Unlikely To Knock Tencent Off Its Throne

As the saying goes, data is the new oil. And this month Facebook has fallen victim to a BP-scale leak in which 50 million users’ data was harvested without consent. While technology companies in the West feel the pressure, Jason Pidcock, Jupiter’s head of strategy on Asian income, argues that the picture looks brighter in Asia, particularly for the darling of Asian software technology: Tencent.

Germany's fears China

World economy 28th March 2018

Germany’s Fears Continue To Increase (Now It’s China)

In February, acquisitions by Chinese investors in Germany reached a new dimension. A Chinese multi-millionaire has become the biggest shareholder in Daimler AG. The entrance of the influential Li Shufu into the world of Mercedes is proof of the scary Chinese presence in German companies (Deutsche Bank, the robots manufacturer Kuka and in many high tech firms).

US China trade tensions

World economy 26th March 2018

The Logic and Politics of U.S.-China Trade Tensions

Yukon Huang via Caixin | Despite a litany of warnings from experts and some of his own advisors, U.S. President Donald Trump is determined to pursue a series of counterproductive, protectionist measures. Many observers realize that China is the ultimate target of such measures.

The concurrence of global political risks with a reduced capacity for markets to absorb them is concerning

World economy 25th March 2018

Is It Time To Worry About Geopolitical Headwinds: U.S., Iran, and North Korea

“Separating political noise from market signals in an era of Tweetstorms, unconventional leadership, and low public trust has possibly never been more challenging”, says Tina M. Fordham, chief global political analyst at Citi. Will geopolitical risks grow in their potential to impact markets following the withdrawal of Quantitative Easing (QE)?

Are current high levels of inequality desirable or detrimental?

World economy 24th March 2018

Jay Gatsby’s American Dream: Between Inequality And Social Mobility

CaixaBank Research | In Spain, the richest 1% of the population earns 8.6% of the country’s income while this figure reaches 20.8% in the US. Are such high levels of inequality desirable or detrimental? Ultimately such a question must be answered by each country according to its own social preferences and values.

Jerome Powell baffled both the experts and the markets

World economy 23rd March 2018

Jerome Powell ditches forward guidance

In his first press conference, Jerome Powell baffled both the experts and the markets. After reading the hawkish introductory statement, he defused all fears for a harsh and swift monetary tightening.

THE INFLATONARY SUPPLY OF UNBACKED US DOLLARS AND THE PRICE OF GOLD

World economy 21st March 2018

Gold, Interest Rates, And Money

Degussa | Gold is a “good” that has a truly global demand, and its price is determined by numerous factors. One of those is the market interest rate. The reason is obvius: Gold does not have an “inherent interest rate”. The holders of gold have to bear “opportunity costs”.