With tariffs set to take effect on Thursday, 1 August, markets continued to trend slightly upwards in a week ruled by the same themes that have defined US President Donald Trump’s presidency to date: noisy tariff negotiations, a weakening dollar, and increased pressure on the US Federal Reserve to lower rates and danger warnings to…
Back in April, US President Donald Trump’s announcement of plans to impose sweeping tariffs on US trading partners triggered a massive slump in equities. Stocks bounced back fast after Trump announced that most “Liberation Day” tariffs would be paused to give the US time to negotiate trade deals with other countries. It is in that…
Fulfilling his pledge to deliver his flagship domestic legislation by Independence Day, US President Donald Trump signs the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) into law today, after it was eventually approved by the House last night. The blockbuster legislation enacts sweeping tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy and reshapes federal spending priorities, with…
The US entered the war between Iran and Israel late last week, but the flare-up in tensions was over within days. Financial markets shrugged off the drama, treating the whole episode more like a choreographed dance of international diplomacy than it did a chaotic war with uncertain outcomes. US President Donald Trump authorised the largest…
Israel’s airstrikes against Iranian targets have rattled geopolitical nerves over the past week, but the impact on financial markets has been relatively muted so far. Gold and the US dollar, traditional havens during times of uncertainty, have shown only moderate reactions, with gold down 1.2% since 12 June and the US dollar 0.9% stronger, while…
The US and China have made a tentative trade agreement this week that will hopefully mark an easing of the tensions between the world’s two largest economies. But while US President Donald Trump hailed the deal as “DONE” on social media, markets, analysts and China itself have taken a more cautious view. The agreement is…
Investec Wealth & Investment International has released a sobering report that quantifies the cost of 15 years of underperformance to the South African economy. Its numbers suggest that the economy is 37% smaller than it would have been had South Africa sustained annual growth of 4.5% since 2010, in line with its emerging market peers.…
US equity markets have traditionally moved mostly in response to company earnings and forecasts, economic data, interest rate expectations, and, sometimes, geopolitical risk factors. But as we head deeper into the second term of the Donald Trump presidency, political uncertainty is increasingly setting the direction for the US stock market indices. In the Trump 2.0…
A South African delegation led by President Cyril Ramaphosa finally met face-to-face with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday. While the meeting delivered some of the expected theatrics, the short-term impact on bilateral relations is expected to be minimal. As Ramaphosa headed into the lion’s den, there were fears that Trump…
