There is heightened concern around the world this week, again, regarding a global trade war and the potential impact it could have on economic growth. The net effect of Trump’s policies, should they last, and the universal retaliation will be negative, with no real winners.
The biggest news story from this week has been Trump’s flip-flop on his “zero tolerance” policy regarding children being separated from their parents at the US border and then having them held in detention centres. After a massive public outcry, as well as the apparent influence from his wife and daughter, Trump has signed an…
Internationally this was a momentous week. Donald Trump removed America’s support from the G-7 Summit Statement, creating tension with some of America’s most powerful allies. Trump also met with Kim Jong-un, the first time an American President has met with a leader from the Hermit Kingdom.
This week left most South African’s shocked as the GDP results for the first quarter of this year shrank unexpectedly by 2.2%. This was due to a multitude of factors, partly because of the falloff in the resource sector. Additionally, it has influenced the relatively volatile week, as the rand weakened, hitting R13.25 to the…
Michael Power, a strategist at Investec, has written an interesting piece on what he considers to be the Fourth Industrial Revolution to be (it is not AI). He says that every such Revolution has been linked to a power source – steam, electrical, computer – and so the Revolution would be driven by access to…
It is interesting to see the international political environment unfold. The US has gone from a country that was the leader of international diplomacy and has turned towards isolationism and protectionism. While Russia and China, traditionally isolated countries, are coming to the fore of negotiations, communication, and diplomacy. Is this potentially a foreshadowing of future…
It is a condition of our time that the US dominates the international news. It seems that other countries only make the news in terms of their relationship with the US – Russia, China, Britain, the EU, Israel, Iran, North Korea, South Korea, Mexico, even South Africa. Dynasty Thought Leading “Looking for long-term returns in…
It could be perceived that Trump is aiming to bring America to war. A few months ago, during the nuclear to and fro between America and North Korea (or rather Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un), Trump hit back with nuclear threats rather than being diplomatic. Now that North Korea has opted for peace, Trump has…
The news this week was a melting pot of world events. The Fed maintained rates; Trump is in more trouble, facing Robert Mueller and Stormy Daniels; Theresa May continues to have Brexit woes; allegations were made that Iran acted against the nuclear deal; and Cambridge Analytica is facing closure. Locally, Trump did not exempt SA…
