The world is aflame with the BLOWBACK from policies of the elites who carved a world fit to desired outcomes of a self-established ruling class. The free flow of capital in pursuit of cheap labor has led to the stagnant wages that have given rise to anti-establishment forces, which have upset the Davos crowd’s playbook. As long as capital pursues a maximization of return but is answerable to the Westphalian construct of the nation-state, there will continue to be bouts of conflict that result in less desirable outcomes for global corporations.
Posts Tagged ‘Trump’
Notes From Underground: Sympathy For the Devils
September 3, 2018Notes From Underground: The Politics of the IMF and French Election
April 19, 2017First, I am reposting part of the January 29 post as a reminder to pay attention to the narrative of Trump rolling back to the concept of Pax Americana. As the Trump administration begins to reveal its ambitions, there is a great deal of conversation about Trump becoming more presidential and that the “grown ups” are taking charge of policy. The demotion of Stephen Bannon ignited a discussion about the Wall Street crowd (Mnuchin, Ross, Cohn, Kushner) becoming aligned with the “Deep State.” The concept of the deep state is really the power of the entrenched bureaucracy as the primary source within the beltway.
Notes From Underground: Treasury Takes a softer Approach to Global Monetary Affairs
April 16, 2017On Friday April 14 Treasury released a report that deemed no major trading a currency manipulator but five countries have met two of the three criteria and therefore will be closely monitored. This report is very well laid out but it is not incendiary as it seeks to persuade with a very soft touch. The three criteria of meeting of being a “manipulator” are:
1. A significant bilateral trade surplus with the U.S.of a least $20 billion;2. S current account surplus is at least 3% of a nations GDP; and3. Persistent, one-sided intervention occurs when net purchases of foreign currency are conducted repeatedly and total at least 2% of a nation’s GDP in a 12-month period.
Notes From Underground: Trump Delivers on Using the Dollar as a Policy Tool
April 12, 2017In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the tweeter-in-chief was reported to have said, “The DOLLAR IS GETTING TOO STRONG.” As some pundits discussed, instead of Trump calling China a currency manipulator it seems he wants to use the dollar as a cudgel to pressure others into not embarking on policies to weaken their currencies. As I wrote on April 2:
“The Trump Administration’s efforts to curb the U.S. trade deficit may see the executive branch try to depreciate the U.S. dollar if Secretary Mnuchin and Secretary Ross fail to persuade certain global actors to embark upon policies to adjust their current account and trade surpluses. The Fed’s recent tightening has not rallied the dollar–it actually closed lower on the quarter–so if the political status quo is sustained in Europe and no new political crisis emerges, the DOLLAR will become a barometer of Trump’s policies on trade.”
Notes From Underground: A Quick Take On Today’s Key Points
March 23, 2017The vote on the Trump health care plan is important only from the perspective of what the Freedom Caucus was promised in return for acquiescing to the desires of the White House. President Trump is desirous of a win, any win and the Freedom Caucus seems to know they have great leverage in the current political scrum. Whatever the House passes the Senate will have home field advantage and last bat so the initial Trump victory will Pyrrhic at best. What was compromised to assuage the conservative wing of the Republican party? How far will Trump have bent to bring this deal to fruition? The strident nature of the Freedom Caucus has been elevated and what value was extracted?
Notes From Underground: Will Trump Hustle Abe and Ask for 10 Shots?
February 9, 2017The main story for the next two days will be Japanese Prime Minister Abe’s visit to the U.S. to meet with President Trump. Abe is coming to mend relations after Trump officially ended the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement before Congress could even debate the trade treaty. The Japanese prime minister had expended a great deal of political capital in Japan to get various parties to accept a massive Pacific-based trade agreement. In an effort to forestall any discussion of Japan as a currency manipulator, the Japanese are offering all sorts of investment ideas in the context of getting Trump the negotiator to soften his stance on tariffs for Japanese goods, or sourced material from Asia for assembly in the U.S. Japan is a paramount promoter of the global supply chain paradigm.
Notes From Underground: It’s Good News Week (Hedgehoppers Anonymous)
December 20, 2016The world is fraught with troubling news of assassinations, terrorist atrocities and confrontation between China and the U.S. But in the financial news it is all about the DOW PUSHING 20,000. To quote Mr. Natural: “What does the Dow 20,000 mean? It don’t mean SH*T.” We become enamored with numbers but in real financial terms 20,000 is meaningless on its own. The U.S. equity markets are enthralled with the possibilities that a Trump presidency will present. Three weeks ago Rick Santelli laid it out very well. He noted if trump was successful in reforming the ACA, realizing genuine corporate and personal tax simplification and reform, and rolling back some of the regulations burdening small and medium businesses the Trump administration would be an unmitigated success. If the Dow is the barometer, then Mr.Trump should declare victory and spend the next four years writing his autobiography.
Notes From Underground: Will the Year of the Rooster Deliver a Wakeup Call?
December 18, 2016In a September 11 post, I criticized the Japanese Central Banks’s policy for its technical approach to attempt to steepen its 2/10 yield. I wrote the following:
Notes From Underground: Is Nato Over? The Answer Lies In Turkey
December 12, 2016The question for the political uncertainty confronting global markets will be the rollback of the U.S. influence via the reduction of its presence in various regional treaty agreements. Trump’s “faux pas” over Taiwan should cause the entire NATO structure to be reviewed. The ONE CHINA issue was pledged by the Nixon/Kissinger framework forged during the détente with China. The People’s Republic of China maintained that Taiwan’s independence was a domestic affair and should be resolved by the Chinese people. But the bottom line for the U.S. was: Would Washington risk a thermonuclear war to maintain Taiwan’s independence? Well, a similar question is relevant today in regards to Turkey. Would the U.S. risk war with Russia if Vladimir the Magnificent attacked Turkey in an effort to further destabilize the Middle East, resulting in a greater Iranian presence and further strengthening the KURDS?
Notes From Underground: We Are All Part of the Same Hypocrisy, Senator
November 29, 2016The world is all abuzz with the good feelings radiating from the aftermath of the Trump victory. However, no matter how long the U.S. equity market rallies, be certain that Trump is not draining the swamp of Washington, D.C. He is proving to be a caretaker. Today’s pick of Elaine Chao for Transportation Secretary is just more of the same. Ms. Chao is certainly qualified. After all, she has an MBA from Harvard, but being a past member of the Bush Cabinet means we are using old, worn-out tires. The Transportation Secretary will be overseer of many of the INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS the Donald has promised to deliver. The pork barrel these projects will be dipped in will be beyond lucrative and the wife of Mitch McConnell ought not to have been given this role.