Surprises
Stocks around the globe rose for yet another week while the US$ continued its downward trend. What made the week interesting, however was the change in direction of some variables that many had not expected. In the UK, economic growth for the last quarter of 2017 positively surprised forecasters with a rate of 0.5%, which was up from 0.4% for Q3 (and not down) and took annual growth to 1.8%, only marginally below the 1.9% of 2016 (still the worst since 2012).
Trump meets Davos
Leaders of all varieties met in Switzerland this past week, for the widely publicised World Economic Forum’s annual meeting. Davos, the alpine mountain resort whose name has now become synonymous with the forum itself, hosts a who’s who of the world’s movers and shakers. Representatives from the world’s largest businesses, world leaders, academics and even media personalities met to discuss the state of the global economy and its future direction
US$ in a 1985 déjà vu?
We mentioned last week that the US dollar has been weakening amid what appears to be quite large investor flows away from US assets. Here, we take a short look at the current dynamics for the Greenback.
US tax cuts and the ‘marginal propensity to consume’
Do Trump’s tax cuts justify the highs in US equity markets and what impact will it have though secondary economic stimulus effects, for example an individual’s Marginal Propensity Consume (MPC)?
Chinese property and demographic dynamics that matter
Over the last 30 years, Chinese cities have expanded massively, fuelled by a mass rural-to-urban migration and a generation that was hungry to increase their earnings and buy their own homes. The knock-on effect of wealthier Chinese consumers has been significant domestic growth, as well as growing reciprocal trade with Europe and the US.
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