Trade

Cohn exit makes White House chaos markets’ problem

6 Mar 2018

The ex-Goldman Sachs banker was a buffer against anti-trade voices in President Donald Trump’s administration. Now Gary Cohn is leaving, and Trump is ramping up protectionist talk. Markets have been phlegmatic about disorder in Washington. That can no longer be taken for granted.

Trade tensions curb spirits in U.S. energy sector

5 Mar 2018

OPEC is breaking bread with U.S. shale producers at an industry confab in Houston. It’s a sign of American wildcatters’ influence on the global market. But infrastructure bottlenecks and Trump’s new tariffs threaten to prevent drillers from taking full advantage of their clout.

Trump’s incoherent strategy dooms tariff crusade

2 Mar 2018

The U.S. president defended his steel and aluminum duties, arguing trade wars are “easy to win.” But his tax cuts increase the budget deficit and the country’s reliance on foreign capital, almost guaranteeing a worsening trade balance. The conflicting tactics are self-defeating.

Trump tariff chaos shoots America in its own foot

1 Mar 2018

The president is to impose sweeping import duties on steel and aluminum, citing national-security concerns – though details are scant. It’ll help domestic steelmakers. But the move ignored some U.S. agencies and could deliver a blow to vital allies like Canada and South Korea.

Swire wisely calls on family to steady the plane

9 Feb 2018

The venerable Anglo-Asian conglomerate named a family member as chairman of its flagship Hong Kong unit. That signals it is taking problems at Cathay Pacific Airways and in oilfield services seriously. This could be good news for long-suffering Swire Pacific investors.

Cox: Sliding stocks don’t surprise our readers

5 Feb 2018

From Mumbai to Milan, we polled participants at our Predictions 2018 summits. Even before last week's rout, most thought investors are too exuberant, bitcoin is a bubble and Donald Trump is doing poorly. More surprising were regional takes on NAFTA, Italian elections and Brexit.

Trump’s weak dollar upends Asian growth calculus

2 Feb 2018

Asia is bracing for a softer greenback. That could curb export-led growth from South Korea to Singapore and prompt a reappraisal of stock valuations. A U.S. policy shift could complicate Japan’s deflation fight and China’s ability to keep growing 6.5 percent annually.

Trump policy agenda starts to stick to the script

30 Jan 2018

The U.S. president’s first State of the Union address praised fast growth and recent tax cuts. He talked immigration and promised $1.5 trln for infrastructure, but the speech contained few surprises. A consistent platform is starting to emerge from the noise.

Mega-deals could be prisoners in China trade war

31 Jan 2018

It has been years since Beijing trustbusters vetoed a merger of two foreign companies. The restraint may be tested if Donald Trump follows through on his anti-China bluster. ADM, Bain and Qualcomm are potential captives, especially since chips and grain are sensitive sectors.

Auto industry exposes NAFTA’s blind spot

29 Jan 2018

Canadian negotiators have pointed out that the North American treaty doesn’t capture the value of high-tech equipment in autos, Reuters reported. A rule change to reflect tech advances is due. Complex supply chains call for new ways of measuring trade flows.

Trump reworks “America First” for the global elite

26 Jan 2018

For the finale of the World Economic Forum, the U.S. president laid out in unexpectedly statesmanlike fashion how favouring the interests of his citizens could benefit the rest of the world. The demand for reciprocity remains, but the inclusive-sounding vision is an improvement.

Viewsroom: Trump solar tax is more burn than balm

25 Jan 2018

The U.S. president seems to be trying to right past trade wrongs. But business has long since moved on, meaning tariffs on washing machines and solar panels will do more harm than good. Also, Merkel and Modi disappoint in snow-ravaged Davos. Plus: Spotify’s Wall Street snub.

Mnuchin opens door to new era of currency wars

24 Jan 2018

The U.S. Treasury secretary said a weaker dollar was good for his country in some ways. True, but the break with what his predecessors have asserted since 1995 raises the risk the greenback will be used as a trade weapon. That would be bad news for foreign holders of U.S. debt.

Canada’s insurance policy on NAFTA isn’t loony

23 Jan 2018

Negotiators have opened talks on revamping the trade pact, but their chances look slim. A U.S. pullout from NAFTA would affect Canadian exports amounting to nearly 20 pct of the country’s GDP. But Ottawa has other trade pacts in the works, and a flexible currency would help cushion any blow.

Make in India clashes with America First in Davos

23 Jan 2018

Narendra Modi and Donald Trump share strongman characteristics and both have a zero-sum approach to trade. The Indian premier needs to boost manufacturing just as the U.S. president wants to do the same. The Asian nation has the most to lose if it fails to realise its vision.

Trump’s solar tariffs add new wrong to old

22 Jan 2018

The levies should ease pressure on surviving panel makers, who account for about 15 pct of the U.S. solar industry’s 260,000 jobs. But pricier imports will set back installers that dominate the sector. It’s an illustration of how difficult righting past trade unfairness can be.

India’s $6 bln oil deal is slick for Narendra Modi

22 Jan 2018

ONGC’s purchase of the government’s holding of Hindustan Petroleum makes more sense for New Delhi than the buyer. The logic of an explorer purchasing a refiner is flawed. But the deal helps the prime minister burnish his economic credentials by hitting asset disposal goals.

Xi Jinping offers a lesson on the “Davos discount”

21 Jan 2018

The Chinese president’s 2017 oration was hailed as a new era in global leadership. What followed was a backlash against Beijing’s influence abroad, and little progress on domestic challenges. This ought not to surprise. Promises to the elites of Davos may be less than they seem.

Sanctions purgatory haunts EU as much as Iran

15 Jan 2018

Donald Trump has again waived nuclear sanctions on the Islamic Republic, a short-term relief for the domestic economy. It’s also a near-miss for the European Union: fresh curbs on non-American firms in Iran could spark a transatlantic standoff. But the reprieve is only temporary.

Trump will be party pooper-in-chief at Davos

10 Jan 2018

The U.S. president’s “America First” agenda is the antithesis of the Swiss conflab’s global ethos. His visit to the mountain resort may be a bid for reconciliation, or a pitch for strongman status. Either way, his presence is a stark rebuke to Davos elites who got him badly wrong.