Oil Prices Rise as Hormuz Tensions Threaten Global Supply 
Australia Housing Crisis Deepens as Worker Shortages Delay Homebuilding 
Goldman Sachs Sees US Stock Buybacks Outpacing Equity Issuance as AI Funding Rises 
Oil, Gold Rise as Geopolitical Risks Grip Markets Ahead of U.S. CPI 
Asian Currencies Steady as Markets Await U.S. Inflation Data 
Oil Prices Rise as US-Iran Talks Stall, Inflation Risks Grow 
S&P 500, Nasdaq Slip as Oil Jumps on Iran Tensions 
Dollar Steady as Markets Await U.S. Inflation Data 
South Korean Won Leads Asian FX Losses as Dollar Rises 
As the U.S. economic and foreign policies decouple from the rest of the world (President Trump’s stance on Jerusalem, NATO, Iran nuclear Agreement, Trans-Pacific Partnership, Paris Climate Accord), so do its economy and financial markets. After decades of globalist policies, under president Trump, it has taken a sharp turn towards nationalism and protectionism.
So far, it has been working out fine for the United States. U.S. economic growth hit 4.2 percent last quarter and Fed’s ‘GDP Now’ data shows that it was not a one-time event. The next quarter could be even better. This comes at a time when Europe is still struggling and weakness is visible in many emerging market economies.
Similarly, U.S. financial markets have been decoupling from the rest of the world. So far in 2018, the U.S. benchmark stock index has returned +8.3 percent, whereas India’s nifty has returned +5.1 percent, Nikkei has returned +1.9 percent, Eurostoxx50 has returned -2.3 percent, same as FTSE100, and China’s benchmark CSI300 has returned -17.4 percent. This might seem just another outperformance, the trend is becoming more and more visible. And we believe that it is here to stay.
