A global network and market expertise

The stabilization of the US dollar hit an air pocket last week after a minor Trump official announced that the president was getting ready to fire chair Powell.

Markets seem to be weathering the latest round of Trumpian chaos. The letters he keeps sending to trading partners announcing very high tariffs starting in AUgust first are being interpreted as mostly yet another postponement of his July 9th deadline, and seen mostly as negotiating bluster.

The dollar broke to fresh post-"liberation day" lows as pressure builds on the Federal Reserve to cut rates. This pressure comes from both the Trump administration, which is making increasingly clear that it does not believe in central bank independence, and a weaker ton in economic data out of the US.

The dollar held tight ranges against its G10 peers, safe havens like the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc suffered, and investors continued to hunt for returns in more exotic locales.

Markets are increasingly concerned with the prospect of endless fiscal deficits and rising government debt, particularly in the US. The lower chamber of US Congress last week approved a budget bill that implies yet another gusher of red ink, and investors reacted by selling US Treasuries and the dollar.

Markets are increasingly concerned with the prospects of endless fiscal deficits and rising government debt, particularly in the US. The US lower chamber just approved a budget bill that implies yet another gusher of red ink, and investors reacted by selling US Treasuries and the dollar.

The news last weekend of the massive Trump climb down on Chinese tariffs buoyed the dollar, but the bump soon faded and the dollar ended the week down against all of its G10 peers and nearly all major currencies worldwide.

The striking of a trade agreement between the US and the UK would not ordinarily make global headlines, yet Thursday’s news takes on more importance than meets the eye.

Markets experienced another week of extreme volatility last week, as investors tried to react to the chaotic policy orders and counter orders coming out of the Trump administration.

Liberation Day set off one of the worst crashes in recent memory in risk assets worldwide. Not only were Trump's tariffs much worse than expected, but the arbitrary and chaotic way in which the actual numbers were produced further spooked investors.

Currencies traded within tight ranges of each other in a week when economic or policy news was relatively sparse, awaiting Trump's announcement on "reciprocal tariffs" on Wednesday. This announcement will come right after a volley of 25% flat tariff on all foreign made vehicles imported into the US.

Just over 50 days have passed since Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States, and to say that it has been an eve...