Oil Prices Slip as U.S.-Iran Talks Ease Middle East Tensions 
Yen Slides as Japan Election Boosts Fiscal Stimulus Expectations 
UK Starting Salaries See Strongest Growth in 18 Months as Hiring Sentiment Improves 
Asian Currencies Stay Rangebound as Yen Firms on Intervention Talk 
Trump Lifts 25% Tariff on Indian Goods in Strategic U.S.–India Trade and Energy Deal 
Global Markets Slide as AI, Crypto, and Precious Metals Face Heightened Volatility 
Dollar Near Two-Week High as Stock Rout, AI Concerns and Global Events Drive Market Volatility 
South Africa Eyes ECB Repo Lines as Inflation Eases and Rate Cuts Loom 
Lee Seung-heon Signals Caution on Rate Hikes, Supports Higher Property Taxes to Cool Korea’s Housing Market 
Japanese Pharmaceutical Stocks Slide as TrumpRx.gov Launch Sparks Market Concerns 
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.
