This week’s update, I’m afraid, is all about Trump. You may have had just about enough of him, but there is no doubt that he brings theatre and influences behaviours. There is really only one story in town as his approach to Greenland raised the stakes for the Western World and no doubt beyond.
As I was thinking about how I would approach this week’s musings, I reflected on what I used to write about before he came back on the scene for his second term. Difficult to imagine a world without Trump now!
His aggressive engagement and the reporting on his own social media account disrupts markets and causes much conjecture, alongside frantic trading by investors who are trying to both protect their gains and seize opportunities.
Someone said yesterday, “a day in Davos is a long time in politics” as the Donald Trump show unfolded before our very eyes. The problem was, he ended up staring down the barrel of a trade war with Europe, the possibility of severing ties with historic allies and making NATO an organisation without teeth.
Move forward a couple of days, and instead of threats, it’s all about negotiations as the Trump administration is seeking to rewrite its existing defence pact with Denmark. The markets have responded positively.
Trump also introduced his “Board of Peace”, but it has been met with scepticism by many leaders. Not helping matters is a $1 billion joining fee and the terms of the agreement seem to give Trump more powers than other members.
It’s been a good week for Trump and his administration, but for him personally, the performance of his memecoin is eye-wateringly bad!
This week’s content:
- Greenland attrition… or is it Iceland?
- Understanding Trump
- Market reaction to U-turn on European tariffs
- Trump launches Board of Peace, but it costs $1billion to join
- Trump’s memecoin has plunged in price
- In conclusion
Greenland attrition… or is it Iceland?
I’m being facetious here in reference to Trump’s Davos speech when he got the two mixed up, but there is no doubt his rhetoric prior to the speech and during heightened tensions and placed governments and markets on high alert.
I’ve already shared my beliefs about the US not invading Greenland, but Trump and his administration certainly created concerns and incredulity ahead of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.
As Trump made it clear that he won’t take the island by force, which, amongst other things, would have compromised NATO, markets breathed a sigh of relief. As the evening wore on, Trump then announced that there would be no tariffs imposed on European countries that were supporting the independence of Greenland. It appears he became better informed as to what was happening on the ground and the adverse reaction it had created amongst European leaders.
Continues…
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