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The U.S. dollar is an early casualty of President Donald Trump’s us-against-the-world trade war. The dollar has lost almost 10 percent of its value since Inauguration Day, with more than half of decline coming this month after the president’s decision to lift taxes on imported goods to their highest level since 1909.
The weaker dollar — now near a three-year low against the euro — is bad news for Americans traveling abroad and could also aggravate inflation by making foreign goods more expensive. U.S. exporters, however, should gain.
“The administration’s approach to policy and its lack of transparency in terms of motivations have all led to a distinct sense of unease in financial markets,” said David Page, head of macro research for Axa Investment Managers in London, which manages $1 trillion in investments. “It doesn’t look like what we have been used to in terms of well-thought-out policy.”
Those concerns last week sent investors fleeing from the dollar and U.S. government securities, historically a haven during financial crises. This week, after markets quieted, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dismissed those concerns. In an interview Monday with Bloomberg Television, he said there was “no evidence” that foreign investors were abandoning U.S. assets, saying they had been active participants in recent auctions of government debt.
“The dollar is incredibly entrenched in the global financial system in ways that no other currency is. Importing, exporting, borrowing, hedging, using the dollar for collateral, all of these things that major actors in the international economic system use the dollar for, would be so difficult to modify,” said Paul Blustein, author of “King Dollar: The Past and Future of the World’s Dominant Currency.”
As the president’s enthusiasm for tariffs made the United States look riskier, investments in other markets became more attractive. In Europe, the German government last month abandoned a constitutional borrowing limit and made plans to spend heavily to spur the economy and fund a military buildup, raising growth prospects. China encouraged higher consumer spending to better balance its export-heavy economic model. And Japanese 10-year government debt offered its highest return in 15 years.
Recent gains by the Swiss franc, the euro, Japanese yen and gold, which is up more than 7 percent in the past five trading days, support the idea that investors are looking for new ways to ride out the turmoil unleashed by the president.
Yet for major institutional investors, giving up on the dollar is not feasible. The $28 trillion Treasury market is the world’s largest and most liquid, meaning that investors can quickly sell their holdings if they need to raise cash. In contrast, there are only $1.4 trillion in German government bonds outstanding. Alternative currencies likewise fall short. The Chinese yuan is assuming a greater role in global commerce. But the Chinese government does not allow capital to move freely across its borders, meaning investors could find their funds trapped.
The euro also is handicapped. Nations that use the euro share a central bank in Frankfurt, which governs the zone’s monetary policy. But they lack a common fiscal authority akin to the U.S. Treasury and a common bond market.
Even if the era of global dollar supremacy survives the trade war, the currency’s short-term outlook might be poor. Trump’s imposition of widespread tariffs has made a recession more likely, economists say, which could hurt stock prices and prompt the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. That would make investing in dollar-based assets less appealing.
When LC tilting growth beat value for 15 years, many claimed it's not an accurate comparison instead of admitting their selection did that.That is not an accurate comparison. VWINX focuses on income (bonds) as the primary objective, and capital appreciation (stocks) as the secondary objective. Holding more long bonds is Wellington choice. FPACX is the other way around, and cash is treated as their tactical position.
I also participate in several investing forums and, without question, you bleat the most by far.[snip]
Basically, there are 5-7 posters that turn this site into a political rant in many threads.
I participate in several investment sites and this is the only one that keeps doing it
and this site used to be one of the best.
You already answered itAnyway, can you please focus on the potential economic/investing impacts
of current policies as stated in the OP?
Now, if you think that Trump is deranged and chaos is everywhere, why not sell everything?We are in total agreement regarding your second point.
Portfolios should be constructed with an asset allocation tailored to an investor's goals
and subsequent trading should be minimized.
It's truly refreshing when you reference evidence-based investing for a change!
To repeat myself, either you trust a manager or you don’t trust a manager. Let him do his thing and leave him alone, or get out. Why post about it? You obviously don’t have a lot of respect for him. So go do it yourself, if you don’t think his decisions and judgment will be helpful in the long run.. The end.At David. I have lots of respect for Romick and I hold lots of Cash too. . I don’t need to pay 1% to hold my cash.
[snip]
TDS is a major lib illness.
What can you do now
1) stop reading the same sources that claim the US is close to destruction.
2) most investors should hold their asset allocation according to their goals and hardly trade.
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