Ep 142. Why are stock markets not crashing? With the FT’s Katie Martin

Investors are frogs in a Trumpian pot. As he turns the water up will they jump or boil?

Trump has chaotically imposed tariffs on the global economy-- replete with arbitrary numbers, 90-day pauses, and then different outcomes for similar countries. Many predicted this type of chaotic policymaking would tank the US stock markets, make the bond markets panic, and trigger a worldwide recession. Jason at least assumed UVXY would spike as volatility would soar. Yet US markets are hitting record highs. Even foreigners are still willing to buy US equities, albeit while hedging their dollar risk. What is going on here? Why do the Markets seem to love Trump? Why are markets addicted to low interest rates and cheap money? Why do markets want less regulation even though it can lead to crashes? Why don’t the markets react with Trump threatens Powell, Lisa Cook, and Fed Independence?

To find out, Jason is joined this week by Katie Martin, the Markets columnist at the Financial Times and host of the Unhedged Podcast. They discuss how Europe should respond to Trump’s craziness, why US Big tech stocks (and the data centre construction fad) are keeping the market afloat, the implications of big money continuously ploughing into AI without knowing if AI will really be profitable, and the shifting focus from public to private markets. Plus: Gilts vs Treasuries, the UK’s fiscal woes, and whether the Euro could replace the dollar as the world’s most important reserve currency. And to Order the Disorder, they discuss the formation of a new global body to tackle inequality globally.

Producer: George McDonagh

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Show Notes Links:

Read Investors are frogs in a Trumpian pot by Katie https://on.ft.com/3K67eCm

Read Time to give the euro a glow-up by Katie https://on.ft.com/4mhfWuP

Read The bond doom-mongers have got at least one thing right https://on.ft.com/41TpXqT

Check out Katie’s Unhedged podcast: https://www.ft.com/unhedged-podcast

Watch How has Trump changed the global economy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwKt43ruWCo

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