Since at its core, yesterday's 1-page "tax plan" was a Goldman creation - and was presented to the world by two former Goldman employees - who better to explain what Trump had in mind than Goldman Sachs itself, which it did overnight in a far lengthier note from its chief Washington analyst Alec Phillips.
European shares are lower, pressured by disappointing results by Deutsche Bank and ending a six-session gain, as Asian equities and S&P futures were little changed after a record-setting rally in world stocks which pushed the MSCI World index to over $50 trillion yesterday, fizzled after Trump released unconvincing tax cut plans prompting traders to "sell the news" while caution set in as the ECB met.
On the surface, Deutsche Bank's results this morning came in better than expected with first quarter earnings more than doubling as Germany’s biggest bank benefited from a pick-up in market activity at the start of the year. In the three months to March, Deutsche managed to make a net profit of €575m, more than double from €236m in the same period a year earlier, when market were shaken by concerns over Deutsche’s viability, and above consensus estimates of €522m.
In the past several years, nationalistic rhetoric and support for protectionist trade policies have risen sharply across the world. The election of President Donald Trump signaled that Americans are dissatisfied with the economy, including foreign trade. But others point out that the United States often benefits from trade.
HowMuch.net has created the infographic below to show the U.S. states most reliant on foreign trade.
Source: HowMuch.net
Bond investors are far from convinced that the risks surrounding the French election are over despite the broader market exuberance following the outcome of the first round.
French 2Y yields have only corrected about half of the risk premium over German 2Y yields since the election (and in fact are widening out today)