Once upon a time Washington was simple: on one hand you had Republican interests, on the other: Democrats, and inbetween them perhaps, the occasional independent or "green." Now... it's less simple. At last check, DC currently boasts at least nine different parties, groups, factions or ideologies. Which is why keeping track of who wants what, and how the various groups allign, in US politics has become quite complicated.
Judging by recent market action, it is becoming apparent that traders and investors are getting if not tired, then displeased with having to trade what boils down to one of two narratives: Trump Reflation Trade On, and - as has been the case recently - Trump Trade Off. As much is apparent in the latest weekly kickstart note from David Kostin who writes that with the market struggling to readjust its expectations for US government policy following the move away from health care reform, client conversations make clear that investors fall into two camps:
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson tried to reassure America's nervous European counterparts over Washington's commitment to NATO on Friday but it didn't quite work out as expected when he pressed them again to spend more on defense, triggering a sharp rebuke from Germany.
“As President Trump has made clear, it is no longer sustainable for the U.S. to maintain a disproportionate share of NATO’s defense expenditures,” Tillerson said at a meeting of allied foreign ministers in Brussels.
Update:
After a very quick statement from President Trump, who vowed that “from now on, those who break the rules will face consequences,” Wilbur Ross, Peter Navarro and Vice President Pence also made brief statements to the press regarding the new administration's executive orders on trade. Here were the key headlines:
Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,