TACO to FAFO: The secret insults investors are using to poke fun at Trump's policies
MAGA President Donald Trump might be known for his snappy acronyms, but now investors are using four-letter descriptors of their own to discuss Trump-era trade policies.
Trump's shorthand for his administration's cost-cutting arm DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, as well as the slogan driving his public health department, 'Make America Healthy Again,' have become familiar jargon.
Now, with the president's fixation on tariffs, Wall Street investors have developed their own abbreviations for Trump's trade policies.
Asked about the acronyms, a White House spokesperson told Reuters: "These asinine acronyms convey how unserious analysts have consistently beclowned themselves by mocking President Trump and his agenda that've already delivered multiple expectation-beating jobs and inflation reports, trillions in investment commitments, a historic UK trade agreement, and rising consumer confidence."
ICYMI: Here are some of the latest terms.
Some Wall Street traders have started using TACO — short for 'Trump Always Chickens Out' — a term coined by Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong to describe the president's pattern of implementing trade policy threats that are likely to cause the market to tumble before he inevitably walks back on that policy, leading to a market rebound.
For example, his so-called 'Liberation Day' tariffs caused the markets to hit historic lows before he ordered a 90-day pause one week later, leading to record highs.
This week, when asked about the acronym, the president replied: 'That's a nasty question. To me, that's the nastiest question.'
Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian Prime Minister and Trump ally, co-opted Trump's MAGA slogan last year, but added a European spin to it: 'Make Europe Great Again.'
Now, investors have given the phrase yet another meaning. European stocks have outperformed their American counterparts as economic uncertainty reigns in the U.S., prompting some investors to choose to put their money in European interests rather than American. Some analysts have predicted that China could start exporting its goods to Europe, which could lower prices there, as tensions between China and the U.S. remain high.
"It seems that MEGA trades are now rapidly replacing MAGA trades, which have lost their appeal," Mark Dowding, CIO at RBC's BlueBay fixed income team, told Reuters.
Trump himself has actually used this four-letter term, which stands for 'F*** around and find out.' It's usually used to mean there will be consequences to one's actions. In January, after Columbia blocked the U.S.'s deportation flights, Trump posted a moody AI-generated image of himself wearing a fedora next to a sign reading: 'FAFO.'
After the president threatened hefty levies, Columbia reversed course, prompting the Times of London to dub the exchange a 'FAFO diplomacy.'
Some investors are also using the acronym to describe the market turbulence caused by Trump's sweeping trade policies, according to Reuters. Mark Spindel, chief investment officer of Potomac River Capital LLC, likened the stock market to being caught in a "pinball machine as a result of that policymaking process."
Standing for 'Make America Go Away,' a report is Reuters cites one Canadian investor who says the quip is doing the rounds of trading desks in Toronto and Montreal, with many longingly thinking about simply boycotting U.S investment.
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