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RNZ News
11 hours ago
- Business
- RNZ News
From TACO to FAFO, investors love parodies of Trump acronyms
By Stephen Culp and Suzanne McGee , Reuters US President Donald Trump is seen on a TV screen below a display showing the German Stock Market Index DAX at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, on 3 April 2025. Photo: DANIEL ROLAND / AFP Four months into US President Donald Trump's second term, market observers have taken a cue from his fondness for condensing slogans into catchy acronyms like MAGA, DOGE and MAHA, and devised a few of their own that have been spreading across trading desks. Even those acronyms that do not directly reflect a specific trading strategy still capture factors that traders say are important in Trump-era markets, such as volatility and uncertainty, that investors need to consider, when making decisions. Some new labels are associated with investment strategies that aimed to capitalise on Trump's economic and trade policies, and international relations goals. Others riff off economic implications or his abrupt U-turns, as markets and trade partners react to his proposals. The 'Trump Trade' that played on the Make America Great Again theme after his November election victory and January inauguration, and contributed to record highs on Wall Street in February, is hardly discussed now that stocks, the dollar and Treasury bonds have succumbed to worries about his tariff policies . "Post the election, we heard a lot about YOLO [You Only Live Once], which seemed to promote taking outsize risks in a concentrated investment theme," B Riley Wealth strategist Art Hogan said. YOLO is an acronym used to describe the tendency that was part of the Trump trade to chase high-momentum strategies, such as cryptocurrency. "While the term YOLO was popular for a period of time, it goes against all traditional advice," Hogan said. Here are of few more acronyms that have played in the investment world in recent weeks: Coined by a Financial Times columnist, this one has been used as a way to describe Trump's to-ing and fro-ing on tariffs after his 2 April 'Liberation Day' speech. When asked about TACO in a recent press conference, the president lashed out, calling the question "nasty". "Where we end up might not be too far from what he promised on the campaign trail, so does he always chicken out?" AllianceBernstein fixed income portfolio manager Christian DiClementi said. "I wouldn't go as far as to say that. "I think he wants to rebalance the economy without pushing it off a cliff and we're watching that being executed in real-time. I think some of the ideas are thought out and some of them change on the fly." First coined last year to address European competitiveness, MEGA has resurfaced this spring as a way to describe the flurry of investor interest in and flows into European markets. Spoofing their MAGA counterparts, MEGA hats are easily purchased online. It's been revived by investors and traders in light of the outperformance of European stocks in the immediate aftermath of Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs bombshell. While the original Trump Trade was also known as the MAGA trade, this variation cribbed the president's motto, first appearing in response to Vice President JD Vance's brief and unfruitful visit to Greenland , the autonomous territory of Denmark, which Trump has expressed interest in annexing. At least one Canadian investor says that quip is making the rounds of trading desks in Toronto and Montreal, and sparking "wishful thinking" about simply boycotting US investments. Although the acronym also came into being well before Trump's inauguration, it is heard with increasing frequency in trading desk conversations. It is used to capture the financial market's volatility and chaos that Trump's policymaking process has created. Potomac River Capital LLC chief investment officer Mark Spindel described the market as caught in a "pinball machine as a result of that policymaking process". When reached for comment, White House spokesman Kush Desai said "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." - Reuters
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Trump says China has ‘totally violated' trade deal with US
US President Donald Trump Friday morning accused China of having 'totally violated' a 90-day trade truce reached just weeks ago in Geneva, casting doubt on whether the agreement still holds.. The deal, announced on May 12, had lowered US tariffs on Chinese imports from 145 per cent to 30 per cent, and Chinese tariffs on US goods from 125 per cent to 10 per cent. The Trump administration recently hailed the 'asymmetric' agreement as a significant victory for the US. Trump on Friday said that he made a 'fast deal' to 'save China' from 'grave economic danger' caused by his tariffs. 'Because of this deal, everything quickly stabilised and China got back to business as usual. Everybody was happy! That is the good news,' Trump said in a social media post. He added: 'The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, has totally violated its agreement with us. So much for being Mr. nice guy!' More to follow …
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
China Preps $70 Billion in New Capital to Supercharge Investment
China plans to allocate 500 billion yuan ($70 billion) of capital that could be leveraged up to fast track new infrastructure projects as authorities seek to cushion the economy from US tariffs, according to people familiar with the matter. Under the so-called 'new financing policy tool,' the nation's three policy banks will raise funds and buy stakes in projects, one of the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. The policy lenders may issue bonds or use other methods to tap financing, according to the person.
Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
China's central bank injects 700 bln yuan of outright reverse repos in May
SHANGHAI, May 30 (Reuters) - China's central bank has injected 700 billion yuan ($97 billion) into its banking system during May through an outright reverse repurchase tool, the bank said on Friday. The operations, conducted with tenors of three and six months, were aimed at maintaining "reasonably ample liquidity" in the banking system, the PBOC said in a statement. With 900 billion yuan in outright repos expiring this month, the data suggests a net withdrawal of 200 billion yuan from the system via the tool. In a separate statement, the PBOC said on Friday that it had refrained from buying or selling Chinese government bonds in open market operations for the fifth consecutive month in May. Market participants are closely watching for signals on when the PBOC will resume purchases of its own government bonds. "Amid rising risks of U.S.-China decoupling, there is growing urgency to resume government bond trading to increase the central bank's holdings of sovereign debt," analysts at Caitong Securities said in a note on Thursday. The analysts expect the PBOC to resume bond buying as early as July or August, amid concerns that a potential end to the tariff truce between China and the United States could weigh on economic sentiment. ($1 = 7.1947 Chinese yuan renminbi)
Telegraph
a day ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Rachel Reeves pensions power grab is worthy of a banana republic
Britain's economy badly needs a jump start. But after eight long punishing months, there is no sign of one. The Chancellor's latest idea is a decree on people's private pensions that is more in keeping with economic policy in Venezuela. It is looming disaster. As with other hardcore socialist regimes, this Labour Government believes you should not keep control of the money you earn. The message that has been coming out of No 10 Downing Street ever since Sir Keir Starmer moved in is that if you are a risk taker or wealth creator, Labour will come for your savings, your pensions, your job and your house. You name it, Keir Starmer will tax it. Many of the businesses who were duped into supporting Labour during Rachel Reeves's prawn cocktail offensive before the election must now be looking on in horror. As the 'City' minister in government, I was always clear that dictating how funds should be investing in people's private retirement savings was a red line. But it appears one this Government is all too happy to cross. And like other harebrained ideas, such as stripping millions of pensioners of the winter fuel payment, imposing death taxes on family farms or many other punitive measures, it has come out of the blue. It is not that pension reform is not needed. There are always improvements to be made, working with the City – not against it. But that is not what Rachel Reeves has done. Taking powers for the state to direct how your pension is invested is the most significant direct intervention by the Government in the UK pension and wider investment market for decades. And who is to say what a future iteration of Starmer's Government would do? Will pension funds be told they must put a certain proportion into 'Red Ed's' mad windmill schemes? We already see disinvestment campaigns picket town halls across a whole panoply of Left-wing causes. Handing the Chancellor the power to direct the whole country's pension funds at the stroke of a pen will make her an irresistible target for woke warriors of every kind. As someone who has worked in finance myself, I know, like many others with business experience, that most poor outcomes for pensions come from an excess of financial regulation, not from its absence. Pension funds will perform far worse when guided by Labour's political agenda, rather than solely the interests of savers. The invisible hand of the market will not be helped one jot by Keir Starmer's sticky fingers. The big issue on private pensions has traditionally been a defensive, risk averse culture, which has elevated low costs over performance and theoretical liquidity over real investment growth for the long-term. Our landmark Financial Services and Markets Act started to change this. Imposing growth duties on regulators, introducing new options such as long-term asset funds and freeing up over £100bn from UK insurers through a Brexit dividend supporting productive investments, such as infrastructure, were all steps in the right direction, which to be fair this Government has continued with. But Rachel Reeves now threatens to undermine that progress in one fell swoop. She is an embattled Chancellor, visibly out of her depth. As all of her chickens come home to roost, she is hemmed in by the growing distrust of the bond markets on one side and Cabinet and trade union advocates for more public sector largesse on the other. It is no surprise the trillions of private pension capital are increasingly attractive. In the process she is risking the futures of millions trying to save for their retirement and undermining Britain's global jewel of a fund management centre. Since taking office, Labour has gone out of its way to attack wealth creators and hard-working businesses. Their Employment Bill, which will do the opposite of what it says on the tin, puts a £5bn burden on businesses and drowns them in reams of red tape. New business rates will punish high streets and see more shops boarded up. And the Jobs Tax will drive down the wages of workers whilst penalising growth and aspiration. But that is people's private money, put in there over years of scrimping and saving. Not her money to control after maxing out the Government's credit card. The rapid exodus of millionaires under Labour is a sign that things are getting worse – these pension changes will only accelerate that flight. We need a government which sets out a positive vision for the country. One founded on greater risk appetite. One where entrepreneurs aren't afraid to fail and where investors are willing to responsibly back them to grow further when they succeed. The Conservatives are the natural home of business which can deliver that vision. After 14 years in government, perhaps this was too easily forgotten and there were certainly mistakes – though not of the pension stealing kind. But we are under new management. With other parties competing over ever higher spending, and Labour's unrelenting war on private enterprise, there is a gap in the market for sensible, centre-Right, economically credible policies.
