Trump’s trade war has Asia’s central banks reeling

Trump’s trade war has Asia’s central banks reeling The US Federal Reserve and other monetary giants are used to having their way with traders. They drop hints of what markets should do and punters react dutifully. Now the traders are running the asylum and, arguably, ruining it. Not financiers, mind you, but rather huge nations running roughshod over global commerce. Yes, Donald Trump, we’re talking to you. The US leader’s escalating trade war is boomeranging back on Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. The minutes of the Fed’s latest policy meeting raised “concern about the possible adverse effects of tariffs and other proposed trade restrictions, both domestically and abroad, on future investment activity.” Powell’s team also found indications that “plans for capital spending had been scaled back or postponed as a result of uncertainty over trade policy.” What’s more, US policymakers highlighted worries across industries “about the effect of potentially higher tariffs on their exports.” Extraordinary and illuminating stuff. At the very least, Trump’s assault on trade will limit Fed rate hikes in the months ahead. Might a similar recalculation preoccupy Asia in the second half of 2018? Absolutely. READ MORE http://www.atimes.com/article/trumps-trade-war-has-asias-central-banks-reeling/