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MI2 Partners – Thoughts From The Divide: Spectacle

BY JON WEBB
Another week into Trump 2.0 and you’d be forgiven for starting to tune out some of the news around the administration. After all, nothing screams kabuki more than touting “yuge” concessions from the Canadian and Mexican governments that were already in the works… Admittedly it’s two birds with one stone (that was going to be thrown anyway) for the US’s neighbors, but it does make it hard to take the threat of tariffs seriously. That being said, while some of the spectacle is certainly theater, like a bullfight it does come with horns as markets and political actors react to the latest news. Read more →

Thoughts From the Divide: The (Golden) Path

BY JON WEBB
While the road to hell is paved with good intentions, it appears that the “golden path” to a soft landing (which by way of reminder is a “triumph of hope over experience”, if you ask Mr. Summers) is paved with rate cuts. In an interview earlier this week, the Chicago Fed president Austan Goolsbee cast another vote in favor of “adjustment cuts”, saying that “You risk the golden path if you are going to be as restrictive as we are now”. Meanwhile, Jerome Powell was quick to assure the audience during his latest interview that “today I am not going to be sending any signals, one way or the other on any particular meeting” as far as rate cuts are concerned. However, that did not prevent the Chair from referring to ol’ reliable of monetary policy, “long and variable lags”, to explain why, “if you wait until inflation gets all the way down to 2%, you’ve probably waited too long”. Read more →

Thoughts From The Divide: High Times and Happy Endings

BY JON WEBB
“I think it was the right decision, and I think it should send a signal that we, that we’re committed to coming up with a good outcome here” There is no verse in scripture that says “blessed be the dovish, for they shall fatten the sacred bull”. More’s the pity, because it would have been apt. James Macintosh seems to have noticed the same, but framed it slightly differently. Nothing says I love you to asset markets more than Fed rate cuts: the original PCA factor. And to be fair, the admiration appears to be mutual: Powell loves markets and markets love Powell. It’s nice to get positive feedback and it’s not like JP had to drag everyone screaming and kicking. Read more →
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