We’re hearing about it all the time these days – the U.S. trade deficit widened in 2018 to a 10-year high, with the goods gap with China jumping to a record high despite tariffs on USD 250 billion worth of Chinese imports – all while the U.S. economy reached a level of growth it hadn’t seen since before the Great Recession.
No one likes a bully. It seems that incidents of bullying, both in person and online, are being reported with greater frequency than before, often with tragic results. On February 22nd we will be observing International Stand-Up to Bullying Day. This is a bi-annual event (will also be observed November 29th) in which participants across twenty-five countries wear pink and sign a pledge to take a public stance against bullying and to support bullying victims. As supporters use International Stand-Up to Bullying Day to create actionable plans to identify, prevent and end bullying, we should also use the day to address another bullying that is not often spoken about – workplace bullying.
How is that possible? As history has shown us, global economic uncertainty leads to global investors shifting their money to safer U.S. assets which drives up the value of the dollar since dollars are needed (think supply vs demand) to purchase these assets. This is depicted by the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the strength of the dollar against a basket of major currencies. The dollar has held its strength and reamined near the peak its 52-week high. U.S. Dollar Index goes up when the U.S. dollar gains "strength" (value), compared to other currencies. In particular, it has gained 7% against the Euro since it began its ascent last April, and nearly 10% against the Chinese Yuan over the same period.
The economic outlook for 2019 can be looked at in one of two ways – through the scope of the pessimistic geo-political noise dominating the headlines, or via the time-tested evidence our economy is spitting out indicating continued strength for U.S. markets. We at Dynamic Capital choose the latter, as do many of this nation’s CEOs surveyed by the Business Roundtable CEO Economic Outlook Survey. Jamie Dimon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Chairman of Business Roundtable said, “The BRT CEO survey shows that confidence among America’s business leaders remains strong.”
© Dynamic Capital
