“President Donald Trump threatened to escalate the trade fight with China into an all-out trade war on Monday, promising to impose massive tariffs on Chinese goods unless Beijing reverses course on its own trade actions.
“Trump directed the US Trade Representative’s office to begin drawing up a list of $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to hit with a 10% tariff, dwarfing the size of previous trade actions against China.
“”Therefore, today, I directed the United States Trade Representative to identify $200 billion worth of Chinese goods for additional tariffs at a rate of 10 percent,” Trump said. “After the legal process is complete, these tariffs will go into effect if China refuses to change its practices, and also if it insists on going forward with the new tariffs that it has recently announced.””
“U.S. stocks are hurting Monday, but emerging markets continue to bear the brunt of global uncertainty as a new trading week begins… A strengthening U.S. dollar also means emerging markets will have to spend more money to handle dollar-denominated debt.”
“The Buenos Aires stock exchange plummeted more than 8.0 per cent on Monday, pulled down by sharp declines in energy and bank shares amid market volatility as Argentina seeks support from the IMF.”
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/stocks/argentina-stock-market-plunges-833
“South Africa’s rand fell to 6-1/2 month lows early on Tuesday as US President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs in an escalating tit-for-tat trade war with China, hitting sentiment in emerging markets.”
http://ewn.co.za/2018/06/19/rand-falls-to-6-1-2-month-low-as-global-trade-war-escalates
“Manila, Philippines — Renewed fears of a possible trade war between the US and China again took its toll on the local financial market as foreign exchange and stock trading succumbed to new lows yesterday.”
https://www.philstar.com/business/2018/06/19/1825758/peso-stocks-fall-new-lows
“A 200 basis-point increase in interest rates could spark a sharp rise in the proportion of emerging market corporate debt issues at risk of default, with Brazilian and Indian firms most vulnerable, a report from McKinsey Global Institute showed.”
“The Canadian dollar weakened to a nearly one-year low against its U.S. counterpart on Monday… as global trade tensions weighed on stocks and investors worried about Canada’s trade feud with the United States.”
“The Shanghai Composite Index slid almost 5 percent after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to slap tariffs on another $200 billion in Chinese imports. Beijing said it would take “strong” countermeasures if new levies are issued.”
“The Chinese authorities have orchestrated an arms-length rescue for the giant aviation and investment group HNA, heading off a fresh liquidity crunch for one of the world’s biggest debtors. The move came as the People’s Bank of China announced that it was setting up a special “financial risk tracking unit” to monitor local and international conditions after a surge in the number of corporate defaults in the country.”
“Foreign governments pulled back their purchases of longer-term U.S. debt as trade tensions escalated around the world.”
“The cost of insuring Bahrain’s sovereign debt against default is at an historical high, amid continuing concerns over the country’s ability to tap international markets to stave off a potential financial crisis.”
“An elephant at a zoo in Venezuela is believed to have starved to death after years of not being fed properly. Photos of a gaunt Ruperta have been released as she was confirmed dead aged 48 after collapsing at Caracas zoo. The elephant has become a symbol of Venezuela’s deepening economic woes.”
“A growing number of US hedge funds specialising in distressed debt are raising money in anticipation that the next economic downturn will punish companies that have borrowed record amounts since the financial crisis.”
https://www.ft.com/content/062fb03c-6fa7-11e8-92d3-6c13e5c9291
“Recently, Fasanara Capital, a London-based asset management fund, predicted a full-on crash ahead, citing increasing frequency of value-at-risk shocks — or swift market corrections — as an indication of fragility for global markets… The fund was not alone in pointing out that today’s stock market is the most overvalued on record — more so than in 1929, 2000 and 2007.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/18/were-seeing-the-greatest-asset-inflation-bubble-in-20-years.html
