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3 weeks ago | 
think.ing.com | James Smith |James Knightley |Bert Colijn |Adam Antoniak
Room is spinning... Take a quick glance at financial markets, and you’ll be forgiven for thinking the last month didn’t happen. US equities are creeping ever closer to February’s high. Volatility is right down. And 2-year swap rates, an indication of Fed policy expectations, are where they were on the eve of ‘Liberation’ Day on 2 April. But is it really business as usual? The US-China deal is a game changer, there's no doubt about that.
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1 month ago | 
think.ing.com | James Smith |James Knightley |Bert Colijn |Adam Antoniak
THINK Ahead It’s been six months since the great and the good of the finance world last met in Washington to chew on lukewarm canapes and sip decidedly average Champagne. I’m talking about the IMF’s annual meetings and, yes, maybe I’m still slightly bitter that I didn’t get the invite…Back then, the talk of the town was Donald Trump, whether he would win November’s election, and if he did, what would come first: tax cuts or tariffs? Well, I think we have our answer.
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1 month ago | 
think.ing.com | Bert Colijn |Carsten Brzeski
With low growth and ageing societies, boosting productivity growth is key to economic prosperity in the eurozone in the years ahead. And that’s where AI comes in. Productivity has declined by 1.6% since the third quarter of 2022. This has come with a tight labour market by historical standards, as unemployment has dropped to the historical low of 6.1%. And with populations ageing, the chances of growth in the active population are small.
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2 months ago | 
think.ing.com | Carsten Brzeski |Inga Fechner |Peter Vanden Houte |Bert Colijn
Trump's tariffs and what they mean for Europe
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2 months ago | 
flipboard.com | Carsten Brzeski |Inga Fechner |Peter Vanden Houte |Bert Colijn
3 hours agoBizarre moment Trump declares Great Depression wouldn’t have happened with tariffsDonald Trump has declared that the US could have avoided the Great Depression with tariffs. The president made the remarks in front of the White House on Wednesday (2 April), when he announced a 10 percent baseline tariff on all imports to the US. During his speech, Trump suggested the economic decline in the country began in 1913, when income tax was introduced.
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2 months ago | 
think.ing.com | James Smith |James Knightley |Bert Colijn |Adam Antoniak
THINK Ahead: Trump's tariffs in ten questions Heading to a dinner party this weekend and dreading the small talk? I get it. At some point, people will realise you work in finance. Once they’ve stifled their yawns and mumbled something about “having an early start the next day,” they might be forced to engage you on the least boring topic that springs to mind. And that topic is inevitably going to be President Trump’s tariffs. Don’t panic! We’ve got you covered.
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2 months ago | 
think.ing.com | Bert Colijn
Both eurozone exports and imports picked up in January after a sluggish 2024
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2 months ago | 
think.ing.com | Rebecca Byrne |Carsten Brzeski |Bert Colijn
President Trump’s decision to temporarily suspend military support for Ukraine, coupled with his implicit threat to withdraw US forces from Europe unless Nato allies increase their defence spending, has upended the near 80-year transatlantic alliance, and left European countries scrambling to respond. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called for a ‘surge’ in defence spending and said nothing is off the table when it comes to raising money.
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Mar 7, 2025 | 
flipboard.com | Bert Colijn |Carsten Brzeski
8 hours agoSpaceX Starship rocket explodes after launch for second time this yearSpaceX's Starship rocket exploded minutes after it launched from Texas Thursday. The big picture: Debris from the rocket caused flight delays in …5 hours agoTrump signs executive order establishing U.S. strategic bitcoin reservePresident Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, marking a major shift in U.S. digital asset policy.
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Mar 7, 2025 | 
think.ing.com | Bert Colijn |Carsten Brzeski
The proposed increase in European defence spending may be a 'watershed moment' according to the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen. And at a time when the eurozone economy has fallen back into stagnation, you might think that hundreds of billions of extra fiscal expenditure will be enough to revive Europe's stagnant economies. But we have doubts.
