Hinweis: Dieser Beitrag ist auch auf Aberdeens "Thinking aloud"-Plattform verfügbar.
It can be tough accepting that we can’t always get what we want. But most of us would consider it just a fact of life. Not President Trump, though. He followed up on last week’s threats by declaring a state of emergency at the US/Mexico border. His preferred end-game? Securing funding to allow the construction of his ‘wall’. A rather creative and controversial means-to-an-end some would say.
Mr Trump’s declaration caused widespread outrage. It also prompted much legal wrangling. So far, 16 US states, including California, have launched lawsuits to stop what critics are calling a ‘fake emergency’. House Democrats have also filed a resolution to block Mr Trump.
Such emergency powers would enable him to raid departmental and military coffers to get the billions of dollars he needs. His opponents argue that diverting funds and resources to the wall would not be in America’s economic interests.
These legal challenges won’t come as a surprise to the President. After all, he stated in his declaration that he fully expected to be sued.
Unperturbed, and as ‘the emergency’ raged on, Mr Trump jetted down to Miami to play some golf. He also found the time to escalate the political row with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Against this backdrop, the S&P 500 Index was flat for the week to close on Thursday. Markets had been anticipating the release of the minutes from January’s Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting on Wednesday. Remember the one when the Fed performed a startling U-turn? In the end, the minutes proved far less dramatic, reaffirming the Fed’s patient approach to interest rates. Cheaper money, anticipation of some form of trade agreement and a range-bound dollar remain a powerful cocktail for markets.
Breaking free
As the 29 March Brexit deadline creeps ever closer, there were more headaches for Prime Minister May and Labour leader Mr Corbyn. A breakaway faction of MPs, including (so far) eight Labour and three Conservative ministers, formed The Independent Group.
Sick of the culture and increasingly hard-line policies of their former parties, these politicians didn’t appear to find breaking up all that difficult to do. Odd that.
A Brexit blame-game?
Regional British airline Flybmi called in administrators this week, citing Brexit as one of the main reasons for its failure. The airline said its trading outlook and prospects had been “seriously affected by the uncertainty created by the Brexit process”. Higher fuel prices and rising carbon costs also contributed to Flybmi’s collapse.
Honda, on the other hand, did not explicitly blame Brexit for its planned withdrawal from UK manufacturing. The Japanese carmaker said on Tuesday that it will close its Swindon factory by 2021, leading to 3,500 job losses. This is a huge blow to the largely industrial town. Honda referred to changes in the global car industry and a shift to electric vehicles as the reasons behind the closure. It also just so happens that Japan recently struck a new trade deal with the EU allowing Japanese exports tariff-free access to Europe (something not yet guaranteed on future UK exports to the EU).
In other company news, like a display of tinned beans, the Sainsbury’s/Asda merger is looking a little precarious. UK regulators are concerned that the deal could lead to higher prices and less choice for consumers. Sainsbury’s shares plummeted in the wake of the news. Over the pond, results from Walmart, Asda’s US owner, beat earnings and sales expectations.
Airing the banks’ dirty laundry
Europe’s banking sector was a little beleaguered. Danske Bank’s money-laundering scandal deepened following news that Estonian regulators have ordered it to close its branch in Tallinn. Joining Denmark, France and the UK, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) looks set to investigate the Danish lender. Swedbank is also now in the frame. It faces allegations of more than $4 billion of suspect transfers to Danske in the region. Elsewhere, UBS was fined €4.5 billion for illegally soliciting clients in France and laundering the proceeds of tax evasion. A continually lengthening and somewhat disappointing list.
Overall, the FTSE 100 was down 1% over the week to close on Thursday. The FTSE World Europe ex-UK finished 0.6% higher.
And finally …
How do you fancy spending the night in a hotel dedicated to the mighty sausage? Gasthaus Böbel in Germany promises a stay with a difference. Appealing to confirmed carnivores, the abode boasts wallpaper depicting all types of international sausage, from bratwurst to chorizo. It also has shower doors featuring the silhouette of a pig and giant hot-dog cushions. There are wurst places to stay, we suppose.
