Trade War Nerves Offset Stale Jobs Reports
Markets have joined economists in thinking that trade wars really aren’t good, or easy to win. After weeks of dizzying changes in US tariff policies, the S&P 500 is down 7 percent from all-time highs, Treasury yields have fallen sharply, and the dollar is down against all of its major counterparts—despite this morning’s relatively-stable non-farm payrolls report. In the latest development, Donald Trump yesterday said he would pause tariffs on goods that comply with the North American free trade pact negotiated during his first tour in office—just two days after he imposed near-universal 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico....