EMR July 2025
Dear Reader,
DEBT AND INVESTORS
Factors worrying investors do not seem to concern the ups and downs of stock indices, the price of gold or even the price of oil, but rather the yields on interest rates (e.g. the yield on 10-year government bonds), which are mainly due to the policies of the Trump administration. This is where the de-terministic lines cross in terms of confidence, liquidity and, above all, the sus-tainability of the economic system and the financial system in particular.
At this point let us recall when the Trump presidencies took place. Donald Trump was first inaugurated on January 20, 2017, as the nation’s 45th presi-dent and his presidency ended on January 20, 2021. Joe Biden served as his successor. Trump was then elected for a second, nonconsecutive term in 2024 and assumed the presidency again on January 20, 2025, as the nation’s 47th and current president.
Examining the graph of 10-year government bond yields for the period since March 2005, we see that the downward trend bottomed out with the election of successor, Joe Biden. Since Biden took office, 10-year government bonds yields have risen rather differentially. U.S. and British rates have outpaced German, Swiss, and Japanese rates, implying a differential impact on a na-tional basis. Readers might recall that trend differentials are indicating an un-stable outspeaking of a high level of forecasting uncertainty.
We should bear in mind that the economic situation in the years 2006 to 2008 has been strongly determined by the outbreak of the global financial crisis and the corresponding impact on the global economy. The crisis, which began in the United States with the bursting of the real estate bubble, had far-reaching consequences for the financial markets and the real economy throughout the world.
Examining the chart of 10-Y Govt. bond yields and taking into account that the recent spread is primarily due to the risky U.S. policy, focused on taxing U.S. imports, thus disrupting fiscal policy, not only at the U.S. level, but also on a global scale. The U.S. financial deficit must be financed, which in the long run leads to the potential for sharply rising interest rates. Markets evidently fear the servicing of this debt, interpreting it as a systemic macroeconomic problem that the current U.S. administration cannot or will not handle. At this crossing we are somehow worried by the politically induced calls of analysts and politicians to request additional interest rate increases. We should not forget to examine the developments of the equity indexes for the period since e.g. 2008. Actually, this is what we are interested in, in the following chapter.
SUGGESTIONS FROM US & SWISS REAL GDP & COMPONENTS
The graphical representation of the quarterly whereabouts of real GDP and main components, in Switzerland and the USA, shown in the following charts is indeed telling. The discrepancies must be taken seriously, with regard to the short- and medium-term outlook. Turning our attention to recent quarters, mainly as a result of the Trump administration’s taxation policies, we find that most forecasters are concerned with the recent developments. The shown real GDP data speak volumes, particularly in terms of the misrepresentation of the policies pursued by the US administration.
The data portrayed in the chart of US GDP and components, undoubtedly point to the primarily impacts of exports and imports and partially also on fixed investments, specifically in Q1 2025. Let us ask the reader to examine the growth rates of GDP, Consumption (C) and Government spending (G) for the US as compared to Swiss developments.
While the focus in the media is set on interest rates expectations and corresponding reactions on the currency front, in both charts, we see the impact of international trade, which is mainly due to Trump’s erratic tax imposition, as the primary determinant of the current economic whereabouts.
Surprising is the increase (!) in imports (M) in the first quarter of 2025 for both Switzerland and the United States, especially when compared to the limited increases in 10-year government bond yields. Looking at the graphs of Swiss and U.S. economic activity, we see an extraordinary dependence on international trade, that is, exports and especially imports, conditioned by the U.S. administration, predominantly visible in the first quarter of 2025. We wonder why on earth, we feel so alone in assessing the economic environment on the basis of international trade, instead of following the herd, which focuses its rationale mainly on interest rates to counter inflation as the main determinant of economic expectations and thus economic activity in the coming quarters. Of course, we will certainly see some developments in fixed investment and U.S. interest rates in the coming quarters, but not as the most crucial determinants.
OUTLOOK DETERMINANTS
Forecasting is a challenging exercise, determined primarily by specific assessments of the political, economic and social environment, based mainly on hard data. Currently a further difficulty concerns the whereabouts in the Middle East. The setting is currently really difficult to quantify.
While most analysts set theirs focus on inflation vs. interest rate changes as well as currencies ups and downs, we set our focus in the components of real GDP and particularly on exports and imports of goods and services.
PERSONAL POINT OF VIEW
The next months and quarters remain hardly quantifiable. Coherently, we persist in setting the investment focus on our domestic equity market, particularly taking into account the traditional revaluation of the home-currency and the dramatic, expected further devaluation of the USD.
INVESTMENT CONCLUSIONS
International diversification will need to be discussed and implemented in accordance with each client’s expectations, tailored to their risk aversion.
Suggestions are welcome.
