Equity Markets: Seeking a Safe Haven

Drug Stocks Are the New Safe Bet in a Shaky Market
https://www.wsj.com/finance/stocks/drug-stocks-are-the-new-safe-bet-in-a-shaky-market-49d31d92
After two years in the shadows, health stocks are back as a haven for investors navigating economic uncertainty. 

A New World Order is Taking Shape

Supplicant princelings must kneel at the feet of the emperor
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/03/01/trump-zelensky-supplicant-princelings-vance-white-house-row/
America is to become an imperial plutocracy in which desire for wealth is the absolute measure of moral worth.
 
The transactional world Donald Trump seeks would harm not help America
https://www.economist.com/briefing/2025/02/27/the-transactional-world-donald-trump-seeks-would-harm-not-help-america
Ukraine, Gaza and China will all test his self-interested approach to diplomacy. 

Behind the Collision: Trump Jettisons Ukraine on His Way to a Larger Goal
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/28/us/politics/trump-ukraine-zelensky.html

The Dark Heart of Trump’s Foreign Policy
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-fareed-zakaria.html  

We’re in the Zero Sum Era. How Do We Get Out?
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/world/asia/trump-zero-sum-world.html
Zero-sum thinking has spread like a mind virus, from geopolitics to pop culture. 

Related:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/03/10/trumps-disgrace  

Is Silicon Valley Taking Over America?

Techno-Fascism Comes to America
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/techno-fascism-comes-to-america-elon-musk
The historic parallels that help explain Elon Musk’s rampage on the federal government.

Elon Musk’s Hollow Productivity Dogma
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/office-space/the-hollow-core-of-elon-musks-productivity-dogma
Silicon Valley has struggled to measure employees’ effectiveness. How can Musk and his DOGE expect to fix the federal government? 

The Return of Asset-Backed Securities

They Crashed the Economy in 2008. Now They’re Back and Bigger Than Ever.
https://www.wsj.com/finance/investing/abs-crashed-the-economy-in-2008-now-theyre-back-and-bigger-than-ever-973d5d24
Wall Street expects to sell more than $335 billion in asset-backed debt this year. Remember that conference in “The Big Short”? It just drew a record 10,000 people. 

GOP on Gender Roles

Republican Men and Women Are Changing Their Minds About How Women Should Behave
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/27/opinion/trump-republicans-masculinity-gender-traditional.html 

US Economy is Softening

The Stock Market Was One of Trump’s Favorite Talking Points. Not Lately.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/01/business/trump-stock-market.html
Since his inauguration in January, President Trump has been relatively muted about the stock market. Investors are getting worried about an impending sell-off.
 
Worries Mount That Trump Agenda Is Testing Economy’s Resilience
https://www.wsj.com/economy/trump-policy-agenda-economic-uncertainty-a2ec7ea3
While it’s too soon to tell if growth is in trouble, ‘soft’ survey data and markets show growing concern.

Trump’s Self-Fulfilling Crisis
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/trump-false-claims-of-disastrous-us-economy-could-create-crisis-by-stephen-s-roach-2025-02
Donald Trump began his second term with a solemn promise to usher in “the golden age of America.” But, by increasing consumer prices, fueling financial-market froth, and contributing to a sharp dollar correction, his initial policy frenzy could create the economic crisis he falsely claims to be confronting.
 
When It Comes to Tariffs, Trump Can’t Have It All
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/28/business/economy/trump-tariff-goals-contradictions.html
The president has promised big results, from raising revenue to reviving domestic manufacturing. But many of his goals undermine one another.