International - Financial Times - Credit Squeeze

Markets went haywire after the ‘liberation day’ tariffs. Until investors started noticing a pattern

Address by Trump signalling possible escalation of Iran conflict raises prospect of prolonged closure of Strait of Hormuz

White House also rolls back levies on some metals in an attempt to simplify duties

Economists’ lurid forecasts of disaster have not been realised

Also in today’s newsletter: 100% tariffs on certain medicines to be unveiled and the Americas’ fastest growing companies

Nearly €3tn of excess liquidity will have drained from financial system by 2027, according to ECB estimates

What can investors do?

Striking a chord

Tricky Dick’s trade and currency war gave way to a pivot towards the multilateral

Governments from Bangladesh to Zambia impose measures to cut fuel demand as Middle East conflict cuts off flows

Levies of 100% on certain medicines would follow through on threats made by Trump made last year

World’s third-largest supplier hopes Asia trade will offer leverage for much-needed fuel and diesel supplies

Central bank warns conflict likely to hit economic growth as Keir Starmer insists UK ‘well placed’ to weather crisis

Beijing will seek to replicate Tehran’s playbook in the Taiwan Strait — and the global economic impact could be even worse

Those refinancing a five-year fix face paying an extra £395 a month on average — but will still be paying less than those who fixed two years ago

This is starting to look like a central bank appeasing its political masters

Meeting comes after Trump criticised allies and indicated reopening the strait may not be a priority for US in Iran war

Reducing the world’s dependency on the dollar is in the interest of every country that buys energy, issues debt or trades

Also in today’s newsletter: markets rally on hopes for end to the Iran war and Germany rethinks nuclear power ban

Central banks in the region have difficult trade-offs to make and government action generally complicates things