
Outside the Box
U.S. trading partners will find that American consumers can be replaced
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The world’s financial environment is unpredictable, and manic thought bubbles masquerade as policy. That may prove unhelpful to American investors.
Unprecedented globalization has underpinned economic activity and asset values since the early 1990s. It was driven by the collapse of the Soviet Union, the re-entry of China and India into the global trading system and the rise of emerging markets. This added close to 4 billion new consumers and 1.5 billion low-wage workers — some highly skilled — to the international economy. Even the flagging Chinese economy currently contributes around 30% of global growth.