ECONOMY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The good times President Trump brought to the stock market may be ending. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index is down nearly 7 percent from its peak in late September, and the Nasdaq index, which includes many hot technology stocks, has fallen nearly 10 percent from its high. Doubts appear to be overwhelming investors’ bullishness. They are concerned that Mr. Trump’s bellicose trade policy will disrupt corporate America’s supply chains and push up costs. Mr. Trump’s tax cuts have contributed to a ballooning fiscal deficit. Borrowing costs have also risen this year, which could dampen investment…The market reaction is a stark reversal. Investors had piled into stocks with abandon for much of Mr. Trump’s presidency. Taxes and regulations were being slashed, earnings were surging and the United States economy was performing better than many of its rivals. The S.&P. 500 is up 28 percent since Election Day 2016. Crucially, to investors, it is not clear when the threats to the stock market will lift. But until they do, stocks could remain weak.”
–Peter Eavis, ‘The Gloom Encroaching on Trump’s Stock Boom,” The New York Times online, October 11, 2018