ECONOMY/TARIFFS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump on Tuesday [12-4-18] issued his most market-moving tweet yet with this gem at 10:03 a.m.: ‘I am a Tariff Man. When people or countries come in to raid the great wealth of our Nation, I want them to pay for the privilege of doing so. It will always be the best way to max out our economic power. We are right now taking in $billions in Tariffs. MAKE AMERICA RICH AGAIN.’ The tweet helped wipe out any remaining positive feelings from the China truce over the weekend and sent markets spiraling down with the Dow closing off nearly 800 points, or 3 percent. The S&P also fell 3 percent while the Nasdaq dropped almost 4 percent. Investors MM spoke to on Tuesday cited the tweet and general unease over the future direction of the trade war as the main reason for the declines. Also on investors’ minds: A flattening (and partially inverted) yield curve suggesting worries about slowing growth in the United States, Asia and Europe: ‘It was a combination of all of the above,’ Steve Massocca of Wedbush Equity Management told MM.”
–Ben White, “Tariff man crushes markets,” Politico, December 5, 2018 8:00 am