AUSTRALIA/CHINA/ECONOMY/TRADE WAR/TREASURY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Australian and New Zealand shares fell sharply on Thursday [8-15-19] as investors sold off equities globally in search of safety after a drop in a U.S. bond yield curve highlighted the risk of recession. The yield on the U.S. Treasury 10-year note briefly fell below the two-year yield, a pattern that is widely seen as an indicator of a looming recession. The inversion, as it is known, last happened in 2007 and proved to be correct when the global financial crisis hit the following year. The S&P/ASX 200 index sank 2.9% to 6,408.1 points, its lowest level since early June. The benchmark had managed a 0.4% gain on Wednesday [8-14-19] after U.S. President Donald Trump delayed tariffs on some Chinese imports, easing some fears over the escalating U.S.-China trade war. Worries of contagion gripped markets, with investors shifting money away from sectors such as financials and mining to the relative safety of gold. Australia has proved in the past to be relatively resistant to global recessions and was one of the few developed economies that escaped the crisis in 2008.”
–Nikhil Nainan, “Recession fear grips Australia, NZ stock markets,” Reuters, August 15, 2019 2:50 pm