Investors batten down the hatches

Markets have been on a downswing ever since Donald Trump upped the trade war ante on 1 August. The end of last week brought yet more escalation.

SRI LANKA-ECONOMY

The US now levies a 30% tax on $250bn of Chinese imports
(Image credit: AFP/Getty Images)

Recessions are "a state of mind", says The Economist, and "the world's mood is troubled". If the public is confident and happy to spend then "even a big shock" may not halt an expansion. Conversely, if times are fearful, then "even a modest nudge may push an economy into a slump".

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Markets editor

Alex is an investment writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2015. He has been the magazine’s markets editor since 2019. 

Alex has a passion for demystifying the often arcane world of finance for a general readership. While financial media tends to focus compulsively on the latest trend, the best opportunities can lie forgotten elsewhere. 

He is especially interested in European equities – where his fluent French helps him to cover the continent’s largest bourse – and emerging markets, where his experience living in Beijing, and conversational Chinese, prove useful. 

Hailing from Leeds, he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford. He also holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Manchester.