Fading trade hopes

• Markets are still in thrall to the whims of President Donald Trump’s latest trade threats. Yesterday’s rally was driven by optimism following comments made by the president at the G-7 meeting, where he said that China called looking for a deal.
• That hope is fading today as it is becoming increasingly unclear whether any call from China happened over the weekend at all.
• The one deal that seemed secure came under doubt, with Japan insisting it wanted the U.S. to end the threat of new tariffs on autos before finalizing an agreement.

 (Source: Bloomberg)