These are quite interesting times for China. After several decades of unprecedented economic boom, the Chinese central government in Beijing recently acknowledged the gradual decline of economic growth, and that it must take measures. President Xi Jinping expressed the opinion that economic stability is more important to the country than a high rate of GDP growth. The central government subsequently announced its decision late last year to accept GDP growth rates lower than 6.5%.
Low oil prices have given American consumers persist low inflation over recent years. Now that some of President Trump's policies have begun to swing into effect, it's all about to change. But, is that any reason to worry? Perhaps not, if you invest in commodities and precious metals. Trump's anti-migrant stance has already affected wage rises, but so have long overdue price rises of commodities and manufactured goods. Charles Schwab, the banking company, in its 2017 outlook put inflation at the top of its list of concerns for the bull market in stocks (domestic and international). Their concern is that rising wages will be a hit against corporate earnings.
