In recent weeks, international markets have faced their most challenging period since 2020. In a situation marked by surging volatility, emotions like fear take center stage in the minds of many investors, and market movements shift from linear to exponential. Such situations, although not frequent, do tend to recur periodically, and it’s important not to get swept up in the negative atmosphere or act impulsively with a short-term mindset, as the experts at MAPFRE remind us.
The US dollar’s role as the world’s reserve currency, historically underpinned by institutional credibility, financial depth, and trade dominance, is now facing mounting structural challenges that go beyond short-term economic fluctuations.
The tariffs are a problem that’s marking a major shift in the economic relationships we've built and developed over the past few decades. The U.S. President is using them as a tool to bring manufacturing back home and, in turn, boost government revenue through both direct and indirect taxation. But the ends don't always justify the means, and in pursuing these goals, the U.S. is now facing slower economic growth and rising inflation.
The date dubbed “Liberation Day” by US President Donald Trump was marked on many investors' calendars, as it would signal the end of uncertainty regarding tariff policies.
As we've seen in recent days, when panic sets in, investors seek refuge in safer assets like U.S. bonds or the dollar. The problem is that, on this occasion, they aren't performing this classic function because the origin of the problem comes from within the United States itself.
The markets are reacting convulsively to the change in the economic policy of the
USA, which remains the largest economic and military power on the planet.
April 2, 2025 will go down as the beginning of a new geoeconomic era. That day, the United States imposed a universal tariff of 10% on all imports under the slogan “Liberation Day Tariffs.”
Within equities and looking at the long term, US small cap companies are a great opportunity.
Spain's GDP grew by 3.2% last year, marking a half-point increase over 2023, as confirmed by the National Statistics Institute (INE) this Wednesday. This is a positive figure that, according to Alberto Matellán, General Manager of La Financière Responsable, “should be viewed with optimism.”