*By Michael Teich*
Investors may be concerned that current trade tensions will escalate into a full-blown trade war, but such fears could be overblown, said JPMorgan global market strategist Alex Dryden.
“It’s not as bad as it seems,” he said in an interview with Cheddar Wednesday. “Cooler heads will prevail.”
The Dow Industrials marked a 7-day losing streak Wednesday, the longest losing stretch the index has seen since March 2017. While the threat of a potential trade war has been lingering for weeks on Wall Street, it was most recently ignited when President Donald Trump said he was considering taxing an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.
Dryden said the U.S.’s end game is to open up the Chinese economy, but if the U.S. does ultimately find itself in a trade war, “the consumer is the end loser,” said Dryden.
“It drives up inflation and drives up prices.”
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/stocks-stabilize-as-u-s-china-tensions-persist).
The Trump administration has ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stop nearly all its work, effectively shutting down the agency that was created to protect consumers after the 2008 financial crisis and subprime mortgage-lending scandal. Russell Vought is the newly installed director of the Office of Management and Budget. Vought directed the CFPB in a Saturday night email to stop work on proposed rules, to suspend the effective dates on any rules that were finalized but not yet effective, and to stop investigative work and not begin any new investigations. The agency has been a target of conservatives since President Barack Obama created it following the 2007-2008 financial crisis.
Jeff Benedict, author of 'The Dynasty,' weighs in on the Kansas City Chiefs being the next big dynasty, who he thinks will win Super Bowl LIX and more. Watch!
Susan Bourgeois, Louisiana Economic Development Secretary, talks preparations for Super Bowl LIX, plus Meta’s $10B data center coming soon to North Louisiana.
