Global economics, and the way the financial media spin, can be funny at times.  On one hand the pretentious global community scoffs at American Exceptionalism and claims the U.S. is only one country amid a international community of equals; on the other hand the reality of the U.S. being the leading economy in the world, and their need to retain access therein, slaps them in the face like a cold fish…
Investment capital flows to the location of highest return.  Amid the U.S. MAGAnomic growth; global investment is inbound to the USA.  The EU and Asia are in a period of low to stagnant growth…  lots of high-brow teeth gnashing.  To make matters worse, Trump is leveraging their weakness against them as he renegotiates reciprocal trade deals.

The G20 IMF and World Bank’s 2019 Annual Spring Meetings of finance ministers (fancy name to describe Mnuchin’s job) is taking place in Washington DC.  The finance ministers are stomping their feet at horrible Trump hoarding all the economic growth.

(Reuters) […] Policymakers from the Group of 20 industrialized countries are worried that the weakness evident in key economies could spread, especially if elevated trade tensions, such as those between the United States and China, escalate further.

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Put this into the geopolitical file labeled: “Things that make other things make sense”…  You only need to watch the first minute and fifteen-seconds of this announcement to see the bigger BIG picture.  WATCH:

[Transcript Snippet] … “This is the first time that the United States has designated a part of another government as an FTO. We’re doing because the Iranian regime’s use of terrorism as a tool of statecraft makes it fundamentally different from any other government. This historic step will deprive the world’s leading state sponsor of terror the financial means to spread misery and death around the world.”

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Two months ago President Trump nominated Undersecretary of Treasury David Malpass to the position of World Bank President.  Today the executive directors voted unanimously to select Mr. Malpass.

WASHINGTON, April 5, 2019 – The Executive Directors of the World Bank today unanimously selected David R. Malpass as President of the World Bank Group for a five-year term beginning on Tuesday, April 9, 2019. The Board expressed its deep gratitude to Interim President Kristalina Georgievafor her dedication and leadership in recent months. (see more)

As President Trump’s World Bank nominee Mr. Malpass appeared on Fox News with Trish Reagan to discusses his vision for the international financial institution. Below:
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Today is NATO day; the 70th anniversary of NATO formation.  President Trump hosts an oval office open-press meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg prior to their bilateral meeting.  The President takes multiple questions from the media about a variety of issues. [Video Below – – Transcript Added]

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[Transcript] – Oval Office – 1:53pm EDT – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much. It’s a great honor to have Secretary General Stoltenberg of NATO with us. We have developed a very great relationship, and I’m very happy to say the Secretary General will be with us for quite a long time because he was just extended. So congratulations on that.
SECRETARY GENERAL STOLTENBERG: Thank you very much.
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Steve Bannon appears on CNBC to discuss the economic objectives of China and how President Trump and USTR Lighthizer are confronting three very important convergences.
Bannon does a good job outlining the three Chinese priorities: ¹One-belt, one road; ²Made in China 2025; and ³Huawei 5G rollout; and how those efforts conflict with U.S. interests.

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Shortly before the president signed an executive order on affirming first amendment rights on college campuses yesterday, President Trump sat down for an extensive interview with Maria Bartiromo.
The interview covers a wide range of topics with a primary focus on the U.S. economy, ongoing trade discussions and issues that impact the U.S. workforce. One of the granular issues that surfaces is a subject we discuss frequently, the value of the ‘chicken tax‘; the 25% tariff on imported trucks and SUV’s.   WATCH:

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A crazed Senegalese migrant kidnapped a bus loaded with 51 middle-school-aged students near Milan Italy.  The suspect attempted to burn the bus with the students inside, but fortunately police were able to rescue the children as the fire started.

One of the children was able to hide their cell phone and call for help.  An alarming story and rescue that was caught on video by a passing motorist.

(Via Daily Mail)  A Senegalese man abducted 51 children when he hijacked an Italian school bus and set the vehicle alight in a protest over migrant deaths in the Mediterranean.

Ousseynou Sy, originally Senegalese but with Italian citizenship, stopped the bus he was driving, with two classes of high school students on board.

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Oh dear, this doesn’t bode well for those who are concerned about U.S. imposed 20% auto tariffs on EU, mostly German, automobiles.  [NOTE: Pay attention to the timing here as it relates to Nord Stream 2] Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel has announced she will no longer uphold her prior agreement for NATO military spending.

At the 2014 NATO meeting in Wales, all NATO members agreed they would immediately begin a process to increase their military spending to two percent of GDP.  However, over time, and in direct contravention to the purpose of the effort, Germany (Merkel) began secretly working behind the scenes with Russia (Putin) on the Nord Stream II gas pipeline.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline delivers natural gas from Russia to Germany.  That pipeline is expected to go on-line this November, 2019.  Today, Angela Merkel announces she will no longer uphold Germany’s financial commitments to NATO. These two issues are directly related.  It now looks like Merkel made a back-door agreement with Russia on NATO.

(Via Daily Mail) Germany’s military spending is set to fall below its NATO targets, in the latest flashpoint in Berlin’s long-running row with Washington.
The latest German budget plans, revealed on Monday, will see defence spending drop well below the two per cent of GDP expected from NATO members.
U.S. ambassador Richard Grenell said the cuts were a ‘worrisome signal’, while President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused Germany of freeloading on U.S. military might.

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Following a weekend of clashes, violence and stores burned in the city of Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron has replaced the police chief and announced blockades to keep yellow vest protesters away from key tourist destinations.

PARIS (AP) — France’s prime minister announced a ban Monday on yellow vest protests along the Champs-Elysees Avenue in Paris and in two other cities following riots on Saturday that left luxury stores ransacked and charred from arson fires.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the ban will apply for an unspecified period in the neighborhoods that have been “the most impacted” in the cities of Paris, Bordeaux and Toulouse, where repeated destruction has occurred since the yellow vest protest movement began in November.

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Toyota made a huge announcement today [SEE HERE] that’s a direct outcome of the NAFTA replacement USMCA trade deal; and the new 75% rule of origin within the Auto sector.

The Toyota announcement is a total of $13 billion investment and includes expanded component part production in: Alabama ($288 million), Kentucky ($238 million), Missouri ($62 million), Tennessee ($50 million) and West Virginia ($111 million).   Additionally, Toyota will open a new assembly plant in Huntsville, Alabama ($1.5 billion) and serious investments in several other areas. [Details Here]
The guiding decision here relates specifically to the construct of the USMCA (NAFTA replacement).   Toyota was previously focused on multi-billion-dollar investments in Canada as they exploited the NAFTA loophole and procured component parts from Asia for North American assembly and shipment into the U.S. Market.  However, when they renegotiated NAFTA and created the USMCA President Trump and USTR Lighthizer closed closed the loophole.
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