Monthly Outlook: Grand Macro Strategy it is

Donald Trump will shortly again become US president, but the fireworks have already started. Neoliberal market economics this is not. Instead, it’s what we warned of in early November: the return of economic statecraft, where the US economy is used alongside politics and its military to achieve foreign policy/national security goals. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t still an eye on inflation or GDP: but both are tools towards larger goals rather than ends. To say that traditional market metrics are of less use than usual in these circumstances is an understatement: we already spoke of the need to embrace a “What is GDP for?” ‘Grand Macro Strategy’ approach instead.