Why do foreigners, including Indians, who are critiquing US govt, keep pouring money into America? Much of it has to do with AI. And Americans’ spending habits now rely heavily on sentiment of strangers
When it comes to US, investors the world over now love to ‘Bash All Day, Buy All Night’. Travelling recently across Asia, Europe and West Asia, I was struck by the rising intensity of complaints about America under Trump, from its tariffs to designs on Greenland and apparent disregard for the old global order. Polls show the same erosion, with favourable opinions of US plummeting worldwide.
Then I got back to New York, looked at the numbers and saw that, even as opinions of US plunge, the money is flowing in like never before. Last year foreigners poured around $1.6tn into US financial assets, including nearly $700bn into stocks, both new records and significantly higher than the levels of recent years. The story is much the same for US corporate bonds, with foreign purchases up sharply.
Then I got back to New York, looked at the numbers and saw that, even as opinions of US plunge, the money is flowing in like never before. Last year foreigners poured around $1.6tn into US financial assets, including nearly $700bn into stocks, both new records and significantly higher than the levels of recent years. The story is much the same for US corporate bonds, with foreign purchases up sharply.