President Trump is in Vietnam, his fourth country on his whirlwind Asia tour to promote trade and global safety.  There is unanimous agreement on the latter, particularly when it comes to the increasing menacing threat of North Korea.  But tough talk will have to be followed with tough negotiations to tilt the trade balance back toward America.

The four nations visited thus far have a collective $475 billion trade deficit with the United States, which has helped them bring millions of their citizens into the global middle class.  That global move became parabolic after China was admitted into the World Trade Organization in 2001. 

Those additional members of the global middle-class drive demand for American products and now create a quandary.  It’s now estimated the global middle class outside North America will grow exponentially with Asia Pacific up 150% from 2015 to 2030 while North America is expected to increase less than 6.0%.

The markets are down as investors continue to assess the Senate’s tax reform proposal and concerns mount on whether the GOP will be able to get a bill passed.  On the S&P, the Energy, Health Care and Utility sectors are lagging. Decliners are leading advancers 1581/1264 on the NYSE.  However, on the Nasdaq, which is

Have a great weekend.