Worldwide Financial Planning

In the US, more import tariffs and concerns about the rising deficit were punctuated by a very public falling out between President Donald Trump and his largest financial backer, Elon Musk. UK domestic politics saw an even greater focus on defence spending, although the pledge by Keir Starmer to increase military spending to 3% of GDP had no timescale attached.

One of the great illusions is that money is paper, or coins, or those numbers you see on your online banking app. In reality, money is code. In a post-dollar world that’s rapidly taking shape - it’s the one who controls the software, the rails, and the rules embedded in the system which has the power.

Over the past two years, that foundation has cracked, not in one dramatic collapse, but in a quiet shift which is now gathering speed. Countries are rewriting how they trade with each other. And they’re doing it without the dollar.

A threat of an almost immediate 50% tariff on European imports was pushed back following a conversation with the European Commission president over the weekend. However, this was over-shadowed by the US courts ruling that the US president had exceeded his powers by imposing sweeping tariffs on most US imports.

Britain is no stranger to a spooked bond market but does not share Americas privileges. UK government borrowing unexpectedly climbed to £20.2bn in April, up almost 6% from last year.

The inflationary impact of tariffs has not disappeared. The rapid policy announcements have disrupted trade flows with US importers rushing orders to beat tariff deadlines before scaling them back. This is disguising any inflationary effect. But price rises appear inevitable for US consumers.