Markets Happy Hour Podcast June 5, 2025 - Biting the Hand that Feeds Us?

In this week's Markets Happy Hour Podcast we examine a week that has been a little lack luster for equities as tariff U-turns continue, the geopolitical picture remains murky and as divergence on inflation and interest rates create unexpected openings for non-US assets. We look to the potential penalties for non-US investors holding US investments that are buried in the Big Beautiful Bill and ask whether we can take non-US investor appetite for US assets for granted, and if we can take foreign students’ interest in US institutions for granted as uncertainty looms over student visa statuses. For now, this seems to be targeted on Harvard and other select Ivy League institutions, but it could have broader ramifications too. Non-US markets continue to thrive as assets flow out of the US at the margin, and as the dollar and oil remain weak, ongoing sharp rhetoric is feeding uncertainty in the US, which even the bright lights of AI can't quench. The Markets Happy Hour Podcast is a weekly check-in on market conditions and what it means for investment portfolios. Aoifinn Devitt is an advisor to family offices and institutions around investing for a richer future. She believes that understanding the market context in which we operate is a key part of navigating that future with confidence and agency.