Media Appearances

Studies Find that Masks Work
Power Line Blog
Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Donald Luskin, one of my favorite analysts going back to the days when he regularly debunked Paul Krugman, has studied the effectiveness of wearing masks (as opposed to mask mandates) in preventing infections. He employed the same basic methodology he uses to dispute the effectiveness of lockdowns.

Luskin found strong evidence that, unlike lockdowns, masks are effective. You can listen to his nuanced explanation (about 7 minutes) here.

Stephanie Link & Don Luskin Interview
The Larry Kudlow Show WABC
Saturday, March 13, 2021

Larry Kudlow leads the discussion with Chief Investment Strategist, Stephanie Link and Trend Macro CIO, Don Luskin.

Oh, No, the Labor Market Is Recovering
Wall Street Journal
Friday, March 5, 2021

The hiring pace should escalate in March as the great national reopening continues. Investment adviser Donald Luskin notes that his social-distancing index, which tracks cellphone data, improved sharply after the week in February when the Bureau of Labor Statistics takes its jobs sample.

Reopening schools will liberate the economy
Kudlow
Friday, March 5, 2021

TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin discusses COVID lockdowns, stimulus payments and inflation concerns.

Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street
Fox Business
Friday, February 26, 2021
After Covid-19
Wall Street Journal
Monday, December 14, 2020

“Do We Need More Stimulus?,” asks Donald Luskin of TrendMacrolytics in an investment research note today. Mr. Luskin writes:

"In client calls this week, we’re hearing a strong consensus that the economy is in a sustainable V-shaped recovery, and that 2021 will be a very good year. We’re not going to say this consensus is wrong. Indeed, it’s what we were nearly alone in predicting all the way back in March and April... Will there be short-term setbacks? Of course, and the formation of a consensus is what usually provokes one... If anything, our biggest difference from the optimistic consensus is that we’re now thinking past recovery to expansion, and we don’t see it as a stretch that 2021 could be a downright boom."

A downright boom? Mr. Luskin continues making his case:

"US households have accumulated $2.5 trillion in personal savings this year, unable or too cautious to spend the prior stimulus money. That’s a moneybomb of pent-up demand equal to 11.8% of GDP, and it will detonate next year when the “third wave” of Covid-19 tops out and 50 million inoculations with the new vaccine are administered through January."

Forget the Debates, Hack the Election
The Power and Market Report
Monday, October 26, 2020

How might strategic election litigation impact #stockmarketinvesting? @DonLuskin joins me to discuss.

Were the shut downs worth it and how do we finally reopen the country?
Vator/HP Healthcare in Politics
Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Donald Luskin, Chief Investment Officer at TrendMacro, recited stats that he said showed that states that did shut downs didn't have outcomes any better than those that stayed open.

"My contribution to helping with policies is to try to show you some evidence of the policies that we, and everyone else in the world, have tried so far have been an utter failure. And we had I'm sure the best of intentions going in but you know what they say about the path to hell," he said.

"Now I know this is gonna be very, very hard for you to believe because from first principles if you have an infectious disease, I admit it makes all the sense in the world to try to isolate people from each other in order to prevent them from spreading it. But it turns out to not be that way. And, by the way, we all have a big investment in having done this and it would be very embarrassing if we caused the depression for nothing but that is what the backward looking empirical evidence tells you," he said.

Amazon Wrecks Narrative About Lockdowns Being Necessary
RealClear Markets
Tuesday, October 6, 2020

A series of studies – a July 21, 2020 research paper in The Lancet and in August 2020, National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 27719 and a TrendMacro statistical analysis – have made the case that the lockdowns have been ineffective against the coronavirus.

Signs of Optimism for Texas
Texas Banking Daily
Thursday, September 24, 2020

In a discussion on the national economy pre-and post-COVID-19, Kudlow was interviewed by Donald Luskin, chief investment officer for Dallas-based TrendMacro.

Even as a volatile political environment contributes to uncertainty, Kudlow said the nation is seeing solid recovery signs – positive numbers in housing, retail, automobile sales, manufacturing and unemployment. The V-shaped recovery, Kudlow said, is “self-sustaining and will carry us to better than 20% growth in the third and fourth quarters.”

Kudlow said the Texas economy is in far better shape than other states. “Texas will come out of this pandemic as strong as ever – maybe even stronger – thanks to its pro-business and pro-entrepreneurial attitude,” that he added is “attracting people from all over the country.”

The power of incumbency: How Trump is using the Oval Office to win reelection
The Hill
Thursday, September 24, 2020

Trump fans are hoping for a replay of the 2016 shocker, with the president running up an Electoral College win in spite of worrisome polls. They could prove correct for this reason: the enormous power of incumbency, a force that today’s pundits tend to minimize. A power that, according to Don Luskin of Trend Macrolytics, grants an incumbent president 81 of the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win reelection...

Luskin’s TrendMacrolytics election model predicted Trump’s victory in 2016, and, applied retroactively, has correctly called every election since 1952. The purely quantitative model uses no polling data but instead relies on political and economic variables.   

Commenting on the 1.4 million jobs gained in August, Luskin wrote, “This datapoint gives Trump 53 additional electoral college votes in our quantitative election model, which now forecasts he will win by a margin of 355.” 

Game Time 2020
American Greatness
Monday, September 7, 2020

Scoot on over to Trend Macrolytics which has correctly predicted the victor in the Electoral College in the past 17 presidential election cycles (1952-2016). An updated analysis has flipped over the last six weeks to show Trump now winning definitively in the Electoral College, 410 electoral votes to 128 electoral votes. Do I think Trump will break 400 electoral votes? Probably not. But the only thing that Trend has gotten wrong since 1952 is the margin of victory. It has always correctly predicted the ultimate winner. 

Donald Luskin says locking down US economy did not contain spread of COVID-19
Fox News Wall Street Journal Editorial Report
Saturday, September 5, 2020

Economy slowly recovers as businesses navigate complicated reopening process; TrendMacro chief investment officer Donald Luskin weighs in.

The Jobs of August
Wall Street Journal
Friday, September 4, 2020

Friday’s blowout jobs report for August reveals a labor market and economy that continue to recover in encouraging fashion... The recovery after the 2008-2009 recession took three years to make this much progress, and the jobless rate was still 8.1% in August 2012...

Our contributor Donald Luskin notes that the number of Americans receiving Social Security disability payments is 9.8 million, one million fewer than in August 2012.

How effective was the coronavirus lockdown?
Fox Business Wall Street Journal At Large
Friday, September 4, 2020

Trendmacro CEO Donald Luskin says his research has shown there is no correlation between the degree states locked down to the controlling coronavirus or deaths from coronavirus.

Data expert Donald Luskin explains how the COVID lockdowns have failed
KUSI News
Thursday, September 3, 2020

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – Economic lockdowns were the government’s answer to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were told it would be short period of time to get through it.

Chief Investment Officer of the analytics firm “TrendMacro,” Donald Luskin, wrote an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal titled, “The Failed Experiment of COVID Lockdowns” to detail why he believes they did not work.

Luskin started the piece writing, “the results are in. Counterintuitive though it may be, statistical analysis shows that locking down the economy didn’t contain the disease’s spread and reopening it didn’t unleash a second wave of infections.”

Luskin explained that the period of time with the strictest lockdowns didn’t result in a reduction of spread whatsoever. Luskin wrote, “Measuring from the start of the year to each state’s point of maximum lockdown—which range from April 5 to April 18—it turns out that lockdowns correlated with a greater spread of the virus. States with longer, stricter lockdowns also had larger Covid outbreaks. The five places with the harshest lockdowns—the District of Columbia, New York, Michigan, New Jersey and Massachusetts—had the heaviest caseloads.”

Luskin joined KUSI’s Paul Rudy on Good Morning San Diego to discuss his article in depth.

Donald Luskin on the Dan Proft Show
Salem Radio
Thursday, September 3, 2020
Biden’s corporate tax plans could have 12% hit to S&P 500 market cap
Fox Business
Tuesday, August 18, 2020

TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin adds his perspective on how a Biden administration could impact the economy and markets, the difference between being rich and being wealthy and a proposed California wealth tax.

Maybe Voters Don’t Like Violence After All
Wall Street Journal
Thursday, July 30, 2020

What Happened to Non-Covid Care? Don Luskin of TrendMacrolytics writes today in a note to clients:

"The single worst contributor to the worst quarter in the history of US GDP was health care services. It contracted less than some other sectors, but it is such a large share of overall GDP it has an outsized impact. Hospitals and clinics were shut to everyone but Covid-2019 patients, so standard treatments, tests and screenings could not take place. The capacity needed for Covid patients was wildly overestimated, which itself is good news. But there is both an economic and public health cost to denying health care to other patients."

The Lockdown’s Destruction
Wall Street Journal
Thursday, July 30, 2020

Consumer spending fell 34.6% and accounted for some 25 percentage points of the GDP decline. ...the biggest surprise was the plunge in health-care spending during a health-care crisis. Health care represents about 12% of the U.S. economy and its collapse subtracted 9.5 percentage points from GDP.

How does that happen in a pandemic? The answer, as our friend Don Luskin points out, is that politicians panicked in March and waited for a surge of Covid-19 patients that the pandemic modelers told them would arrive. Blessedly, the modelers were wrong, and far fewer hospital and intensive-care beds were needed. But the economic harm from stopping all elective surgeries and barring visits to doctors was severe and unnecessary.

It was also a terrible public-health blunder. That harm will play out for years as Americans discover cancer, heart-disease and other diagnoses that were missed or delayed.

This Time It Is Different, or This Time Is It the Same?
Sprott Natural Resource Symposium
Thursday, July 23, 2020
Albert Lu Interviews Donald Luskin
Sprott Natural Resource Symposium
Thursday, July 23, 2020
You Can’t Sell Capitalism to Young People Anymore.
Medium
Friday, June 26, 2020

On their business network, FOX brought on Donald Luskin to provide a take on this new information, and he certainly delivered, stating that:

“…I guess I’m one of those people who plans never to retire. I mean, is bowling that interesting? Is fishing that interesting? I happen to love my work. Why do I want to stop it? It’s not like it hurts. Why would I stop it? This is great. What a great country where we have the opportunity to keep working. What a miracle where our lives are long enough and we’re healthy enough and mentally alert enough so we don’t have to retire like generations before us. This is a great blessing. You should embrace it.”

Donald Luskin, if I’m being honest, deserves some credit. It’s actually incredible how someone could encompass every single thing people hate about capitalism, and fit it in to such a small number of sentences.

Ready for the American Rebound
Wall Street Journal
Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Writing from Dallas this week, Don Luskin of Trend Macrolytics reports: “Joy and renewal are palpably in the air. We wish all our clients and friends the patience and good health to endure what we hope are the final throes of the Covid-19 crisis, and the resiliency to enjoy a speedy re-opening.”

He adds that as economies reopen, “The early adopters will be the healthy young, who have probably chafed the most under the boring and repressive rigors of lockdown, and who – it is now becoming known – are largely invulnerable to Covid-2019 anyway.” Mr. Luskin predicts: "FOCI (fear of Covid infection) will be replaced by FOMO (fear of missing out)."

Readers have by now learned to be skeptical of predictions about the virus, but are no doubt hoping Mr. Luskin is right on target.

Death Takes a Holiday
Wall Street Journal
Monday, April 13, 2020

The investment strategists at Trend Macrolytics have begun sending their clients “a daily reality-check” of the influential model from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). “Even the most recently updated versions of it continue to over-estimate new fatalities,” says Trend Macrolytics today.

The Finance 202: The coronavirus economy is already hurting Trump's reelection chances, economists say
Washington Post
Thursday, April 9, 2020

A model assembled by Trend Macrolytics — using six measures of macroeconomic and personal financial wellbeing to predict every winner in presidential elections dating back to 1952 — still predicts a Trump victory by a wide margin.

Donald Luskin, the firm’s chief investment officer, notes the model has only incorporated two variables that updated recently, oil prices and payrolls, and those “have basically been a push.” 

But that will likely change if a recession persists deeper into the calendar this year. “It’s just a race to see how quickly we can end this man-made recession and put people back to work,” Luskin says.

Until that picture becomes clearer, he says forecasters should operate with a healthy dose of humility. “The nature of the emergency itself brings up issues of personal safety and gets people’s minds operating in ways that are unusual,” he says. “I have no idea how exogenous factors the model can’t account for could influence the election. I’d be a fool not to admit those uncertainties.”

Expert Gives Tips On How To Protect Your Finances During The Coronavirus Pandemic
Daily Caller
Sunday, March 29, 2020

Donald Luskin, chief investment officer for Trend Macrolytics LLC, gave his opinion on many of the questions some people have about protecting their finances during the coronavirus pandemic, in an interview with the Daily Caller.

Luskin goes over what you should do with your 401(k)s, what would be a good investment, and the winners and losers during the coronavirus pandemic. 

“There have been many panics of different kinds that have happened, and when panics happen, that’s when chaos happens, that’s when unknowns happen, you don’t know how bad it could get. When that happens, risky assets like stocks have to sell at a cheap price so that only the bravest will hold them,” Luskin said.

No Buybacks for Companies Getting U.S. Aid
Wall Street Journal
Friday, March 27, 2020

Regarding Donald L. Luskin and Chris Hynes’s “Worst Coronavirus Idea: A Ban on Share Buybacks” (op-ed, March 23): The issue facing legislators isn’t whether to forever ban share buybacks by companies receiving federal aid, but whether to impose such a ban for a limited period, say two years. The authors don’t address this question, and their obvious points completely miss the uniqueness and urgency of the moment. I am in favor of such a ban...

Will Democrats block coronavirus stimulus?
Fox Business
Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Economist Don Luskin discusses the coronavirus outbreak and whether it has been overly politicized.

China’s live animal market are dangerous breeding grounds: Donald Luskin
Fox Business
Monday, February 24, 2020

Economist Donald Luskin explains why China's open animal markets are breeding grounds for contagious diseases such as the coronavirus.

Doctor on coronavirus: ‘We are more prepared’ than we were for SARS outbreak
Fox Business
Friday, January 24, 2020

The Mount Sinai Hospital director of Infection Prevention and Control Waleed Javaid, M.D., discusses the coronavirus and why he is not worried about the outbreak. Then, TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin discusses the economic perspective.

Phase 1 is a global economic win: Donald Luskin
Fox Business
Friday, January 17, 2020

TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin discusses the liberal media's decision to prioritize President Trump's impeachment trial over phase one of the U.S.-China trade deal and the USMCA.

Low-, middle-income Americans had higher income gains over past year: Economist
Fox Business
Friday, January 10, 2020

TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin discusses how those with lower incomes have witnessed higher income gains under the Trump administration.

Iran no longer has global oil stranglehold, US does: Donald Luskin
Fox Business
Friday, January 3, 2020

TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin says the U.S. shouldn't worry about oil production or the economy after an airstrike struck and killed Iranian top general Qassem Soleimani.

Will new Democratic contenders complicate primaries?
Fox Business
Friday, November 15, 2019

TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin believes the new contenders entering the 2020 Democratic presidential race are actually 'weakening' the party.

Stock market wants to see Trump reelected, despite China tariffs: Expert
Fox Business
Friday, November 8, 2019

TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin discusses the impeachment inquiry and provides logistics on the China tariffs and the hype surrounding them.

Warren, Gates continue to clash on wealth tax
Fox Business
Thursday, November 7, 2019

Economist Donald Luskin weighs in on Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and her potential wealth tax.

Business are leaving California, possibly due to high taxes
Fox Business
Friday, November 1, 2019

As President Trump announces he will leave New York for Florida, TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin discusses a ‘mass exodus’ from blue states, like California and New York.

Is a wealth tax 'un-American'?
Fox Business
Thursday, October 31, 2019

Economist Donald Luskin explains why he believes the wealth tax proposals of Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are unconstitutional.

Economy is doing well, CIO says
Fox Business
Friday, October 25, 2019

TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin discusses the strength of the U.S. economy, despite differing opinions.

Don't like China? Stop doing business with them, CIO says
Fox Business
Thursday, October 17, 2019

TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin emphasizes how the individual is more important than the collective when discussing big businesses and China.

Economists project Trump will win easily in 2020 — and by a bigger margin
Washington Post
Thursday, October 17, 2019

Another model, assembled by Trend Macrolytics, accurately predicts every presidential victor back to 1952 by focusing on the effects of the economy and incumbency on the electoral college, according to Donald Luskin, the firm’s chief investment officer. It projects Trump will win reelection next year with 354 electoral votes — a margin that seems staggering on its face. “To get something that high, you have to go back to Ronald Reagan, and that may not be possible in the red-blue world we live in now,” Luskin tells me. 

The model stakes first-term incumbents with a heavy advantage. (That edge curdles into a disadvantage for candidates running to extend their party’s hold on the White House into a third or fourth term. See: George H.W. Bush in 1992 or Al Gore in 2000.) And then it factors in six economic indicators, including oil prices, personal income, inflation and tax burdens. 

One seemingly important measure the model doesn’t include: The president’s approval rating. Luskin says it actually doesn’t carry much predictive power. And besides, Trump’s remains in the middle of the pack for presidents around the 1,000-day mark in their first term.

Of his own model’s projection, Luskin says “it is directionally correct, and I’m willing to put real money that Trump is going to be reelected, assuming all the model inputs are the same as they are today.” But he adds that “you and I and Mark Zandi should take a humility pill here. We still live in a world of imponderables, and these are very rough navigation tools.”

Trump's pressure on China may have worked
Fox Business
Friday, October 11, 2019

Wells Fargo Senior Economist Mark Vitner and TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin discuss President Trump's progress on trade.

'It's China - not Goldman Sachs': Donald Luskin
Fox Business
Friday, October 4, 2019

Trendmacro CIO Donald Luskin discusses the record-low unemployment rate, the Federal Reserve and the 2020 election.

2020 Dems propose climate policies but how will we pay for them?
Fox Business
Friday, September 20, 2019

TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin joins FOX Business to discuss 2020 Democrats’ plans to pay for proposed for climate change

Trump is pushing China to a point of crisis
Fox Business
Friday, September 13, 2019

TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin reacts to the August jobs report and the U.S.-China trade dispute.

Pete Buttigieg says the economy wasn’t working for most Americans under Obama
Fox Business
Friday, August 30, 2019

TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin reacts to 2020 Democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg’s comments about the economy under Barack Obama.

US pushing China to the edge of chaos: TrendMacro CIO
Fox Business
Monday, August 26, 2019

 TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin discusses how China is hurting from President Trump’s tariffs.

Trump touts economic success during rally in New Hampshire
Fox Business
Friday, August 16, 2019

TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin and Fox News contributor Bill McGurn discusses the strength of the U.S. economy and the concerns over a global recession.

Trump’s new tariffs threw China into a currency crisis
Fox Business
Tuesday, August 13, 2019

TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin discusses the ongoing U.S.-China tariff war and why he is critical of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

Democrats show division on impeachment proceedings
Fox Business
Friday, August 9, 2019

TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin says the Democrats’ impeachment proceedings is to harass a president they disagree with and do not like.

Trump’s Tariffs Could Blot Out Positive Economic Story
Associated Press
Wednesday, August 7, 2019

An economic model developed by investor Donald Luskin suggests that Trump would receive 340 electoral votes, significantly more than the 270 needed to win the presidency.

But he cautioned that the new tariffs presented an “unlikely but credible nightmare scenario” in which China spiraled into a recession. That could then lead to a downturn in the United States and erode the president’s relative strength on the economy.

“It’s not that we can’t take China down,” Luskin said. “It’s that we can’t take China down without taking ourselves down.”

Trump accuses China of ‘currency manipulation’
Fox Business
Monday, August 5, 2019

Economist Donald Luskin discusses how the Treasury Department declared China as a currency manipulator.

American Fountainhead: Business Hero Steve Jobs
Capitalism Magazine
Thursday, August 1, 2019

An excerpt from Donald Donald and Andrew Greta’s I am John Galt: Today’s Heroic Innovators Building the World and the Villainous Parasites Destroying It (Wiley). Note the last two paragraphs refer to his death. When the book was written, that event was still in the future.

Sanders’ Medicare-for-all plan will more than double the federal budget: TrendMacro CIO
Fox Business
Friday, July 19, 2019

TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin on the cost of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) Medicare-for-all plan.

America's 'knowledge economy' causing the sense of entitlement?
Fox Business
Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Trend Macro Chief Investment Officer Donald Luskin on the economic factors that lead to young people having a sense of entitlement and the state of the markets.

Fox Business Guest Spins Poll About Not Affording Retirement In Worst Possible Way
Huffington Post
Tuesday, July 9, 2019

On Monday’s broadcast of “Making Money with Charles Payne,” Trend Macrolytics’ chief investment officer Donald Luskin said working forever and not retiring “doesn’t worry me personally.” In fact, he described having to work until death “as a great blessing.”

Payne asked Luskin about the people who want to retire, but can’t afford to do so. 

Luskin acknowledged it is “a problem,” but said questions had to be asked.

“Were you the profligate grasshopper instead of the ant who saved up? I mean, were you just messing around when you were a kid and you didn’t contribute enough to your 401k, or did the economy just fail to provide a job for you, it’s hard to know,” he added.

Fox Business Guest Spins Poll Showing 23% Expect To Never Retire: 'Great County Where We Have The Opportunity To Keep Working'
Newsweek
Monday, July 8, 2019

"Let's ask Trend Macrolytics CIO Donald Luskin," Payne continued, introducing the guest onto the show. "These kinds of polls are always around. Bank rate does some things, other folks. It is always alarming, 32 percent say they will retire before age 65, which might be unrealistic but 23 percent say never. Is that worrisome for you, Donald?"

"Doesn't worry me personally," Luskin responded. "I guess I'm one of those people who plans never to retire."

The 65-year-old Chief Investment Officer appear to then criticize the notion of retirement, before enthusiastically praising America for allowing its citizens to work until they die.

Fox Guest: ‘Great Blessing’ and ‘Miracle’ That Millions of Americans Expect to Never Retire
Daily Beast
Monday, July 8, 2019

According to one Fox Business Network guest, being forced to work until the day you die should be seen as a “great blessing.”

Appearing on Making Money with Charles Payne on Monday, Trend Macrolytics chief investment officer Donald Luskin was asked by host Charles Payne to react to a recent poll that shows 23 percent of Americans believe they are never going to retire. The survey also found that another quarter of workers believe they won’t be able to retire until after they’re 65 years old.

“Is that worrisome for you, Donald?” Payne questioned the frequent Fox guest.

“Doesn’t worry me personally,” Luskin replied. “I guess I’m one of those people who plans never to retire.”

The way the consulting firm executive sees it, spending your twilight years enjoying leisure activities is boring.

Too broke to retire? Fox Business guest says working into old age is a ‘blessing’
MarketWatch
Monday, July 8, 2019

In a chat with Fox Business Network, Luskin went on to blow off the very idea of retiring and heap praise on the notion of endlessly working.

“What do people do when they retire? You know, how do you spend a day?” he said. “I mean, is bowling that interesting? Is fishing that interesting?”

Luskin says he loves his job. “Why do I want to stop it? It’s not like it hurts.” He’s lucky in that way. Not everybody, of course, wants to work until the grave, yet a growing number of Americans feel they’re left with not choice.

About one-third of older adults feel unprepared, while 56% of younger adults say they don’t feel prepared for retirement, according to the poll.

“It is part of your destiny to be productive and to work,” Luskin said, acknowledging that this concept means different things to different people.

Bernie Sanders' plan to cancel student loan debt by taxing stock transactions
Fox Business
Monday, June 24, 2019

TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin on the potential impact of Sen. Bernie Sanders' plan to tax stock transactions in order to cancel out student loan debt.

Is China Finally Ready to Deal with Trump?
Wall Street Journal
Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Prior to Mr. Xi’s agreement this morning to meet with Mr. Trump next week, the always interesting Donald Luskin of Trend Macrolytics had predicted that Beijing would come back to the table because of a “game changer” in the negotiations. According to Mr. Luskin, a separate Trump negotiation recently put Mr. Xi on notice that China was not going to win a tariff battle with the United States. In a Friday video, Mr. Luskin observed:

"Mexico just agreed to expend its resources to stem the flow of migrants from Central America through Mexico into the United States. In essence, Trump just delivered on the biggest, craziest campaign promise in history. He just used tariffs to get Mexico to agree to pay for the wall."

Trump’s tariffs have wiped out tax bill savings for average Americans: Report
Fox Business
Friday, June 7, 2019

Trendmacro CIO Doanld Luskin on whether President Trump is jeopardizing the tax cuts and the new NAFTA deal with the latest tariff threats on Mexico.

America needs safe, reliable borders
Fox Business
Wednesday, June 5, 2019

FOX Business’ Trish Regan, Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz and economist Donald Luskin discuss the crisis at the southern border.

Trump’s Formidable 2020 Tailwind
New York Times
Monday, May 27, 2019

It’s worth noting that the Fair model is hardly alone in its forecast. Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, has looked at 12 models, and Mr. Trump wins in all of them. Donald Luskin of Trend Macrolytics has reached the same conclusion in his examination of the Electoral College.

Is a trade deal with China off the table for 2020?
Journal Editorial Report on Fox News
Saturday, May 25, 2019

The White House acknowledges talks have taken a big step backwards. What does that mean for the U.S. economy?

China is extremely vulnerable: TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin
Fox Business
Friday, May 10, 2019

TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin on the trade negotiations between the U.S. and China.

Trump is making China great again: TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin
Fox Business
Monday, May 6, 2019

S&P Global portfolio manager Erin Gibbs and TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin discuss how the U.S.-China trade war is affecting the markets.

In Trump They Trust?
Wall Street Journal
Monday, May 6, 2019

Meanwhile Donald Luskin of Trend Macrolytics generally sees the art of the deal:

"Just because we are seeing such things now does not mean the deal is falling apart. To be sure, it might mean that. Mistakes can happen. But more likely it signals the highly turbulent edge of chaos – the existential interface between “yes” and “no” – that all negotiations have to pass through before they end.

"...And at the end of the day, we can’t rule out that Trump never wanted a trade deal to begin with, but began his trade war to break China’s economy before it overtakes the world – indeed to break China itself, the way Ronald Reagan broke the Soviet Union... But remember the fundamental truth here. Trump wants you to worry about just that kind of possibility. He wants you to think he’s crazy. He wants to you to fear him. Because if you aren’t afraid of him, Xi Jinping won’t be either. And if Xi isn’t afraid, he has absolutely no reason to give a millimeter on trade."

If stoking alarm among the advocates of open markets is part of the plan here, Mr. Trump’s mission is accomplished.

Has the Recession Been Cancelled?
Wall Street Journal
Friday, April 26, 2019

Let’s not go overboard. As Don Luskin of Trend Macrolytics points out, beneath today’s headline GDP number, growth in consumer spending and business investment was not as strong as we’d like. But overall the economy continues to show a remarkable vitality that has been especially surprising to the Democratic economic establishment.

Stephen Moore, Herman Cain: Too political for the Federal Reserve?
Fox Business
Friday, April 12, 2019

TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin on President Trump’s Federal Reserve picks and whether earnings will continue to propel the stock market higher.

Global recession possible if US, China can't play nice: TrendMacro CIO
Fox Business
Friday, March 29, 2019

TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin said that the trade talks between the world's two largest economies are vital to the global economy.  "This is simply the biggest negotiation that's ever happened in the history of the world," he told FOX Business' Liz MacDonald on "The Evening Edit"Opens a New Window. on Thursday. "They have to figure out how to play well together or there will be a global depression." He also praised Trump for what he described  as a unique negotiationing style. "What is so special about Trump as a negotiator is that he keeps you guessing," he said. "He tricks you into negotiating against yourself.”

Trump’s tariffs may push China into a recession: TrendMacro CIO
Fox Business
Thursday, March 28, 2019

TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin on the Trump administration’s push to make a trade deal with China.

Trump will win in 2020 if US economy remains strong: Donald Luskin
Fox Business
Thursday, March 21, 2019

Trend Macrolytics CIO Donald Luskin says President Trump will win in 2020, as long as the U.S. economy remains strong.

Economic models indicate Trump on track to win re-election in 'landslide': report
Fox
Thursday, March 21, 2019

“The economy is just so damn strong right now and by all historic precedent the incumbent should run away with it,” Donald Luskin, the chief investment officer of TrendMacrolytics, a research firm that predicted Trump’s 2016 win, told Politico. “I just don’t see how the blue wall could resist all that.”

...Still, the economy is generally seen as the most important factor when it comes to how voters cast their ballot and Luskin says there would need to be a major decline in economic growth and uptick in unemployment for Trump to lose. Luskin’s current model – which tracks GDP growth, gas prices, inflation, disposable income, tax burden and payrolls – has Trump winning in a blowout with 294 electoral votes.

How Trump is on track for a 2020 landslide
Politico
Thursday, March 21, 2019

“The economy is just so damn strong right now and by all historic precedent the incumbent should run away with it,” said Donald Luskin, chief investment officer of TrendMacrolytics, a research firm whose model correctly predicted Trump’s 2016 win when most opinion polls did not. “I just don’t see how the blue wall could resist all that.”

Models maintained by economists and market strategists like Luskin tend to ignore election polls and personal characteristics of candidates. Instead, they begin with historical trends and then build in key economic data including growth rates, wages, unemployment, inflation and gas prices to predict voting behavior and election outcomes.

...Still, Luskin, Fair and other analysts who use economic data and voting history to make predictions also note that a sharp decline in growth and an increase in the unemployment rate by next fall could alter Trump’s fortunes.

“It would have to slow a lot to still be not pretty good,” Luskin said, adding that what really matters is the pace of change. Even if overall numbers remain fairly strong, a sharp move in the wrong direction could alter voting behavior.

Luskin’s current model — which looks at GDP growth, gas prices, inflation, disposable income, tax burden and payrolls — has Trump winning by a blowout margin of 294 electoral votes.

Trump is trying to put fear into China, economist says
Fox Business
Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Economist Don Luskin discusses the U.S.-China trade negotiations and why President Trump is keeping tariffs on China in place.

Lyft IPO: Should investors steer clear?
Fox Business
Monday, March 18, 2019

TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin and Patriarch Organization CEO Eric Schiffer on whether investors should be cautious about buying Lyft and the problems surrounding the tech sector.

US to allow lawsuits against Cuban businesses amid Venezuelan crisis
Fox Business
Tuesday, March 5, 2019

TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin discusses how the U.S. is allowing citizens to sue certain Cuban businesses amid the crisis in Venezuela.

Will corporate earnings spark another market rally?
Fox Business
Monday, March 4, 2019

Raymond James chief investment strategist Jeff Saut and TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin discuss how earnings will affect the U.S. market and whether investors should be concerned about special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

What’s driving the US market?
Fox Business
Tuesday, February 19, 2019

TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin and Belpointe chief strategist David Nelson on the state of the U.S. stock market and whether people should invest in China.

US-China trade deal optimism lift stocks
Fox Business
Friday, February 15, 2019

Trendmacro CEO Donald Luskin says President Trump’s optimistic approach towards a U.S-China trade resolution is helping the markets.

US may need to form blockade off the coast of Venezuela to stop oil shipments
Fox Business
Monday, February 11, 2019

TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin discusses how Russia is helping disputed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and whether the U.S. should block the country’s oil shipments.

Venezuela’s economy needs to be restarted
Fox Business
Tuesday, February 5, 2019

TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin discusses the economic problems facing Venezuela and President Trump’s upcoming State of the Union address.

US better win this trade war with China or companies like Apple are going to be in big trouble
Fox Business
Monday, February 4, 2019

TrendMacro CEO Donald Luskin on the U.S. economic outlook and Trump administration trade negotiations with China.

How will the Fed shape the markets?
Fox Business
Monday, January 28, 2019

Investors are turning their attention to this week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting. How will the markets react? TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin and Erin Gibbs of S&P Investment Advisory Services with more.

Investing tips: Buy the dips, market expert says
Fox Business
Monday, January 28, 2019

Investors remain on edge as earnings woes raise fears over global growth. Will the markets re-test December lows? Erin Gibbs of S&P Investment Advisory Services, TrendMacro CIO Donald Luskin and Efficient Advisors CIO Larry Shover weigh in.

Trump is asking China to become a better, stronger, bigger economy
Fox Business
Monday, January 21, 2019

TrendMacro CEO Donald Luskin on U.S. trade negotiations with China and the outlook for stocks.

Democrats are the economy’s worst enemy: Economist
Fox Business
Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Economist Donald Luskin says that the Democrats are the economy’s worst enemy.

President Obama was not good for our economy: Trish Regan
Fox Business
Wednesday, December 19, 2018

FBN’s Trish Regan, TrendMacro chief investment officer Donald Luskin and former Reagan economic adviser Art Laffer discuss how former President Barack Obama tried to take credit for the booming U.S. economy.

Federal Reserve: No institution in the history of human race with a worse forecasting record, TrendMacro CEO says
Fox Business
Wednesday, December 19, 2018

TrendMacro CEO Donald Luskin on the outlook for the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes and the Fed's impact on the markets and U.S. economy.

Human Extinction: Hot Again
Wall Street Journal
Wednesday, December 19, 2018

All of this suggests that the communist who runs China has no interest in embracing freer trade with the United States. But Don Luskin of Trend Macrolytics argues that to avoid an economic calamity and resulting social unrest, Mr. Xi will have to cut a deal with the U.S. In a note to clients this week, Mr. Luskin writes that the arrest in Canada of Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Chinese telecom giant Huawei, is only adding to the pressure on Mr. Xi:

"Indeed, the greatest effect of the Meng arrest, we think, has been to elicit an outpouring of global support for the move and condemnation of China, and a catalyzing of what is developing into a global boycott of Huawei and ZTE products. With the US’s global allies having been conspicuously silent on trade issues, it would seem that there is nevertheless a great willingness to stand up and be counted on security issues.

"Since the Buenos Aires summit – falsely called in the media a mere 'truce' – the US has continued to exert every form of pressure that was in place before (indeed, added pressure through the Meng arrest), while China has laid down its arms: it has resumed buying US agricultural products, dropped retaliatory tariffs on US autos, and announced it will re-engineer its provocative – and seemingly sacrosanct – Made In China 2025 doctrine.

"So make no mistake about it – we are getting to 'yes' with a very high probability."

Let’s hope Mr. Luskin is right on China. No word yet on whether he can persuade Times contributors to stop contemplating mass suicide.

ObamaCare in limbo after judge rules the law unconstitutional
Fox Business
Monday, December 17, 2018

TrendMacro chief investment officer Donald Luskin discusses how a federal judge ruled that ObamaCare is unconstitutional, and market volatility.

Why the stock market's first reaction to the Trump-Xi trade 'cease-fire' is bullish
USA Today
Monday, December 3, 2018

While nobody on Wall Street believes the road to a broad, final trade agreement between the two nations will be easy or free of risk, the thaw in relations has boosted investors' hopes for a deal. "Negotiations over those 90 days will no doubt be rocky, but this is the all-clear signal that nobody is going to walk off a cliff," noted Donald Luskin, chief investment officer at research firm TrendMacro.

The Trade Canary
Wall Street Journal
Wednesday, November 21, 2018

The job market has been strong, and small business confidence remains high, but those tend to be lagging indicators. With the world economy showing strains, the chances of a significant U.S. growth slowdown can no longer be ruled out. We’d note that our contributor Donald Luskin, the financial adviser and long-time growth optimist, has put himself on recession watch.

Should investors be concerned about FANG stocks?
Fox Business
Thursday, October 11, 2018

Trend Macro chief investment officer Don Luskin on the possible causes to the market selloff.

Alleged Chinese spy charged with trying to steal US aviation trade secrets
Fox Business
Wednesday, October 10, 2018

Trend Macro Chief Investment Officer Donald Luskin discusses the recent market selloff and how the U.S. detained an alleged Chinese spy, who is facing charges of trying to steal trade secrets from companies including GE Aviation.

Stocks jump to record highs as US reaches trade deal with Mexico
Fox Business
Monday, August 27, 2018

Donald Luskin, chief investment officer at Trend Macro, discusses the left wing media’s attacks against the current state of the economy, how Democrats have criticized President Trump’s tax policy and the U.S., Mexico trade deal.

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