There's always plenty happening around the world, and the headlines continue to come in over time whether we're talking about the Middle East, France, Japan, or here in the US.
There's plenty to keep our eyes on.
Well, joining me this morning to weigh in is Patrick L.
Young, chairman and founder of Exchange Invest.
Patrick, good morning, good afternoon.
Thank you so much for joining us.
Well, the US and China were enjoying a fragile trade truce, but China did tighten checks on imports of chips and it also introduced tighter controls on rare earth minerals.
So take us what we saw last week and what we're seeing as we kick off a new trading week.
Everything this week has to be viewed through the lens of the Middle East.
Suddenly Trump reigns supreme.
What he's been doing actually this morning in real time is reestablishing the world order.
China, the 2nd biggest economy in the world, suddenly looks very fractious.
The opportunities are for Trump to get his rare. from elsewhere other than China.
Therefore, they're trying very, very hard to make themselves relevant in the overall global trade battle, but the difficulty is they've got the coalition of the weak.
Trump has got the coalition of the growing, and we've got India trying to bite at the heels of China to be the second largest economy.
Yeah, and Patrick, as you mentioned, we will continue to keep a close eye on what's transpiring in the Middle East, especially as Trump meets with world leaders in Egypt later today.
But zooming in on France, Macron has reappointed Leornou as Prime Minister, and this move does end days of political uncertainty over in Paris.
And it also does come as Le Corneu faces pressure to deliver a new budget to the National Assembly.
So what's going on in France?
Some people attribute to Einstein this definition of insanity as doing the same thing and expecting a different result.
That perfectly summarizes the situation of how President Macron is destroying the fifth republic in France.
And of course, I do want to ask you about Japan.
Now Sani Takaichi is trying to become Japan's first female prime minister, but a key part of her alliance is falling apart.
So give us your take on the Koto party breaking up with the LDP after 26 years.
Look, we hinted at this last week.
It's always going to be difficult when you've got a minority in Parliament.
They come to a party think that they're going to be better off for the next elections by being separate from the LDP.
They're hoping to do it as fast as possible because therefore, hopefully people will forget the course of the last generation.
But ultimately it looks like factional politics as usual in Japan.
Sooner or later Japan will get their first female prime minister.
They'll just be the usual rounds of backdoor meetings and all sorts of shenanigans before the lady in question can manage to become Prime Minister.
And Patrick, last week, Pollymarket was here at the New York Stock Exchange NYSC owner ICE investing $2 billion in polymarkets.
So what do you think this means for prediction markets?
Think about it this way.
Probably 6 out of 10 people in the world have got a view on the stock market today.
Probably 4 in 10 people on the main street of Wall Street or Main Street USA are thinking about what's happening in the bond market.
How many people are thinking right now about what's going on in the basketball plays in the baseball playoffs, the answer is probably a.
1 out of 10, if not 12 out of 10, therein lies the excitement of prediction markets.
What I have demonstrated is there's big value in that data because that can give you a huge advantage in the institutional investing market, not just in politics, not just in sports, but across the whole realm of the consumer economy.
And Patrick, finally, before I let you go, we have less than 60 seconds here, but what are you watching from today's peace gathering in Egypt?
Look, it's quite sensational.
Trump is currently on his way to Egypt.
He's now got the coalition of the Allans, the Europeans, all these people who no longer matter, and they've got to be quaking in their boots because, quite simply, Trump reigns supreme.
The Middle East is on the verge of an incredibly epic expansion of the Abraham Accords.
We have a possibility for a huge new growth zone, and that's going to put fear into Europe and also put fear into Asia because suddenly Trump has remodeled the global economy.
Well, Patrick, as always, thank you so much for joining us and thank you so much for all of your insights as well as your perspective.
