As 2020 and the Year of the Rat begin, we take one last look at the year that was. Whether Washington or Tokyo, consumers and investors took note as U.S. President Donald Trump continued his disruptive approach to diplomacy and pushed back on China trade practices in 2019.
At year's end, the on-again-off-again U.S.-China trade war had sent U.S. equity markets on a volatile ride to record levels. If on nothing else, Trump has united partisan Washington on the need to rebalance the U.S.-China economic relationship. How that relationship evolves in the new year will surely impact Japan as well as Main Street America and the 2020 U.S. presidential elections.
So, who was up and who was down in the Info-Pacific region in 2019? Here's our assessment: