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The Trump administration, to the surprise of few, is making headlines out of Davos. But most of the noise thus far isn't coming from President Donald Trump himself, but rather Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.
Mnuchin applauded the weakness of the US dollar during a talk in Davos on Wednesday. The dollar promptly tanked, and world leaders and investors raised their eyebrows.
Deutsche Bank macro strategist Alan Ruskin noted that if the stock market likes a weak dollar, then the White House will too.
Mnuchin attempted to walk back "the first serious economic misstep by the Trump administration," saying the short-term position of the dollar was "not a concern of mine" and denying that he was hyping a trade war.
Here's what else is happening in markets and econ news:
- The Fed's Neel Kashkari has a message for Trump: 'Robust immigration levels are vital' to the economy
- Millennials will be the richest generation ever, according to UBS - so perhaps they ought to stop complaining about the housing market
- BAML: Global markets are 'starting to get a little stretched' - here's how we're guarding against a downturn
- Wall Street thinks tax reform will give a huge boost to one crucial area of the market
- Companies are under pressure to use tax savings for pay raises - and that's bad news for two key industries
In finance, hedge fund titans are bemoaning the difficulty of making a good trade these days.
Seth Klarman, founder of $30 billion hedge fund The Baupost Group, says it's harder than ever to find good investment ideas.
Oaktree Capital's Howard Marks lamented the lack of potential returns across a wide range of asset classes. He says traders are behaving in uncharacteristic fashion as a result and 'unrealistic' investors are getting desperate. Marks isn't a fan of the shiny new GOP tax law either.
Meanwhile, Wall Street is begging Ford to be more like Tesla. The carmaker just acquired two startups that have nothing to do with cars as we know them.
Kroger is in talks with Alibaba about a potential partnership, a deal that could thwart Amazon's Whole Foods ambitions.
Big marketers like Airbnb and eBay are using Facebook to see which ads are a waste of money. CNN's $25 million bet on a YouTube star has failed.
Boutique investment bank Moelis & Co. announced its managing director promotions - here are the names.
In crypto news:
- This 19-year-old bitcoin millionaire is traveling the world recruiting an A-team to build an alternative to the 'corrupt' world of cryptocurrency
- The CEO of one of China's biggest bitcoin companies endorses just 4 cryptocurrencies and 'wouldn't touch' ICOs: 'It's just too risky'
- Robinhood dives into cryptocurrency with free bitcoin and ethereum trading
- TD Ameritrade CEO: The bitcoin market is 'certainly not mature'
Lastly, here's what rapper 50 Cent said about the $8 million he made in bitcoin: 'Ima keep it real I forgot I did that sh--'.