How the US is moving beyond Trump's negative headlines

Investment spending has picked up

President Donald Trump continues to dominate the global news agenda. But behind the headlines of trade wars with China and global allies, the US economy is growing at a fair clip and companies have delivered strong earnings growth so far this year.

The question is can it last? We think this cycle has further to run, but there are signs of late cycle trends we need to be watchful of. One such sign is the dramatic increase in the oil price, due to supply and demand imbalances. If we look at history, oil price surges often occur at turning points in the economy. In the case of the US, higher fuel prices could weigh on consumers, as well as increasing the running costs of industry.  Investment Conundrums: Close Brothers AM's Nancy Curtin on the power of forward guidance But higher oil prices are good news for energy producers ...