US elections and investor expectations

A Swedbank expert warns investors about signs of a US threat

In the United States, several signs show that the country is once again going down the path of money printing to save the economy, said Meelis Maasik, senior financial markets specialist at Swedbank.

Maasik said on Äripää radio’s Monday morning program that looking at the size of the US national debt, it seems like there is “some kind of crisis in the United States, but at the same time you don’t see it because the economy is growing”.

Maasik added that the national debt of the US has grown so large that in order to service it, it seems logical to follow the same path as other countries that have printed money to maintain economic growth in order to keep interest rates lower than inflation.

According to Maasik, there are other signs of danger in the US.

Meelis Maasik was interviewed by Linda Eensaar.

Tips from a Swedbank portfolio manager on how to skim the US election

Swedbank’s portfolio manager Pertti Rahnel, who lives in Sweden, revealed where to invest depending on the US election results, and confirmed that the end of the year could be green in the US market in any case.

Rahnel himself has invested his money mainly in shares, but he recognized that last year bonds also looked very interesting, and in particular US government bonds and high-yield bonds in anticipation of interest rate cuts. Rahnel pointed out that Swedes also have a lot of faith in shares, unlike, for example, Germans and Southern Europeans.

Rahnel cautiously pointed out that the biggest influence on the stock markets is the upcoming elections, which can support different sectors or regions. According to him, the coming to power of Donald Trump could lead to an increase in the deficit compared to today’s policies, and this could lead to an increase in bond interest rates, which have also shown an increase in recent weeks.

Olavi Lepp advises the government to refrain from yoga management

In the “Hot Chair” interview, Olavi Lepp, head of Swedbank, advised the government to refrain from so-called yoga management.

According to Lepp, he heard this expression – yoga management – from a colleague. It means managing to solve one problem at a time while forgetting about all the other problems that are going on at the same time. “Now I deal only with the budget. Now for the demographics. And now with education. It can’t be like that. You should have a bigger plan,” he said.

According to Lepa, the current government has inherited a number of problems from previous governments. “This is our country. The government is dealing with the situation that it has created and that has been created by others. I hope that we will continue to hold these dialogues, which is within our means,” he said.

Business day on air: There is a solid reason to prefer a Czech license plate

The interest of people who rent-buy cars with the Czech scheme may be to hide the origin of their money or their financial status, journalists found in the “Business Day on Air” program.

According to Marge Ugezene, who brought the proceedings of the Tax Board to light, JMV Motors customers include people who have been convicted of drug crimes. “At the same time, you see that they probably shouldn’t have a lot of money. Some customers are definitely worried about what will happen now.”

According to Ugezene, JMV’s business methods are very dubious and he heard how some people have started to bring their cars to the Estonian registry, because the ongoing tax case raises a number of questions and it seems that things can turn to the detriment of the customers.

According to Karl-Eduard Salumäe, in Finland, for example, people look very fiercely when an Estonian who has moved there drives around in a car registered in Estonia. In Estonia, matters related to work cars are also monitored.

In the first half of the program, Bolt’s decision was driven by the charms and pains of the home office, as well as the recent decision of the district court, according to which the employee who left TREV-2 Group and went to Verston’s salary violated the trade secret rule. Salumäe was impressed that the employee was able to send an industrial amount of files to his personal e-mail address – as Sven Pertens said – when normally the size limits do not allow photos or videos through.

The program was attended by journalists Janno Riispapp, Karl-Eduard Salumäe and Marge Ugezene.

Raul Rebane: The fate of Georgia is a mystery to me

The country of Georgia, which held historic general elections, is at a crossroads: the Kremlin or Europe. According to Raul Rebas, only one thing explains the turn of the Georgians.

“Georgia’s fate is a mystery to me,” said communication expert Raul Rebane in the “Äripää opinion leader” program. Why has a country that aspired to Europe and waged a bloody war with Russia turned its face back to the Kremlin?

For the last decade, the country has been ruled by a political force led by the oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, which now literally threatens to put an end to democracy after the election victory.

According to Rebas, there is often no other explanation for everything than the cultural difference in Georgian society’s response to crisis situations. “When in a crisis situation, a decision is made based on the principles of freedom, state, nation, language, future and preamble, then decisions in Georgia very often seem to be related to a family, clan or group.”

According to Rebas, these elections are indeed a turning point and not only within Georgia. “That this Russian force through Ivanishvili is so strong, it is a very decisive moment right now. We are living in such a historical time: Moldova can be turned away, the war in Georgia, Ukraine is still to come — and what else can happen in Belarus. It’s like looking at a kaleidoscope.”

In the program, Rebane explained what can be expected from Georgia, why Moldovan society is so divided in its direction towards Europe, and what the next year promises in the countries between the European Union and Russia. Finally, he also discussed populism and Donald Trump.

Interviewed by Indrek Lepik.