(Note language in paragraph 13. Repeats May 30 story without
any changes.)
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Acronyms reflect volatility and uncertainty in Trump-era
markets
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Investment strategies capitalize on Trump's policies and
international goals
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Acronyms like TACO and MEGA highlight market reactions to
Trump's actions
By Stephen Culp and Suzanne McGee
NEW YORK, May 30 (Reuters) - Four months into President
Donald Trump's second term, market observers have taken a cue
from his fondness for condensing slogans into catchy acronyms
like MAGA, DOGE and MAHA, and devised a few of their own that
have been spreading across trading desks.
Even those acronyms that do not directly reflect a specific
trading strategy, still capture factors that traders say are
important in Trump-era markets, such as volatility and
uncertainty, that investors need to consider when making
decisions.
Some of the new labels are associated with investment
strategies that aimed to capitalized on Trump's economic and
trade polices, and international relations goals. Others riff
off economic implications or his abrupt U-turns as markets and
trade partners react to his proposals.
The "Trump Trade" that played on the Make America Great
Again theme in the wake of his November election victory and
January inauguration, and contributed to record highs on Wall
Street in February, is hardly discussed now that stocks, the
dollar and Treasury bonds have succumbed to worries about his
tariff polices.
"Post the election, we heard a lot about YOLO (You Only Live
Once), which seemed to promote taking outsize risks in a
concentrated investment theme," Art Hogan, strategist at B.
Riley Wealth, said.
YOLO, is an acronym used to describe the tendency that was
part of that Trump trade to chase high momentum strategies such
as cryptocurrency. "While the term YOLO was popular for a period
of time, it goes against all traditional advice," Hogan said.
Here are of few more acronyms that have gotten play in the
investment world in recent weeks:
** TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) - This one coined by a
Financial Times columnist, has been used as a way to describe
Trump's to-ing and fro-ing on tariffs in the wake of his April 2
"Liberation Day" speech. When asked about TACO in a recent press
conference, the president lashed out, calling the question
"nasty"
"Where we end up might not be too far from what he promised
on the campaign trail. So, does he always chicken out? I
wouldn't go as far as to say that," said Christian DiClementi,
fixed income portfolio manager at AllianceBernstein.
"I think that he wants to rebalance the economy without
pushing it off a cliff. And we're watching that being executed
in real time. I think some of the ideas are thought out and some
of them change on the fly."
** MEGA (Make Europe Great Again) - Mega first coined last
year to address European competitiveness, resurfaced this Spring
as a way to describe the flurry of investor interest in and
flows into European markets. MEGA hats, spoofing their MAGA
counterparts, are easily purchased online It's been revived by
investors and traders in light of the outperformance European
stocks in the immediate aftermath of Trump's "Liberation Day"
tariffs bombshell.
** MAGA (Make America Go Away) - While the original Trump
Trade was also known as the MAGA trade, this variation cribbed
the president's motto, first appearing in response to Vice
President JD Vance's brief and unfruitful visit to Greenland,
the autonomous territory of Denmark, which Trump has expressed
interest in annexing. At least one Canadian investor says that
quip is making the rounds of trading desks in Toronto and
Montreal and sparking "wishful thinking" about simply boycotting
U.S. investments.
** FAFO (Fuck Around and Find Out) - Although the acronym
also came into being well before Trump's inauguration, it is
being heard with increasing frequency in trading desk
conversations. It is used to capture the financial market's
volatility and chaos that Trump's policymaking process has
created. Mark Spindel, chief investment officer of Potomac River
Capital LLC, described the market as being caught in a "pinball
machine as a result of that policymaking process."
When reached for comment, White House spokesman Kush Desai
said in an email "these asinine acronyms convey how unserious
analysts have consistently beclowned themselves by mocking
President Trump and his agenda that've already delivered
multiple expectation-beating jobs and inflation reports,
trillions in investment commitments, a historic UK trade
agreement, and rising consumer confidence."