U.S. President Donald Trump was impeached by the house of representatives on 19th December 2019 becoming only the third U.S. president in history to be impeached.
Trump was impeached on charges connected with abuse of power in his dealings with Ukraine as well as obstruction of Congress.
He is the third president to be impeached though none have ever been found guilty. President Bill Clinton was the last president to be impeached.
Andrew Johnson was impeached in 1868. Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 before he could be impeached for the Watergate scandal.
Investors expect the Republican-controlled Senate to acquit President Trump, following Wednesday’s vote by House Democrats to impeach him.
Has this adversely affected U.S. markets?
No, it hasn’t – in fact, U.S. markets have remained buoyant – reaching all time new highs.
Investors unperturbed
Investors have virtually ignored what’s going on in Congress. They look at the economy, profits and trade. If they thought the president was in serious trouble for one minute – they would likely sit-up and take more notice. The Senate still has to vote and this vote appears to be held up.
It is suggested the Republican controlled Senate will vote against his impeachment – imagine the chaos if they did though?
Markets stride
U.S. markets are taking all this in their stride backed by recent economic events. There has been a recent array of good news coming from the U.S. economy.
- Fed lowered interest rates 3 times in almost as many months since August 2019
- A recent development in the U.S – China phase one deal (yet to be signed)
- Improved GDP figures
- Improved consumer confidence
- The new trade agreement replacing NAFTA
- Record breaking highs across multiple U.S. markets including the: Dow, Nasdaq & S&P 500
- Low unemployment – high employment and higher pay
Short memory
And to think just a few short months ago the economic news was full of the fears of global slowdown, a looming U.S. recession and inverted yield curves. Where did all that bad news go?
Can it really remain this good for much longer?