Earnings could soothe investor worries

LAST week, stocks swung wildly up and down as investors tried to gauge whether bellicose rhetoric between the US and China was the start of a trade war or a prelude to a major trade deal, a dynamic that could persist unless and until a deal emerges.

The only thing that could stave off further volatility this week would be a blockbuster start to earnings season from JPMorgan Chase and other banks.

Last Monday, global markets tumbled after China fired back at the Trump administration, vowing to levy tariffs on US$50 billion of US imports, including soybeans - a cornerstone of the economy in many of the Midwestern states that v…