Trump's trade threats an ominous omen for global business

US President Donald Trump's rampaging progress through the global economy - trampling trade agreements underfoot, threatening border taxes, hinting at currency wars and generally creating mayhem - have so far left financial markets remarkably unfazed. A reason for hope, one might imagine.

But look a little closer at what is being revealed in the trampled undergrowth and any such confidence quickly evaporates. For one thing, Mr Trump has already succeeded in damaging one key component of global business - foreign direct investment (FDI) in emerging markets.

It was hardly a "shouted" headline but a report several days ago by the Institute of International Finance (IIF) in Washington noting a decline in such FDI flows - the first such drop in many, many years - came as a rude shock.