Here’s an excerpt of the conversation:
Andrea Heng (host):
Abel, how will this second Trump presidency affect the money that’s in our bank accounts and in our investment portfolios?
Abel Lim, head of wealth management advisory and strategy at UOB:
Tariffs (are) inflationary in nature. It makes the cost of imports higher, which means … the cost of Chinese goods and external imports (will increase) and consumers in the United States will have to pay the additional percentages which is being applied. That introduces inflation.
That said, we expect Federal fund target rate to reach about 4 per cent for the first half of this year, which also means that our three month SORA projection to be about 2.41 per cent. That is going to translate to higher interest rates, so higher borrowing costs, which is going to impact both individuals and corporations alike.
