Forget the "Sell America" Trade. Here Comes "Hedge America."
The threat that foreigners could dump U.S. assets -- or "Sell America" -- has loomed over markets since President Trump returned to office last year and upended the world order.The slide in the dollar to multiyear lows is the clearest sign that foreigners are nervous about the U.S., where they have invested $36 trillion into stocks and long-term bonds. Foreign purchases of U.S. Treasurys have slowed, and some investors, like European pension funds, have turned to sellers.But U.S. stocks remain an outlier, continuing to draw money from overseas and helping indexes weather jitters related to artificial intelligence.The result is a halfhearted "Sell America" trade that reflects a desire to hedge U.S. exposure rather than eliminate it. Still, as investors across Europe and Asia dial back some U.S. investments, it is throwing into question the country's dominance in global markets -- a position that has allowed Washington to borrow more cheaply, made everyday investors rich and funded U.S.