Bloomberg Daybreak Asia: Tokyo Inflation Beats (Podcast)

For much of 2025, the dominant narrative among economists, market strategists, and Wall Street commentators was straightforward and gloomy. Trade shocks would slow growth. Immigration crackdowns would tighten labor markets. Tariffs would reignite inflation. A recession, many said, was not a matter of if, but when. That story has not played out. Instead, the U. S. economy continues to outperform expectations and outpace other developed nations. Growth has persisted even as consumer confidence has fallen, the labor market has cooled, and trade policy uncertainty has lingered. For investors, this disconnect between sentiment and reality is not just interesting. It is actionable. At the.