What followed over the next 8 years was one of the most successful economic periods in American history.
- 20 million new jobs created
- Inflation dropped from 13.5% in 1980 to 4.1% in 1988
- Unemployment fell from 7.6% to 5.5%
- Net worth of average earning families grew by 27%
- Real gross national product rose 26%
- Interest rates down from 21.5% in 1980 to 10% in 1988
You know when a period of economic success has taken place when they name it after the leader and the term Reaganism economic policy is now embedded into American political history. It is true that Reagan held a degree in Economics but Donald Trump’s personal economic record is not too shabby either.
I have a feeling that Trump would be fired up to prove the world wrong and would want to make America great again. The American and world economy would be something he would take on as a personal challenge to establish his own place in history and he does seem to have the Midas touch.
How a President Trump would affect Europe is anyone’s guess. Hopefully he would listen to his advisers and not continue to poke his nose into the affairs of Europe. Criticising Merkel and other European leaders is not something that will build relationships and let us hope that the comments he is making about European policies on immigration, for example, are just his own electioneering.
What is needed is something to give the markets a boost. Shares have continued to spiral downwards over a prolonged period and the price of Oil is continuing to float around the $30 a barrel price – though whether this is due to the normal supply and demand factors or whether it is due to the USA controlling the price by flooding the market for their own political reasons is another question.
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Juicy lottery-sized sums are being offered to savers to tempt them out of gold-plated workplace 
Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on 15 September 2008. With $639 billion in assets and $619 billion in debt. Their bankruptcy filing was the largest in history and prompted an immediate fall in the FTSE 100 of 4%. It was the beginning of a slump that by Christmas of 2008 had resulted in 23% being wiped off the value of Britain’s top 100 companies. As a stock market crash, it ranks alongside the dotcom bubble and the shock of 1987. However, while living standards have flat-lined since that date, the stock market revival has been spectacular. Many investors were, however, spooked by the financial crisis of 2008 and liquidated their investment portfolios. Unfortunately as shown below – they lost out on the bull run of the next 10 years.