The David Lin Report Worst Stock Market Vs. World Since '95; Where Should Investors Go? | Robin Brooks
Feb 23, 2026
Robin Brooks, Senior Fellow at Brookings and former IMF economist, offers a global macro tour. He argues foreign flows disprove a broad 'sell America' trend. He highlights opportunities in emerging markets and commodities. He discusses gold demand, reserve manager behavior, China’s EV exports, and a bleak near-term outlook for the Ukraine war.
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Foreign Flows Show No Sell America Trend
- Foreign purchases of US long-term assets are at record highs, so there is no broad "sell America" trend.
- Robin Brooks points to record flows into equities, agency debt, mortgage-backed securities, and corporate debt as evidence of continued foreign demand.
Emerging Markets Benefit From Institutional Erosion
- Emerging markets look attractive because institutional quality differences versus G10 are eroding and the dollar is expected to fall.
- Brooks names Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, and South Korea as likely outperformers and highlights a run into precious metals and safe-haven currencies.
Gold Rally Driven By Retail Safe-Haven Demand
- The gold rally is mainly retail-driven rather than central-bank driven, despite overlapping charts of price and reserve shares.
- Brooks notes IMF data shows central bank gold volumes rising steadily but not chasing price, so retail safe-haven demand is key.