Episode 72: America First, Inflation Second: Trump, Power Politics, and the End of Easy Money

Welcome to the Complexity Premia podcast by Coolabah Capital, a hosted by Christopher Joye, Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager at Coolabah Capital, and Ying Yi, a Senior Portfolio Management Director at Coolabah Capital. The Complexity Premia podcast strives to deconstruct modern investment problems for wholesale (not retail) participants in capital markets. You can listen on your favourite podcast app, or you can find it on Spotify, Podbean or Apple Podcasts.

In this episode, Chris and Ying Yi assess what lies ahead for markets in 2026 as Trump’s America First doctrine reshapes global trade, geopolitics, and monetary policy. They argue that tariffs, reshoring, AI-driven capex, and unchecked fiscal spending are reviving inflation risks just as markets price complacency. From Trump’s clash with the Fed to Australia’s fiscal excesses and the RBA’s credibility test, this episode explores why the easing cycle may already be over—and why power, not policy orthodoxy, is once again driving the global order.

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