Bank of America: Trump's policies have shrouded the market in fog, causing clients to "wait and see"

The Bank of America says that since the beginning of this year, investor activity has slowed down due to increasing uncertainty among clients about the direction of the policies of the new U.S. President Donald Trump administration. Jim DeMare, head of the company's global markets department, warned that uncertainty has "significantly increased" as the market tries to assess the impact of the new government's early measures, especially the potential impact of proposed tariffs on asset prices. DeMare said in an interview, "Compared to the beginning of the year, customer trading activity has decreased and is significantly lower than in the fourth quarter of last year. I think people are waiting for more information to further adjust their investment portfolios." In recent years, Bank of America has been increasing its investment in trading businesses and balance sheet resources, helping it to grab market share from competitors. The bank has also given DeMare more responsibilities, appointing him to lead the bank's research business in December last year. Despite the slowdown in some client activities, DeMare said that this could still be a "good quarter" for the company's traders. The department achieved record revenue last year. DeMare made these comments at the Bank of America Investor Summit in Dubai. He said that the prospects in the Gulf region are positive, and the region is open to investment. "When investing in any region, you want your interests to align with the government's interests," he said. "I think the government here is very transparent, they support business development, and they are keen to attract capital and talent, and are committed to becoming a global investment destination. So, for us, this is an ideal choice."