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President Donald Trump came to power vowing to shake things up. It is clear from his inaugural address, the composition of his cabinet and his comments in press interviews that he meant what he said. There will be seismic changes in American policies on trade, security alliances, energy and climate policies – and many of these will cause ructions in Asia.

Two elements have been missing in the recovery of the US economy from the 2008 crisis – strong wage growth and renewed capital spending by businesses. Of these two, there are encouraging signs that wage growth is finally gaining some traction: the job market is clearly tightening and wages are firming in response.