An eerie calm settles over global stocks: Are we at the start of the ‘wall of worry’?

• An eerie calm has settled over global stock markets in the last 18 hours as most indexes reported only minor moves, with many of them trading flat. The VIX fear index has declined 22% in the last five days — suggesting that investors are expecting less upcoming drama from the Trump Administration than they have recently faced.

The White House has repeatedly announced aggressive measures on trade only to walk them back, offer loopholes, or delay their introduction. Sure enough...