Steady Eddie Foreign Investment

Bob Elliott · Nonconsensus · February 17, 2026 at 11:13 · ⏱ 2 min read  | Read on Substack ↗
TLDR
The article analyzes foreign investment flows into the US and finds that they have remained steady across most categories, with no dramatic shifts compared to recent years. While equity investment has turned modestly positive, supporting US markets, the overall picture contradicts extreme partisan narratives. On the margin, the slight elevation in flows favors a weaker dollar and relative US equities, but the effect is not significant. • Foreign investment into the US, including FDI, bonds, deposits, and lending, has shown little change over the past year and is within post-GFC ranges. • Equity investment has shifted from modest sales to modest purchases, providing some support to US stocks in 2025. • The data refutes claims of either a foreign investment boom or a collapse in demand for US assets. • Marginal flows slightly favor dollar shorts and foreign stocks versus US stocks, but this is not a major market pressure.
Full Analysis

{ "tldr": { "summary": "The article analyzes foreign investment flows into the US and finds that they have remained steady across most categories, with no dramatic shifts compared to recent years. While equity investment has turned modestly positive, supporting US markets, the overall picture contradicts extreme partisan narratives. On the margin, the slight elevation in flows favors a weaker dollar and relative US equities, but the effect is not significant.", "key_points": [ "Foreign investment into the US, including FDI, bonds, deposits, and lending, has shown little change over the past year and is within post-GFC ranges.", "Equity investment has shifted from modest sales to modest purchases, providing some support to US stocks in 2025.", "The data refutes claims of either a foreign investment boom or a collapse in demand for US assets.", "Marginal flows slightly favor dollar shorts and foreign stocks versus US stocks, but this is not a major market pressure." ] }, "trade_ideas": [] }

Read time 2 min
Length 2,971 chars
Category finance
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