The Deluge and the Delusions
“If it keeps on raining, levee's going to break If it keeps on raining, the levee's going to break When the levee breaks, have no place to stay” – Led Zeppelin
Flood warnings were issued downstream of the Vaal Dam last week after authorities opened its sluice gates. Floodwater travels at a speed of 10 to 20 kilometres per day, depending on the topography of the land, meaning that it takes a few days to hit the towns a few hundred kilometres downriver. This is a useful metaphor to think about US President Donald Trump’s trade war. The immediate impact of heavy rain can do a lot of damage on the area where it falls, sometimes in surprising ways. In this case, it is the world’s financial markets that took the first blow