This trade war is no ordinary crisis of the kind that buffeted capitalism periodically in the past few generations. It’s less a storm, Singapore’s deputy premier asserts, and more like “a tidal wave.” When leaders of a successful, trade-dependent nation talk this way, it demands attention.

And yet … for all its power, the analogy doesn’t quite capture the shift in mood since Donald Trump returned to the White House. There’s more to the sense of dislocation than mere tariffs — it’s the undergraduate way they were unveiled and then suspended. The independence of the Federal Reserve faces renewed threats. The bullishness with which U.S. markets were regarded has dissipated; the dollar has been hammered, stocks are down, recession fears are up. And government bonds, not usually prone to sharp fluctuations, have gyrated in troubling ways.

Finance ministers in Washington for International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings must have felt like they landed on another planet. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pledged qualified support for the two institutions, which were born under U.S. auspices as World War II neared an end. That this was greeted with relief shows how much crockery has been broken.

The turmoil forces some uncomfortable questions, which, though not entirely new, tended to be considered something for another day. Suddenly, the primacy of the dollar, and even the relative safety of U.S. securities, are open to debate. The wisdom of relying on Washington’s guarantees, in both the economic and diplomatic fields, is getting fresh scrutiny.

“Nothing is long-run anymore,” Markus K. Brunnermeier, a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told a symposium last week. “Everybody will just be more flexible.” Assets perceived to be safe now look shaky. To not have a Plan B, other than looking to the U.S. for salvation, as during the 2008 subprime meltdown and the outbreak of COVID-19, is to court poor outcomes.

The gathering’s somber tone seems an important marker for assessing Trump’s second term. In December, as investors were trying to get a handle on how it might differ from his first, Peterson and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy convened a conference in Singapore. One session posed what then seemed like a provocative question: What would a world without the U.S. look like? It felt a bit premature, and there were no reassuring conclusions. American power wasn’t going away.

If Washington’s credibility is diminished, it’s entirely on the president. He has deliberately taken an ax to a pre-requisite for influence: dependability. The disruption Trump has wrought is testimony to the sway America still has. But this demonstration of clout, deployed to cause harm to both ally and opponent, might contain the seeds of diminishment.

Discussions at last month’s event showed the slippage. Warwick McKibbin, a professor at the Australian National University who sat on the board of the Reserve Bank, floated how much additional protection investors might require to buy Treasuries. Would an extra yield of 100 basis points do the trick?

My attention was really grabbed when the Asian Monetary Fund got a mention. That was a concept I hadn’t heard about in years. The fund was an attempt in the late 1990s to develop a rescue reserve among the region’s governments. The idea was that they not be so dependent for emergency loans on the International Monetary Fund and its biggest shareholder, the U.S. Treasury. Japan was to play a big role and the plan had a number of boosters, including Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad. But without American support, the venture foundered.

Its struggles ultimately showed how hard it was to develop a meaningful architecture in the face of U.S. resistance. Hurdles would remain today, not least that the dollar, for all its flaws, has to be part of the arrangement. Even China doesn’t want a divorce. As long as the yuan isn’t traded freely, there will be considerable limits to just how much it will challenge the greenback, assuming Beijing even really wants that.

The world is still the dollar’s, and by implication America’s, to lose. It’s disconcerting that the alternatives are getting a hearing. America isn’t yet alone, though that’s not for want of trying. Singapore, with its huge container port and world class airport, is right to be very worried. In this, the city-state has plenty of company.

Daniel Moss is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asian economies. Previously, he was executive editor for economics at Bloomberg News.

Related Articles

Sheldon H. Jacobson: TSA isn’t perfect, but it’s way better than the alternatives

Lee Fang: Is your favorite influencer’s opinion bought and sold?

Javier Blas: It’s electricity realism, not climate denialism

Solomon D. Stevens: Want to do something about polarized society? Stop shouting slogans

Merrill, Grayson: Let states take the lead on voter verification

St. Paul Police said Saturday they’ve arrested a man on suspicion of murder.

Officers found a woman, who her friends said was in a relationship with the suspect, dead in the couple’s Frogtown home early Friday. Her 2-year-old daughter was also in the home and not harmed.

Police said they located the suspect in Minneapolis. The 34-year-old is being held in the Ramsey County jail.

Officers responded to a request to check a person’s well-being about 5:15 a.m. Friday at a house on Edmund Avenue between Virginia and Farrington streets. A caller reported a woman might have been injured and that a toddler might have been left alone, said Sgt. Toy Vixayvong, a St. Paul police spokesman, said Friday afternoon.

St. Paul Fire Department medics pronounced the 33-year-old woman dead at the scene. Police did not say Friday how she was killed.

The woman and the suspect were the parents of the 2-year-old girl, she told police who responded to a domestic assault in 2023 at the Edmund Avenue house, which they owned together, according to court and property records.

The suspect was twice convicted of domestic assault against the woman, and once convicted of assault against a woman he was previously in a relationship with, Minnesota court records show.

Help for domestic violence in Minnesota is available 24/7 through the Day One hotline by calling 866-223-1111 or texting 612-399-9995.

Related Articles

Charges filed in Minneapolis shooting that killed 4, including St. Paul man

Weinstein accuser breaks down in tears as she’s questioned about alleged sexual assault

Man sentenced to 53 years in prison for hate crime that left 6-year-old Palestinian American boy dead

Woman killed in St. Paul home, her 2-year-old found unharmed

Luigi Mangione case: Defense seeks to drop terrorism charge, suppress evidence

The playoffs are a series of games, and a series of important moments that determine which team moves on and — as Minnesota Wild fans know all too well over the past decade — which team is moving out of their locker room for the summer after round one.

The Wild bowed out of the 2025 playoffs after losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in six games, and each of them was defined by a moment that defined the contest, and the ultimate direction of the series.

Game 1 – Play it cool

Vegas entered the playoffs after being whistled for the fewest number of penalties ever in an NHL regular season. It quickly became apparent on Saturday, April 20, that the lack of infractions called on the Golden Knights did not mean they weren’t committing penalty-worthy acts on the ice.

Veteran Wild forward Ryan Hartman took the brunt of the Knights’ physical plays in a 4-2 Vegas win, surviving being tripped, held, boarded and cross checked to the face. He didn’t take the bait and retaliate, and when officials finally penalized Vegas, Minnesota got a needed power play, which saw the first key NHL ice time for rookie defenseman Zeev Buium. Ultimately Minnesota lost the game, but sent a message to Vegas, and to the officials, that regular-season storylines might not hold true in late April.

Game 2 – Flip the script

Scoring the first goal of the game proved to be vitally important in this series, and the Wild got the first four of them in a 5-2 win to even the series. The first 30 minutes on Monday, April 22, were as dominating as Minnesota looked all series, starting with a highlight-reel play by the top-line wingers that didn’t mind playing the role of entertainers just off the legendary Las Vegas Strip.

With the Wild breaking out of their defensive zone in the first period, Matt Boldy sprinted straight up the middle of the rink, and Kirill Kaprizov flipped a long lead pass the caught Boldy perfectly in stride, springing a breakaway and a 1-0 Minnesota lead on the way to a 4-0 advantage midway through the game. Vegas made a push and re-ignited a home crowd that had been stunned into silence, but it was too late, and the Wild headed back to Minnesota owning home ice advantage in the series.

Game 3 – Beat the clock

For once, the propensity of fans to yell “shooooooot!” late in a period paid off, as the Wild took a three-goal lead into the third period and won Game 3 by a 5-2 count to lead the series 2-1. Already leading the game 3-1 and holding off a furious push by the Golden Knights in the second period, the Wild got a power play with less than two minutes before the break.

Hartman knew there was little time left with the puck headed his way and the fans calling for a shot to the net, so before a pass from Marco Rossi reached him, Hartman glanced up at the scoreboard. Seeing less than 5 seconds remaining before the horn, Hartman zipped the puck to the net-front where it glanced off Kaprizov and over the goal line for a 4-1 lead Minnesota would not relinquish. Marcus Foligno made the home crowd roar once more with an empty-net goal to seal the win and the lead in the series.

Game 4 – Painful third

Looking for a 3-1 series lead for the first time in franchise history, the Wild seemed to have everything going their way on the afternoon of Saturday, April 24. They took a 2-1 lead into the third period, and looked to extend their perfect record when leading after 40 minutes — 31-0-0 in the regular season and playoffs. Then Buium made a rookie mistake, tagging Knights forward Mark Stone with an errant high stick, drawing blood and a four-minute penalty.

Minnesota’s penalty killers negated all but eight seconds of the extended man advantage, but Vegas tied the game, took a lead and found the winner in overtime when Ivan Barbashev took advantage of a series of fumbles by the Wild defense around goalie Filip Gustavsson. The series was tied 2-2 heading back to Nevada.

Game 5 – Angry inch

Generations later, Minnesota sports fans still talk about Gary Anderson’s missed field goal that would have sent the Vikings to the Super Bowl in 1999. One wonders if, years from now, Gustav Nyquist’s offside will be mentioned the same way.

Game 5 on Tuesday, April 29, was tied 2-2 in the final two minutes of regulation, and Marc-Andre Fleury was in goal following Gustavsson having to exit the game at the second intermission due to an illness. With under two minutes to play in regulation, Hartman made a rush to the net which concluded with the puck glancing off the forward’s leg and past Vegas goalie Adin Hill for what looked like a critical lead late. A lengthy review revealed that Nyquist had gotten both skates over the blue line maybe an inch ahead of the puck, and the game went to overtime. There, Brett Howden was left uncovered in front of Fleury and scored his third goal of the playoffs to give Vegas a 3-2 win and a 3-2 series lead.

Game 6 – Out of thin air

There was an air of confidence among members of the Wild and their fans on Thursday, May 1, that this series was going back to Vegas for a winner-take-all finale. It was dampened a bit in the first period when Vegas took the lead on a power play after another costly double minor penalty, this time committed by Rossi. Trailing 2-1 in the third period and making a strong push with the support of their fanbase noisily behind them, Stone instead netted the game-winner with less than four minutes remaining, swatting a puck out of the air and past Gustavsson for a two goal Vegas lead with less than four minutes left in regulation.

A pair of goals by Hartman kept things close, but with Gustavsson pulled for an extra attacker, the final seconds ticked away and the Golden Knights advanced to round two with a 3-2 win, taking the series by a 4-2 count.

Related Articles

Shipley: With season over, Wild fans move to Kirill Kaprizov watch

Wild’s Fleury among three Masterton Award finalists

Ryan Hartman’s playoff resurgence a bright spot for disappointed Wild

Mizutani: The present was the same for the Wild. The future feels different.

Wild knocked out of playoffs by Golden Knights

Amy Lindgren

Do you ever sense that you’re not being listened to, or that your points are being disregarded? Of course you do! That’s practically the human condition. When it happens at work, though, you might have a problem. Communication miscues can reflect badly on you, even when they’re not your fault.

If this happens frequently, it’s time to make some adjustments. Since you can’t change the people you’re communicating with, you’ll need to focus on your end of the equation.

Here are four steps that can improve your workplace communications.

1. Identify your message or goal for the conversation

This can be done in most circumstances, with the exception of random hallway encounters or other situations where you weren’t expecting to talk. We’ll focus here on planned conversations.

As a starting point, ask yourself why you’re attending or requesting the meeting. For example, if you’re expected to present a report, your goal is obvious: Survival. Past that, you can add persuasion if you have a point to make, or just stick to the goal of informing others. For extra credit, however, what about making an impression on someone who’s going to be there, such as your boss’ boss? If you think this report-giving presents an opportunity for something larger, expand your goal accordingly.

On the other hand, if you’ve requested a meeting to talk with a difficult co-worker, or you’re participating in your annual review, your goals will be more personal. By prepping your messages in advance, you’ll be more able to keep the conversation on track if things get emotional.

2. Create your strategic plan

Say you called the meeting, perhaps to ask for a raise — you’ll want to control the logistics. Have you chosen a setting with limited distractions? Did you reserve time on your boss’ calendar? The company isn’t doing layoffs, right? Of course you can’t control everything but doing what you can will improve your odds.

3. Troubleshoot

This is where you ask yourself what could go wrong, and how you can keep that from happening. With luck, you won’t need these precautions but having them in your back pocket could raise your confidence in the real conversation.

4. Practice

Since it’s usually fine to use notes, rehearsing isn’t about memorizing. That said, the more awkwardness you expect, the more you should practice different scenarios. You can do this on your own, but having a trusted friend play the other part might be more revealing.

Helpful resources

When it comes to difficult communication issues, books are my go-to resource for advice and sample dialogues.

These titles are straight off my shelf, so it’s hardly a comprehensive list. Even so, there’s a good range of relevant topics. All are still available online (new or used), and some may have a more recent edition available. Those marked with asterisks are books I turn to often for specific ideas and counsel.

• All You Have to Do Is Ask, by Wayne Baker, 2020. A guide to asking for help at work.

• *Better Presentations, by Jacqueline Farrington, 2023. Clarifying look at issues of confidence that impact effectiveness.

• *How to Say It for Women, by Phyllis Mindell, 2001. Helpful for to speaking more powerfully.

• It’s Not Just Who You Know, by Tommy Spaulding, 2010. Building rewarding work relationships; networking.

• The Job Interview Phrase Book, by Nancy Schuman, 2009. Answers, buzzwords and phrases.

• *Perfect Phrases for Dealing with Difficult Situations at Work, by Susan F. Benjamin, 2008. Short, handy guide.

• Perfect Phrases for Meetings, by Don Debelak, 2008. Includes organizing meeting content.

• The Power of Positive Confrontation, by Barbara Pachter, 2014. Processes for handling difficult conversations.

• Radical Listening, by Christian Van Nieuwerburgh, 2025. A guide to using listening skills to improve connections.

• Running Effective Meetings for Dummies, by Joseph A. Allen, 2023. Process guide for all parts of a meeting.

• *Suddenly Virtual, by Karen M. Reed and Joseph A. Allen, 2021. Process guide for remote meetings.

• *Talk is Not Cheap, by Beverly Inman-Ebel, 1999. Using nonverbals, voice, content, etc. to build communication.

That’s a lot of books, and of course there are podcasts, coaches, classes and any number of additional resources to give your communication a boost. Luckily, you don’t need to try everything at once. If you can find an exercise or tips for a specific situation, you’ll be getting a start on making your communication more powerful.

Related Articles

Working Strategies: The Power of Yes in job search

Working Strategies: Random thoughts: Stretching job titles and happy places

Working Strategies: Using AI to organize or even conduct your job search

Working Strategies: Some survival tools for uncertain times

Working Strategies: Navigating part-time jobs at a professional level

Amy Lindgren owns a career consulting firm in St. Paul. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com.