I will...thank you. I will make sure the hotel has your room ready TomB16....what time do you arrive in Bangkok? BUT....back to reality.....the TARIFF crybabies and whiners are out in force today in the media.....WAH...WAH...WAH...WAH. I have NO sympathy for any of this. It is patently clear that this is simply a negotiation and in the end will probably be good for the country.....IN MY VIEW. Anything we can do to level the playing field for business and trade.....in any event is a good thing. It is ridiculous that we allow countries that are SUPPOSEDLY our allies and partners to put 100% tariffs on many of our products. We have allowed INDIA, CHINA, and some others to get away with BLOODY MURDER when it comes to trade. In the end it will still be lopsided but at least a bit more fair. It is our own fault as we have allowed our big tech companies to fuel and create the MONSTER that is CHINA.......and our dependence on the worlds most BRUTAL communist dictatorship.
WELL.....WELL......looks like the markets are ok with the current situation now that it is upon us. Now that we are past the massive fear-mongering campaign and we are going to have to live in the world of REALITY.....ALL the big averages are green for the past two days. As we head to the close most of my stocks....6 of 9.....are UP for the day. BUT....this last half hour is going to be EPIC VOLATILITY. Or.....it might surprise me and end with a whimper. WHATEVER.
Another nice day for me with a medium level gain. Seven of nine stocks in the green. The losers today.....GOOGL and MSFT.....not that those two are ever "losers". I also beat the SP500 by 0.07% today.
Tomorrow we will get to see the......potentially.....EPIC HISSY-FIT in the markets in response to all the media hand wringing over tariff reality. No doubt the AI TRADING PLATFORMS are bringing in extra staffing to ramp up the headline and media micro-second trading. What a bunch of WHINERS.......and.....(fill in your own word here).
I plan to arrive in the afternoon on Thursday; just in time to enjoy a clam dip. For what it's worth, I think the tariffs are a good idea. I'm neither commenting nor endorsing the bluster or levels. To me, the tariffs are a stress test on trade. They are a good way to see what's needed. I have no doubt that, long term, most of these tariffs will be gone. I hope so but I also suspect it will be determined that a few tariffs are needed to protect the interests of the United States.
Anyway, it will be interesting tomorrow to see how the market does react and maybe over the next week or so. After hours the market looks solid red. Whether that carries over into tomorrow or further, who knows. We might just get an even better discount sale than expected along the way.
Since made up information will be RAMPANT tomorrow....here is a CLEAR BBC article that gives accurate info. Trump's tariffs on China, EU and more, at a glance https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1jxrnl9xe2o (BOLD.....is the ENTIRE little article) "Donald Trump announced a sweeping new set of reciprocal tariffs on Wednesday, arguing that they would allow the United States to succeed. Trump's tariffs, which he imposed via executive order, are expected to send economic shockwaves around the world. The White House released a list of roughly 100 countries and the tariff rates that the US would impose in kind. Here are the basic elements of the plan. 10% baseline tariff In a background call before Trump's speech, a senior White House official told reporters that the president would impose "baseline tariffs" on all countries. That rate is set at 10% and will go into effect on 5 April. Some countries will only face the base rate. These include: United Kingdom Singapore Brazil Australia New Zealand Turkey Colombia Argentina El Salvador United Arab Emirates Saudi Arabia Custom tariffs for 'worst offenders' White House officials also said that they would impose specific reciprocal tariffs on roughly 60 "worst offenders", to go into effect on 9 April. These countries charge higher tariffs on US goods, impose "non-tariff" barriers to US trade or have otherwise acted in ways the government feels undermine American economic goals. The key trading partners subject to these customized tariff rates include: European Union: 20% China: 34% Vietnam: 46% Thailand: 36% Japan: 24% Cambodia: 49% South Africa: 30% Taiwan: 32% No additional tariffs on Canada and Mexico Canada and Mexico are not mentioned in these new tariff announcements. "The White House said they would deal with both countries using a framework set out in previous executive orders, which imposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico as part of the administration's efforts to address fentanyl and border issues. He previously set those tariffs at 25%, before announcing some exemptions and delays. 25% tariffs on auto imports In addition, the president announced the US would impose a "25% tariff on all foreign made-automobiles". Those tariffs would go into affect almost immediately, at midnight on 3 April." MY COMMENT I am trying to find a good photo or image of the chart that Trump used in his announcement. I think it would be telling to see what all our "friends" are charging us.....or to put it more accurately.....imposing on us to make sure our companies can NOT sell our products in their country. Basically there is a "universal" 10% base rate......but.....some countries (see list above) will be charged a higher rate.
Full List of Countries Hit With Reciprocal Tariffs Country - Tariffs Charged to U.S. - New U.S. Reciprocal Tariff https://www.newsweek.com/trump-reciprocal-tariff-chart-2054514 NAME of country......what they charge us......what we will now charge them. China 67% 34% European Union 39% 20% Vietnam 90% 46% Taiwan 64% 32% Japan 46% 24% India 52% 26% South Korea 50% 25% Thailand 72% 36% Switzerland 61% 31% Indonesia 64% 32% Malaysia 47% 24% Cambodia 97% 49% United Kingdom 10% 10% South Africa 60% 30% Brazil 10% 10% Bangladesh 74% 37% Singapore 10% 10% Israel 33% 17% Philippines 34% 17% Chile 10% 10% Australia 10% 10% Pakistan 58% 29% Turkey 10% 10% Sri Lanka 88% 44% Colombia 10% 10% Peru 10% 10% Nicaragua 36% 18% Norway 30% 15% Costa Rica 17% 10% Jordan 40% 20% Dominican Republic 10% 10% United Arab Emirates 10% 10% New Zealand 20% 10% Argentina 10% 10% Ecuador 12% 10% Guatemala 10% 10% Honduras 10% 10% Madagascar 93% 47% Myanmar (Burma) 88% 44% Tunisia 55% 28% Kazakhstan 54% 27% Serbia 74% 37% Egypt 10% 10% Saudi Arabia 10% 10% El Salvador 10% 10% Côte d'Ivoire 41% 21% Laos 95% 48% Botswana 74% 37% Trinidad and Tobago 12% 10% Morocco 10% 10%
The futures are totally irrelevant....but.....the AI Program Traders trading headlines and big media content....will be on fire at the open tomorrow.....at the open. After that....who knows and who cares. This is a CLASSIC short term DRAMA ISSUE.....and.......that is all I have to say about that. AND....just so everyone knows......I continue to be fully invested for the long term as usual. That is my lifetime investing DEFAULT STANCE. NOW....what "YOU" choose to do or need to do for your own sanity or financial health....is UP TO YOU. I dont do investing advice for others on this thread.
Nice find on those charts. Imagine the unknown corruption. I mean, look at some of the countries in this list. I wonder how many backdoor government contracts are with some of these lesser known places. Oh, if we only knew. This is somewhat concerning and hilarious at the same time.
We will try to hold the line. By some chance if we have no favor left with the market Gods….I will swing by and pick up RTN, TB16, Tiresmoke, Lori, RG, Strathmore, JWalker, and others and we will start picking up aluminum cans on the roadside and maybe sell some clothes at the second hand store.
I'm still here wondering how the most powerful country in the history of humanity can play the victim card with these tariffs. Me thinks our status is the result of our global hegemonic actions throughout our history. China and other nations never forced their cheap manufacturing upon us. We (ignorant consumers and greedy corporations) wanted it. Nixon was credited with "opening China". It was a "win-win". A lot of people made a lot of money with globalism. It cost us dearly on Main Street. Now we want to complain? And create a worldwide trade war to fix it? And who is ultimately going to pay for the tariffs? Just another example of the wealthy taking it to the bank and the common person taking it in the ass.
Carnage out there, guys. I'm going into hiding. The 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports are going to hit my company hard. I assumed they were only on raw materials, but no, it's on any item that contains steel or aluminium - that seems nuts!! We have two distributors in the USA, one in Florida and one in Texas. If we lose those, I could well be out of a job. All good fun.
