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Secondary Tariffs – Do They Work?
First, the definition — “A secondary tariff is a monetary sanction imposed on countries that trade with a country with which the US is at odds, such as Venezuela. This type of tariff aims to pressure these countries to reduce their involvement in the trade of goods or services with the US target country. For…
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Coupes & Coops: A Tariff Story about Autos and Eggs
So what does the fate of a once-booming chicken-and-egg industry in my birth state of New Jersey have in common with the evolution of the US auto industry? A 25% tariff, that’s what. We begin today’s missive with a link to a January 29, 2025, CATO blog post that describes, with seven fascinating charts, what…
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Is It a Trump Bump or Trump Slump?
Try this. Take your portfolio and price the holdings on election day of last year (or a few days later, after the outcome of the Congress was known). Price it again on Inauguration Day (or use the opening day of the new Congress). Price it again today. Then, you decide. Is it a pullback of…
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Shoot-Out!
Hundreds of millions of people witnessed the recent shoot-out in the Oval Office. Among them, in the room, was a reporter from Russian media. Note that Reuters and the Associated Press were not invited by the White House to join the press corps assembled there. In my opinion, the two news services not invited are among…
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Trump 2.0 & Healthcare?
In the US stock market, the healthcare sector is represented by the sector spider XLV. Here’s a recent pre-inauguration picture of the sector spider’s performance. As of pre-inauguration, on January 17, 2025, the ten largest holdings in this sector spider ETF were: Eli Lilly and Co. 11.58% UnitedHealth Group Inc. 9.12% Johnson & Johnson: 6.90%…