The trade and economy mega-thread (8 Viewers)

[superchuck500]

Is there a trade deal with China? Is it really a deal or just a pull-back to status quo ante? Is Trump advancing US interests in this well-executed trade battle plan or was this poorly conceived from the start . . . and harmful?

I think the jury's still out, but I haven't seen that the Chinese are offering much in compromise - and it's not even clear if there's going to be an agreement. But it's clear they are working on something and I'm sure Trump will sell it as the greatest trade deal ever. The proof will be in the details.

 

[MT15]

Maybe depress assets and have his friends scoop them up on the cheap, and then stop doing the most crazy stuff, and let the market return to normal? IDK, just spit balling here. I always assume some sort of grift with Trump... but he could just be stupid.

I’ve always thought it was market manipulation. I don’t think he’s smart enough to do it, but whoever is handling his money might be.

 

[UncleTrvlingJim]

I wish that I knew more about safe places to put it right now.

Me too... this is the problem with so much uncertainty. I think if you have a long horizon (more than 10 years), keeping them in a diversified stock portfolio is probably your best bet.

 

[MT15]

I wish that I knew more about safe places to put it right now.

The other day when the Dow dropped about 600 points we were still up for the day. So I looked at our holdings closer than normal and it seems they have been moving us to international stocks for a while now. We have holdings in companies from quite a few different countries.

 

[efil4]

I wish that I knew more about safe places to put it right now.

ill keep it safe for you

i promise.




LOL

 

[Optimus Prime]

i just bought my child a car not because she was ready, but because if we waited til i originally planned ( age 17 ) - i would have spent way more than i did now and who knows what would be available at what price.

this is a !@#!#!@# mess. And we are only 3 months into 4 yr term.

“Because of Trump I have to buy you a car!”

Does that mean your daughter is now all in on Trump and/or tarrifs?

 

[Optimus Prime]

Chang Chang, a Sichuan restaurant in Washington DC, was already noticing that some of its business had dropped off after tens of thousands of federal workers living in the area lost their jobs. But the recent tariff rate hikes mark an even greater blow for the restaurant.

Sichuan peppercorns, which create the signature numbing spice of the regional Chinese cuisine, along with other ingredients, face an at least 145% tariff after last week’s tit-for-tat trade battle between China and the United States.

The steep rate is an existential threat for restaurants across the country that rely on specialty ingredients imported from China to craft the authentic flavors of their dishes, said operators who were blindsided.

“We’re really worried,” said Jen Lin-Liu, the director of events for Chang Chang. The restaurant is part of the Peter Chang restaurant group that operates a dozen Sichuan restaurants across Washington, Virginia and Maryland.

The restaurant group sources meats and vegetables from local farmers, including an Amish community in the Finger Lakes region that supplies its shiitake mushrooms and organic pork.

Still, it is dependent on imported items such as fermented chili peppers and soy sauce, which give the dishes their unique taste.

“Some of the products that we need just do not exist in the United States,” Lin-Liu said.

The cost of other items is rising as well. “There are increases in any supply you can think of, from takeout boxes to printer paper to menu printing paper,” she said, adding that if the tariff rates stick, the price of a $20 dish may rise to $35 or $40.

George Chen, the chef who created Eight Tables, a fine-dining restaurant in San Francisco, said that while some of the items on his menu may be replaceable with options from Taiwan, it undermines the integrity he’s put into sourcing the unique ingredients for his dishes.

“Replacements disrupt complex long-term relationships,” explained Chen. “It took me years to find the special spice vendors or the organic tea farmer in China from my many years living and working there.”…….

From peppercorns to plastic forks: US businesses that rely on Chinese products reel from Trump tariffs

Price hikes worry restaurants and online markets as uncertainty stymies their ability to plan for the future

www.theguardian.com

 

[efil4]

“Because of Trump I have to buy you a car!”

Does that mean your daughter is now all in on Trump and/or tarrifs?

LOL yeah no.

I got a great deal on a 2023 Trailblazer Activ that, 6-12 months from now, wouldnt surprise me if i could sell for more than i bought.

Same happened with first child- bought her a used car in May 2020. In March 2021, per CarMax sell estimator, i could have sold to them for $1000 more than we paid a year earlier, with more mileage.

I see that coming. Interest rates, supply chain issues, inflation are going to rankle new car sales, increase used car values.

 

[faceman]

So yeah, the president of the United States called the chair of the Federal Reserve a "major loser". Also, he's lying about inflation per usual. These economic metrics are going to become like the Covid metrics in 2020 - he's going just lie about them and try to gaslight America about it because that's what he does.

so do who I listen to? A President that lies every time he opens his mouth or someone who actually knows
what they are talking about? Surely some Republicans have to start questioning Trump's sanity?

 

[longtime lurker]

ill keep it safe for you

i promise.




LOL

 

[RobF]

I always assume some sort of grift with Trump... but he could just be stupid.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: with Trump, it's an 'and', not a 'but'.

 

[B4YOU]

LOL yeah no.

I got a great deal on a 2023 Trailblazer Activ that, 6-12 months from now, wouldnt surprise me if i could sell for more than i bought.

Same happened with first child- bought her a used car in May 2020. In March 2021, per CarMax sell estimator, i could have sold to them for $1000 more than we paid a year earlier, with more mileage.

I see that coming. Interest rates, supply chain issues, inflation are going to rankle new car sales, increase used car values.

I bought a new couch (Vietnam) and new phone (China) this month to get ahead of tariffs. I have almost no "need" for a car, but considering just paying cash for a used car. The lady's car has 2 year left and I could see prices climbing 15-20% by then. It'd be a weekend driver for home depot and fishing. I'd expect it would cost me at worst the insurance paid if I went to sell it 2 years later.

 

[faceman]

I bought a new couch (Vietnam) and new phone (China) this month to get ahead of tariffs. I have almost no "need" for a car, but considering just paying cash for a used car. The lady's car has 2 year left and I could see prices climbing 15-20% by then. It'd be a weekend driver for home depot and fishing. I'd expect it would cost me at worst the insurance paid if I went to sell it 2 years later.

this is who we elected? I don't know whether to laugh or cry

 

[PartTimeLurker]

this is who we elected? I don't know whether to laugh or cry

Both are completely appropriate along with a heavy dose of swearing. All three at one time even. It's a perfectly reasonable response to "all of this".

 

[faceman]

Both are completely appropriate along with a heavy dose of swearing. All three at one time even. It's a perfectly reasonable response to "all of this".

I teach sailors on Monday and marines on Tuesday how to curse. Damn right I'm mad

 

[superchuck500]

 

[MT15]

The Wall Street Journal?? That liberal rag? lol, watch for the post about it.

 

[superchuck500]

If tariffs are so great, why would his friends need to be exempted?

 

[UncleTrvlingJim]

If tariffs are so great, why would his friends need to be exempted?

I think this is what they call a rhetorical question.