The trade and economy mega-thread (3 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]

Walmart told the truth. It's obvious ( as many of us already know ) That Trump and many of his supporters have
no clue how tariffs work.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/20/walmart-price-increases-trump-tariffs.html

But didn’t they backpedal at least a little bit? I think I read where Bessent said they had agreed to “eat some of the tariffs” just like Trump told them to do.

 

[efil4]

But didn’t they backpedal at least a little bit? I think I read where Bessent said they had agreed to “eat some of the tariffs” just like Trump told them to do.

Bessent said that. Walmart did not.

Bessent just put that out there to give impression the Admin is trying to align with its supporters, knowing full well they can't make Walmart do a darn thing.

Walmart isn't beholden to WH. It's beholden to shareholders.

 

[MT15]

Agree to a certain extent. Don’t kid yourself though. Walmart is fine with toeing certain lines to cozy up to the GOP. Especially with going against DEI, etc. They’re trying to keep their profile low on it, so they don’t get boycotted like Target is currently, but they will go with the current political winds on that subject. IMO, anyway.

 

[DaveXA]

Agree to a certain extent. Don’t kid yourself though. Walmart is fine with toeing certain lines to cozy up to the GOP. Especially with going against DEI, etc. They’re trying to keep their profile low on it, so they don’t get boycotted like Target is currently, but they will go with the current political winds on that subject. IMO, anyway.

They're gonna follow the money. That's all there is to it.

 

[Sendai]

I just paid about $4 extra at Walmart for taxes on groceries. My receipt had 2 taxes cited. The receipt says tax 1 and tax 2. One is the city sales tax and one was 8%. I asked one of the employees and he said the 8% was the county sales tax, which is preposterous, since the county tax is about 1%. He said that is what he was told. I wonder if he was told country, and misunderstood it to be county. It was obviously the tariff tax, since Walmart did not charge the extra tax for my oil change.

Anyway, it appears that Walmart is absorbing 2% of the worldwide 10% tariff, for now.

This list of Alabama county tax rates indicates otherwise

Alabama Sales Tax Rates by County

Alabama Sales Tax Rates listed for all counties. We help with sales tax audits defense & litigation. Don't hire a tax attorney, Call Now!

www.salestaxhelper.com

 

[Sendai]

But didn’t they backpedal at least a little bit? I think I read where Bessent said they had agreed to “eat some of the tariffs” just like Trump told them to do.

When your net profit margins run between 1% - 3% you raise your prices because of tariffs.

 

[Lapaz]

This list of Alabama county tax rates indicates otherwise

Alabama Sales Tax Rates by County

Alabama Sales Tax Rates listed for all counties. We help with sales tax audits defense & litigation. Don't hire a tax attorney, Call Now!

www.salestaxhelper.com

The county tax is 0.5% where I live and the state adds 4%. The total sales tax is 10.5% in some cities in the county. I just paid 17% for products. That is absolutely from the tariffs. You would be foolish to think companies aren't going to charge more for products they have to pay more to provide. Most MAWA people are foolish enough to believe the compulsive liar.

 

[efil4]

Agree to a certain extent. Don’t kid yourself though. Walmart is fine with toeing certain lines to cozy up to the GOP. Especially with going against DEI, etc. They’re trying to keep their profile low on it, so they don’t get boycotted like Target is currently, but they will go with the current political winds on that subject. IMO, anyway.

its why the CEO hasnt come out in opposition to what Bessent said publicly the other day ( about Walmart eating some of the cost )

yet.

let them have a down quarter where profit is lagging, and then shareholders will assume Walmart is eating some of the cost, which will cause a bit of a ruckus. CEO will have to navigate 2 options:
1- have shareholders upset
2- WH Administration upset.

Allowing Bessent to put that narrative out with zero push back is a dangerous game. I get the thinking- say nothing to avoid the ire of WH and hope that a month from now we are in a better spot OR this will be all but forgotten about ( Walmart eating part of tariff )

Bold strategy cotton- but it where we are with this Admin. Full on coercion.

 

[efil4]

The entire theme of this WH administration is " ...in a couple of weeks now"

They took a page out of Elon's book of Teslas autonomous driving announcements. ( and just pared down to weeks instead of years )

 

[Dragon]

Not to mention that they buried this little "nugget" in the tax bill

Buried 800 pages deep in what Donald Trump and House Republicans are calling their “big beautiful tax plan” is a provision that reads like a memo smuggled out of Moscow in the 1970s: the executive branch shall have the authority to revoke the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit it deems to be a “terrorist supporting organization.”

No court hearing. No evidence standard. No oversight. No appeal. Just designation. Just language. Just power.

This isn’t a subplot. It’s the whole story.

Because if passed, this bill wouldn’t just allow Donald Trump to defund organizations he doesn’t like—it would give him the power to financially erase them. Churches. Watchdog groups. Universities. Environmental coalitions. Election monitors. Civil liberties organizations. Any nonprofit that, in his words, is “abusing their privilege” or “fomenting unrest.” And those are his words.

 

[efil4]

Not to mention that they buried this little "nugget" in the tax bill

which is why Sen Warren was grilling Billy Long yesterday

( posted on Cabinet/Key appointment thread )

now i understand why she did that.

 

[superchuck500]

The last time the 30 year Treasury yield was this high was 2007.

 

[MT15]

All of this chaos is because this is the idiot we have as POTUS. He knows absolutely NOTHING about the economy or finance.

 

[UriUT]

The giants of corporate America from Pfizer Inc. to Alphabet Inc. are borrowing in euros like never before as the anxiety triggered by President Donald Trump’s tariff threats pushes them to hunt for alternative funding avenues in case their home market freezes up.
A record number of these so-called reverse Yankee deals have been sold this year at a total value of more than €83 billion ($94 billion), up 35% on 2024, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s nearly 14% of overall euro corporate issuance, the data shows.

Gotta love the winning.

 

[efil4]

The last time the 30 year Treasury yield was this high was 2007.

Great thread on what today's spike is all about.




We have a reckoning coming.

 

[DJ1BigTymer]

Great thread on what today's spike is all about.




We have a reckoning coming.

...and the GOP is pressing on with its agenda that will crash the dollar and this country. ONE SIDE, THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.

 

[faceman]

...and the GOP is pressing on with its agenda that will crash the dollar and this country. ONE SIDE, THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.

Trump will blame it on crooked Joe Biden and his cult will believe him

 

[superchuck500]

Great thread on what today's spike is all about.




We have a reckoning coming.