Well, thats coming in May 2026.
Given Trump’s other choices for his administration, I suspect its going to be a Fox TV character.
Somehow Trump 2.0 is more chaotic and less competent than Trump 1.0. Who would have thought that “Trump servitude” as the dominant hiring filter would have produced a vastly worse result than even the most distorted representation of any DEI program?
3 Likes
A few days ago, I posted an opinion that when people discovered that cell phone prices had doubled they might get interested in tariffs.
Apparently, someone who talks to Trump has the same opinion:
In totally unrelated news, the NVIDIA CEO spent $1 million to have dinner with Trump a couple of days ago.
3 Likes
I guess China’s army of millions of I phone assemblers screwing in screws will remain intact for now.
But think of the poor American screw iners
They’ve been moved to El Salvador.
Remember all the tech bros lining up to pay for Trump’s inauguration? Tariffs mean people come to kiss the ring. Those who offer sufficient cash or praise of dear Leader can have their products made exempt from tariffs.
Sell Apple and other affected tech stocks whose price will jump after trading reflects this news?
Apparently it is now the case that Vietnamese made computers have lower tariffs than Ethiopian coffee, Indian tea, and Guatemalan bananas. Glad the domestic banana and tea industries are well protected.
1 Like
In 2024, the US imported $64bn in mobile phones from China - it is the single largest import category by a long margin. The total goods trade deficit was $295bn in 2024. So they just exempted over 20%.
This means that the entities that will likely take the largest economic hit will be SMEs that import widgets from China.
Trump is going to help Main Street allright. By eviscerating it.
1 Like
Interesting if accurate (my impression is Blundell can be a partisan)…
1 Like
This is very innacurate.
It was driven by hedge funds who had to sell off their assets (treasury bills and gold) to meet their massive margin calls on the trades they had made with ludicrous levels of leverage (think over 100:1)
Japan has not trimmed its level of treasuries. China has been slowly selling them off for the last few years, but other countries have much smaller holdings so they are not really relevant.
1 Like
Quagmire?
2 Likes
I believe the Fed Chair is appointed for a 4 year term with advice and consent of the Senate. The Chair is appointed from sitting Fed Governors who serve 14 year rotating terms and are appointed by the President with advice and consent of the Senate.
Not saying he can’t fire all or any of the governors and appoint new ones but that would have to be with concurrence of at least 50 senators and if he starts firing Fed governors, I’m hopeful at least enough R senators would grow a spine enough to stop him appointing lackies.
Wonder how hard Apple is now kicking itself for all that money they spent to fly all those tons of iphones in last week?
well, bless your heart
4 Likes
so just got back from a European River cruise. Was actually nervous about possible anti US feelings.
so we kidded about telling people we were Canadian, practicing our Ehs and Aboots. 0verheard someone on the street, making the exact same comments.
Wore no hats, tees or sweatshirts with overtly US graphics.
At the introductory meeting, asking where people were from, someone told us they heard boos to US. I didn’t hear it, so will take it as a sarcasism, not meanness. Ship was US, Canadian and Brit guests not sure if any other countries.
One US woman had numerous political discussions, loudly, from a liberal perspective. Everyone else seemed to avoid politics. Though in a discussion on offshore wind farms, i seemed to upset someone with a more conservative slant.
In one museum, the guy at the door asked me where I am from ( didn’t hear him ask anyone else) and answered New York. Someone said, oh your the trouble makers, to which I responded, oh. no New York, Canada. Got a laugh
twice in shops, one a Brit customer and one a Begium waiter asked some pointed questions about Trump.
That was really about it.
1 Like