Category Archives: Economy

10/16/24

Some Thoughts On TARIFFS

Tariffs — a tax or customs duty imposed by a country at its border on goods imported from another country — are wildly misunderstood and have come into the lexicon since their use by the Trump admin and during this presidential election campaign.

They are not wildly understood, sort of like calculus, differential equations, and how doorbells work. Let us reason together, dear reader.

Traditional reasons to impose tariffs

Tariffs have been traditionally used (and taught in business schools) in the following situations:

 1. Tariffs are used to protect strategic industries — industries with national security implications — such as high tech, steel, or aviation.

 2. Tariffs are used to protect fledgling, startup businesses during their period of incubation and infancy, again, often technology related.

 3. Tariffs are used to punish bad actors such as China for its theft of technology, its use of slave/prison/child labor to manufacture goods, and to offset low environmental standards.

Pretty straightforward stuff, no? But, there’s more. Continue reading →

06/7/24

The Texas Stock Exchange

The creation of a new “CEO friendly” and “un-woke” stock exchange to challenge the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ has been festering for some time, but TXSE Group recently announced publicly its plans to apply to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission for permission to operate a stock exchange in Dallas with a launch date in 2026.

The United States formerly had a number of regional stock exchanges, but since 2000 most of those regional exchanges have been bought up or merged with the NYSE or NASDAQ. The Texas Stock Exchange (founding CEO James Lee, E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year 2001, President Houston Symphony Endowment, financial advisory guy, a financial player, nobody’s huckleberry) would be a new entrant in what had been a collapsing industry. Continue reading →

05/14/24

Joe Biden’s Chinese Tariffs — I Approve This Action

I usually disagree with all of Joe Biden’s economic policies which is the reason I am caught so off guard by one that I approve of: tariffs on a range of Chinese goods.

Chinese – US trade has grown substantially since the 2001 inclusion of China in the World Trade Organization, a strategic blunder in my view as it has primarily benefited China at the expense of the US.

In that admission, the Chinese agreed to market access to China for foreign manufacturers, protections for intellectual property, and transparency around trade laws and regulations. None of this materialized.

BTW, the US has only had “normalized” relations with the People’s Republic of China, the Red Chinese, the Communists, since 1979. Continue reading →

04/25/24

Non-Competes Are Dead?

Comes now the Federal Trade Commission with a new self-generated rule (meaning not the result of Congressional legislation) killing non-competes in the workplace except for senior employees making more than $151,164 — no idea what that number comes from — and who are part of the employers’ policy making process.

This has been brewing for a long time. Continue reading →

01/22/24

The Digital Devils Of Davos I

If you were left off the invite list for Davos this year, I can empathize with you. I was invited, but, alas,  I had to babysit my three granddaughters and my jet was in the shop. Again.

Not to fret, Taylor Swift wasn’t invited and she was the Time Person of the Year 2023. So, you’re in good company, mate. BTW, did you know Swiftie was also the Time POY in 2017? Why?

WTF is Davos, Big Red Car?

Continue reading →

06/27/23

American Trade: Friendshoring, Nearshoring, Onshoring

The American trade scene and supply chains, in particular, were rocked by the intrusion of The Great Pandemic, the War in Ukraine, the future War in Taiwan, worldwide political upheaval, and an increasingly prudent and muscular trade nationalism.

Two of those things — The Great Pandemic and the Ukraine War — were unwelcome surprises.

OK, maybe “muscular trade nationalism” is a little strong, but you get the drift.

What does American trade look like, Big Red Car?

Here is what American trade looks like today (click on it to make it readable):

Continue reading →

03/15/23

Silicon Valley Bank — Losers, Winners, Saints, Sinners

In the sordid saga of Silicon Valley Bank who are the losers, winners, saints, and sinners?

Losers

 1. The management who all rightfully were fired for their gross incompetence. Particular note of CEO Gary Becker who really blew it.

 2. The incompetent Board of Directors who failed to provide even a modicum of actual oversight.

 3. The shareholders who owned the now worthless stock.

 4. A goodly number of the employees who will lose their jobs in the latchup that follows hereafter.

 5. The real estate lessors who leased space to SVB. All those leases will be cancelled in bankruptcy or insolvency.

 6. The plethora of vendors who provided services to SVB who will now never be paid because of the bankruptcy. Continue reading →

11/18/22

Hold On On That Victory Lap, Amigo

So the Biden White House put on their jogging shoes and took a victory lap last week because “. . . IT IS WORKING!”

“It” is, of course, the admin’s brilliant inflation reduction plan – a highly secret document, apparently – that resulted in PPI (Producer Price Index – the price of things on the manufacturers’ dock before it arrives at the consumer) “falling” from 8.4% in September 2022 to 8.0% in October.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, right?

Continue reading →