Donald Trump the Megathread part II - mod warnings in OP, Updated 18/03/25

the downward spiralling of stocks in the US is DEFINATELY NOT A CRASH - nor anywhere near it- what is actually happening is the equivalent of a ‘Special Military Operation’ . Another Putin like talking point. Trump is fast picking up all the ways of saying things from his master!!!!!!

if one is driving at 100 mph towards a 2foot thick concrete wall and is just one yard from same - yes , one could say that there has been no crash YET

Am surprised that he did not go for the’ easiest win ‘ first and talk to them. Trump would make a suggestion to them and say “if you agree with me then JUST FLAP” !!!!!

S&P 500 is down 10% in 2 days. The Trump circus will be glad it's Saturday. S&P is also down 2.5% year on year which will really piss long term investors off. I am watching Michael Burry's portfolio and there is a lot of red. I wonder did he short the markets, he has history of doing that. The people that shorted are the only folks making big money now. Monday will be interesting.

We're definitely near correction territory.

The tariffs imposition are a political event with economic consequences so market reactions and strategy can take time to materialize. We may see a bigger bolt out of US assets later.

one thing that will not change is that Trump's tariffs formula signals to the market that there's no actual method being applied. even holding 10 year t bills isn't insurance against the maga madness continuing even if Trump died on the golf course.

I disagree that the solution to the predicament the US public find themselves in is free trade. There are more than two choices between free trade idealism, and whatever it is that Trump is doing.

Trade policy is part of international diplomacy. It is a tool to drive reforms and to extend your domestic policy abroad.

Eg, if you are a liberal country, you should put tariffs on countries that use slavery or revoke civil rights from minorities or women.

We should put tariffs on countries that have lower costs because they exploit labour and or cause environmental destruction.

We should also protect essential domestic interests, like the CAP to ensure that Europe has a viable food industry to prepare for the inevitable global trade shocks so we are not left stranded without food.

Free trade absolutism is a race to the bottom in labour health and environmental standards and political freedoms

I read that Trump will have to come to some agreement with the EU Canada and Japan re tariffs otherwise the stock market will continue to decline. The us is heading for a 2008 type recession unless he is ready to compromise and negotiate. Tariffs increase the cost of goods for All consumers Then voted for trump he promised to crack down on illegal immigrantion. He speaks in a simple way that appeals to working class and Latino voters .Biden was too old to be a viable candidate.

Democrats can't seem to communicate with working class voters . Hopefully democrats can up with some candidate that appeals to voters in the next 3 years .

Now think about the tangible impact it has on any of them. They'll pick that money back up at some other point and they're ultimately unimpacted in day to day life. So if this is your definition of the elite suffering, it's not suffering. Meanwhile working class and middle class people will actually suffer. Equally it doesn't take into account how many of those same billionaires are likely profiting from this situation...

The way I look at it rightly or wrongly, is this…. if a country can produce certain goods within its borders then tariffs are ok to shore up domestic production. If they can't produce domestically and place tariffs on imports - not good.

But I obviously haven't thought it through like an economist either!

Getting the tariff formula all wrong made a mockery of the whole thing and probably spooked the markets even more. They know they are dealing with economic clowns now.

I believe the Trump administration gave the ports a week to implement the new tariffs on their processes and systems so there is a lag there. It will take a while before we see the real impact including delays and bottlenecks at ports.

Another assassination attempt in the near future.

Where are all these post numbers you keep referencing?