Karen Carpenter used to sing about rainy days and Mondays getting her down. Well, if she were alive today, on a rainy and cold Monday here in the northeast, she might add tariffs to her list.
The U.S. ... claiming that unfair practices from China with regard to trade must end ... fired a volley by raising tariffs on Chinese imports ... warning China not to retaliate. And how did the Chinese react? By retaliating, of course ... and, according to The Guardian, installing a 25% duty was on 2,500 American products ... and a 20% duty on another 1,000. The next move is ours, it seems ... and investors appear worried, as the Dow is already down around 600 points as we await the next "tweet" out of Washington.One of the (unfortunate) results of the tariff ... appears to have been cleared up over the weekend. Initially, the President seemed to claim tariffs were a payment from the Chinese, going directly to the U.S. Treasury ... but Economic Advisor, Larry Kudlow, cleared that up (a bit) by stating yesterday that it is actually the U.S. that pays ... but "both sides will suffer on this" ... and the U.S. economy is able to withstand a bigger hit than the China's.But right now it appears he is correct ... as each side appears bruised ... and investors fear additional punches will be thrown. Regardless, many strategists have stated that it is not only China and the U.S. that will feel the effects ... as global markets are also affected by the battle. And investors? Right now they appear to be feeling the effects also ... and even though the Dow is presently down, as mentioned, the tech-heavy, import-heavy, Nasdaq doing much worse on a percentage basis).That's enough for me this morning. Maybe you can sense my concern, though I do have hope that both sides will lick their wounds and realize an agreement is in both of their best interests.... as of 11:40 AM today ...
The trade war is not only affecting the combatants(the U.S. and China), but the global economy seems to be suffering a bit as well (
CNBC)... even so, the
U.S. seems to be taking the position that this tariff battleis something that must be done ... as China has taken advantage of the U.S. for far too long (
RealClearPolitics)While many feel that
market reaction to today's events are only temporary... some have difficulty waiting for things to settle ... especially if early retirement forces them to depend on investments today (
Fool)
Yet some who retired voluntarily are clamoring to get back into the workforce.Why? They need the extra income (
NYPost)... that's right ... extra income is a good thing ... and even some
Amazon workers are being goaded into leaving the factory to become delivery drivers. Without this, same-day-delivery might not work (
Time)...
but hold on to your hats!The perfect job for interns might have been announced ...as one company will actually hire you to drink beer ... something I've been doing for free! (
FoxNews)
Do many of your "cold" emails not get a response?Be aware of the important subject line ... lest your note might sit unnoticed ... and unopened (
TheLadders)One of the most interesting things about
social media is the effect it might have on behavior. No, not the way you act ... but the way you shop ... and marketers are taking notice (
MarketWatch)
