As we write, the stock correction is only a tad larger than what we had in August, and sentiment is getting quite bleak, and MACD (bottom panel) looks like it wants to bottom. Our experience suggests that it is foolish to predict much at this point, and it is wiser to let the markets do the talking instead. If we hold, we hold. If we don’t, the market will likely go a bit lower. The risks for Trump are high. After touting a “golden age,” a severe recession and bear market in stocks will be fodder for Democrat attacks. Yet, given the trajectory of spending and budgets, Trump must cut back, or the nation will go bankrupt. Whether you support him or not, he has been left in a very tough situation. Most of the economic distortions and market overvaluation occurred under his predecessor. Knowing that, Trump and his team may feel it best to take the pain early in the administration, hoping things will bounce back for the mid-term elections. However, once you start to “detox”, it is hard to predict the severity of withdrawal symptoms. But still, to be healthy, we must go through the process.
President Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’
/by Spencer M MorrisonPresident Trump is set to impose sweeping reciprocal tariffs on April 2, which are designed to level the playing field between American free enterprise and foreign state-backed rivals. “April 2 is going to be liberation day for America,” according to the president. Over the last five decades, America has offshored trillions of dollars worth of economic production—everything from our most basic necessities to cutting-edge technologies—to our economic rivals. We are at the point where America depends on Chinese imports to maintain our wealth and security. In 1870 America was the second largest industrial power in the world, behind only Great Britain. By the 1880s, America produced a quarter of the world’s industrial output, and our share continued to grow. We remained the most productive nation in the world for the next 150 years, until China stole the title in 2010. Now, America’s share of global industrial output has fallen to about 17%—half what it was during our industrial golden age. Much of America’s exports now constitute raw materials—soybeans, corn, and petroleum—as opposed to computers or aircraft. This export profile resembles something that a dispassionate observer would associate with somewhere in Africa or South America as opposed to the richest country on earth.