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I think @hank did a pretty good job responding. I've got just a couple of additional thoughts.
Despite these studies, and the reality of increased aluminum usage, it's hard to forget the Chevy Vega aluminum block engine of the '70s for anyone who owned a Vega. (I know someone who did.)Long seen as a lighter but far more expensive alternative to steel for automotive manufacturers, aluminum has enjoyed a surge as engineers scramble to shave weight amid tighter emissions standards. ...
The new study projects North American light vehicle aluminum content at 520 pounds per vehicle in 2025, up sharply from today’s mix but down from a previous forecast by Ducker in 2014 for 547 pounds per vehicle by then.
I doubt we see the 10 year at 6% but retirees would love it and drool all over themselves. Can you imagine what CD rates would be with the 10 year at 6%. Even now with the 10 year a tad over 3% you can get 3.40% on a five year CD, a bit more on a 10 year. A five year ladder at around 3.05%.Most significantly
"Gundlach told Reuters he was still forecasting 6 percent on the 10-year yield by the next presidential election or a year after."
That will be bad for stocks, funds and the economy.
David
General question: If "US consumers will be paying more because of the tariff war, isn't that effectively the same thing as a decrease in their take-home pay"?
Yes
And if that's correct, won't that eventually have the effect of reducing national consumption, retail purchasing, and business income?
Yes
Also, wouldn't the increase in prices be tantamount to an increase in inflation?
Yes
If that's true, wouldn't this eventually also have an effect on interest rates, as the Fed moves to adjust for that inflation?
No - At least not at first. This is different from the more typical “demand-push” type of inflation where consumer demand for goods and services outpaces supply, driving prices higher. Under that (more common scenario) debt is often expanding to fund the spending and leading to an overheated economy. It’s that excessive borrowing that Fed rate hikes are normally designed to curtail. In the case of tariffs, however, we have a loss of purchasing power (ie inflation) due to rising taxes (a tariff = a tax). So, as you seem to suggest, we might end up with the worst of both worlds - a slowing economy along with rising costs of living.
It seems to me that this whole scenario might have long-term consequences that we haven't really considered. Whether Mr. Trump actually considers and understands the possibilities, I'll leave to your judgement.
Agree - As a (too frequent) consumer of Bloomberg, the talking heads I hear almost daily seem nearly 100% in agreement that the tariff war unless halted will have real negative consequences. I hear that from those on the “right”, those on the “left” and those in the “center”. Virtually no knowledgeable business person or economist I’ve yet heard thinks imposing / raising tariffs a good idea.
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Omitted Earlier: As Old Joe suggests, I think, not all of the increase in prices would come from the tariffs themselves. Consumers in many cases may opt to purchase similar items made outside the countries on which tariffs have been imposed (presumably from U.S. based suppliers). So, to some extent the price inflation will come from actual increases in product pricing. That’s a bit of a gray area. It’s not inflation from taxation, but not exactly what you’d term demand-push inflation either. Not sure what to call it. “Insane” comes to mind.
That’s all correct. Thanks for the documentation. Notwithstanding those limitations, occassionally one of those folks just gets lucky. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-to-shelter-hundreds-of-millions-in-an-ira-account-2014-09-19It's not a particularly meaningful statistic. There are relatively few wealthy taxpayers and their contributions are capped at $5500 or $6500. So it's virtually impossible for the amount of dollars they contribute to exceed that of many more small contributions by the middle class.
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