Mr. Trudeau on line 1. Mr. Starmer on line 2.

It's only for a month. And it looks like Trump finally got Mexico to pay for a wall - not an engineered wall, but a wall of 10,000 soldiers on the border.

Most are going down only 1 basis point. Not sure why it's generating this level of media coverage ... it's a non-issue for most people who wouldn't even notice.

Yup. The media needs something to rant about on an otherwise slow day I guess. VG’s move reminds me of the “Razzle Dazzle” act in Chicago. A marvelous performance. If anyone cares to watch I’ve linked it below. Half-dozen different lines could apply to VG’s situation. :)
View Here (Funky video. Seems to work best if you first tap on the screen expander button in the lower right of the frame.)

Most are going down only 1 basis point. Not sure why it's generating this level of media coverage ... it's a non-issue for most people who wouldn't even notice.

”I'll see how things look after I get back from my workout.”
My daily ”workout” is 6” deep in the driveway and accumulating. :)
Thanks folks for continuing this very informative thread. I’m watching closely but don’t see any need to make changes. I’m tilted in the direction of more inflation. Those types of funds are holding up reasonably well today. In that realm I own RAPAX. During the day I watch GGN, RAAX, VNQ, RLTY, RIO for clues. Yes - there’s precious metals which continue to dance - even today. But I’m avoiding direct exposure due to the volatile nature of the metals and my advanced age near 80.
Positioning: 38% equity / 11% “other”
Beyond what I said above, unless you are a trader, I can’t see any reason for “knee-jerk” reactions. But time might prove me wrong.

I am already at 41% equity in the IRA, though not specifically due to the current occupant of the White House.
I am tempted to dump my IRA position in IYK, plus smaller positions in GRID and FIW that would take me to the low-mid 30's.
I'll see how things look after I get back from my workout.

Sold most of my VOO holding, took equities from 48% to 15% -- I'll sit on sidelines and watch the craziness for a while.

No So Fun Fentanyl Facts:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/andyjsemotiuk/2025/01/31/tariff-on-canada-not-justified-by-us-immigration-and-drug-claims/
Excerpt: (BOLD added):
In Fiscal Year 2024, USCBP seized 21,148 pounds of fentanyl at the southwest border, mostly smuggled from Mexico. In contrast, only 43 pounds were intercepted at the northern border. This means that less than 1% of all fentanyl seizures occurred at the U.S.-Canada border.
So citing the stop of it flowing (sic) in from Canada as a reason to impose a 25% tariffs seems, well, insane.

Yeah.
Frankly I'm wonder how many of these antics (Canada, Panama, Greenland) the Naranja Suprema de Mar-a-Lago is attempting to create his own version of the Gleiwitz Incident.....

No So Fun Fentanyl Facts:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/andyjsemotiuk/2025/01/31/tariff-on-canada-not-justified-by-us-immigration-and-drug-claims/
Excerpt: (BOLD added):
In Fiscal Year 2024, USCBP seized 21,148 pounds of fentanyl at the southwest border, mostly smuggled from Mexico. In contrast, only 43 pounds were intercepted at the northern border. This means that less than 1% of all fentanyl seizures occurred at the U.S.-Canada border.
So citing the stop of it flowing (sic) in from Canada as a reason to impose a 25% tariffs seems, well, insane.

WOW!
I trust many will find invoking Reagan here as a voice of reason of sorts to be rich!
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/sep/21/ronald-reagan-trump-comparisons-book-max-boot
Did Reagan pave the way for Trump? ‘You can trace the linkages,’ says biographer

Buy the Dip and Sell the Rip?
Trust the Buffoon Put?
Here's one take on all that.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/buy-the-dip-and-sell-the-rips-stock-traders-are-counting-on-the-trump-put-e7017958?mod=watchlist_latest_news
(Subscription)
Excerpt:
Expect the stock market “vigilantes” to force the Trump administration to do a face-saving backtrack in the near future.
The current market environment suggests that traders should adopt a strategy of “buy the dip and sell the rips.” The combination of negative surprises during earnings season and potential bearish policy announcements when the market is overbought will put downward pressure on stock prices. On the other hand, investors should trust the stock market vigilantes to activate the “Trump Put” in the event of a market downdraft, as the U.S. president is said to judge his own performance by the U.S. stock market. In the absence of a severe bearish catalyst, expect stock prices to bounce when the market becomes oversold.

See also
https://trkmw.dowjones.com/view/66e9c5e92241b007af32ae7cmvzxu.28i6/20a0998b
(Subscription)
Excerpt:

Traders are shocked that a president who said he would place tariffs on countries with whom the U.S. has notable trade deficits has put tariffs on some of those countries. After Canada, Mexico and China, the European Union may be next.
The chart below from Goldman Sachs, shows how prediction markets late last week were not taking the tariff threat very seriously — setting up today’s reaction.
The chart (that won't copy) shows only a 30% probability as late as January 30 of "Effective Tariff Rate Reaching 5% in 1H 2025."

+1.
Do not do anything illegal, even if intentions are noble, especially if other human beings depend on you.

Stock market is Trump's barometer of success. As investors we can vote with our dollars. I, for one, am willing to forego short term stock market gains and selling equities (tax deferred only) into the tariffs.

@rforno, with all due respect, I think your thread title would be more appropriate if it read,
"Tariff President's Markets Open."
As stated on air a while ago by one notable journalist (paraphrasing):
"No president or even presidential candidate in US history other than the buffoon was ever stoopid enough to claim he wanted to be known as the 'Tariff President'."
Sadly, a mere two weeks into the mayhem, he's accomplished that goal!
More broadly, the previously successful strategy of "buying the dip" is going to be very difficult under his regime, as investors will never know when the next buffoon-induced market DROP will occur.
UBS Wealth does however this AM provide these thoughts:
UBS Wealth reiterated its 6,600 target for S&P 500. 'Tariffs unlikely to be sustained.'

Many observers don't think the tariffs will last very long.
"Tariffs on Canada and Mexico are unlikely to be sustained, U.S. economic growth should represent a tailwind for stocks, and we continue to believe that AI presents a powerful structural tailwind for earnings and equity markets," said Mark Haefele, global wealth management chief investment officer at UBS.
He pointed to several off ramps: for one, industry groups will file court challenges as well as lobby for their removal. The tariffs also could be a tactic to reaccelerate a renegotiation of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that Trump negotiated in his first term. The tariffs also could lead to concessions from Mexico and Canada.
There's also the brief period before the tariffs go into effect, on Tuesday, for negotiation, as well as the several weeks that will be needed for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to actually implement them, judging by the 2018 and 2019 experience, he said.

Imports into the US -
EU imports went from $200b in year 2000 to 600b now; whereas Canada imports went from $200b to 400b. I am sure EU membership has expanded during that period but still that much more imports from a region that presumably is a nursing home makes me think what the hell have we been. China and HK went from 100b to 440b, after hitting nearly 600b a few years ago. Mexico is the biggest beneficiary going from 100b to 500b. Japan stayed steady more or less around 150b, which means as a percentage of our GDP, imports from Japan fell drastically. My earlier comments about China diversifying their exports to the US can be seen in the data.
In any case, given so much illegal immigration is from (and through) Mexico, I think providing serious disincentive to Mexico was warranted 20-30 years ago. This is not a new problem. The biggest beneficiary US industries of illegal immigration must have now decided they received too many than they want. Mexico has had governance problems for as long as I can remember. Why were not illegal immigration and drugs tied into trade agreements for all these years? So, all the public reasoning provided for current Tariffs does not add up for me. Show me what is behind the curtain. Makes me think neither the illegal immigration nor drugs from Mexico will be solved in my lifetime.

The ignorant orange idiot just said that tariffs against the EU are coming 'soon' .....
He really does want to blow up the world, doesn't he?

EU tariffs would be the cherry on top this next week. Final nail in the coffin. Market disruption complete. How long can this really hold? Who knows.
Our country has been hijacked by an ex reality tv show host -

I only wish somebody could shout in his orange face "YOUR FIRED".

They tried after 1/6, but the Senate GQP were too cowardly to stand up for the country and voted to acquit their cult leader b/c they were terrified of getting primaried out of their jobs ... or harassed by his mob back home.

CBC: (Interesting, the way Canadians are able to name appointed US cabinet officials. How many Yanks know the names of those counterparts?)
Canada is already expecting Recession, big jump in unemployment, a hit to the Loonie. Featured here are: conflicting signals from the Orange "Administration;" trying to know Trumpster's mind; realizing that he is like a shark who can smell blood. Surely,Trump's been told that the Trudeau gummint is by now a caretaker. A lame duck. "Canada catches the flu whenever the US catches a cold."
https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-57-the-sunday-magazine/clip/16125416-the-implications-donald-trumps-tariffs-canadian-goods

I am watching closely on the H5N1 virus as it mutates and jumps from birds to human. Few death cases are due to the existing health issues of those infected.
The speed of transmission from one poultry farm to another is alarming. Even with the current Biohazard practice in these farms, it has not stopped all cases. That is one reason egg production has hauled in part of the country while raises egg prices. Thousands gallons of milk were destroyed with the detection of the virus in the milk.
In contrast, New Zealand and few countries (cannot recalled) have had few COVID deaths and minimal economic suffering due to their fast reaction and scientific know how’s. Granted, these are small countries and easier to closed their boarders. Noted that these countries were headed by women as my wife reminded me.
@rforno, another view of the future market for tomorrow. Stocks are all down globally. Bonds are mostly in green.
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx

We better pray that there is not another round of pandemic take place soon. This administration is even more incompetent than his previous one. He nearly died from COVID-19 if it was not for the anti-viral drugs he was given, not bleach.

Agreed, @Sven. Another human pandemic is a very clear danger of the bird flu spread. It's already jumped from wild fowl to domestic, fowl to cattle, and domestic animals to humans. This isn't the best time to have authoritarian buffoons tearing down our public health system.