Tariffs, Car Payments & Cell Phones

Tariffs. Car payments. Cell phones. What do these three things have in common? All three are currently on most people’s minds, and two are expensive considerations for every person’s or family’s financial plan.

As for tariffs, the uncertainty around where tariffs, and now also tax legislation, will settle in is on most people’s minds. Tariff “policy” is still in the throes of global negotiation and lack of clarity. Will the US consumer benefit in any way? Will tariffs lead to continued painful inflation in the US? What about future economic relationships between the US and the rest of the world? Much is up in the air. Certain companies and business owners are in flux regarding future investment and decision-making. Meanwhile, overall, employers and consumers seem to be plodding along in a net-net positive direction.

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This May Take a While

It is time again for “the Greatest Chart Ever”.* And to extend the expression, often “the greatest” takes a while to develop.

The current situation that may take a while is tariff policy by the US with respect to trading partners. Tariffs are in effect for barely one week. Markets in short order have punished stock prices and caused heavy volatility in US Treasuries. Most of the volatility is due to uncertainty on a large scale about how and how much tariffs will affect availability, demand and end prices for consumer and industrial goods globally. That is a massive amount of goods and only time will tell. Stock markets do not like uncertainty – even if the eventual goal is to make a positive difference.

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Are Markets Ready for Tariffs?

Part of me needs to admit that today’s title was an attention grabber. The deeper questions are:

  • Are investors ready for volatility?
  • Are investor expectations ready for a test of high stock valuations?
  • As always, do investors have enough cash for spending priorities and wishes?
  • Are investors ready to take advantage of any coming volatility with savings strategies (think: being able to continue regular contributions to savings & investments, 401k plans and IRA accounts)?

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