Hektor

From NYTimes How sweeping are the tariffs? All goods imported from Canada and Mexico will be subject to a 25 percent tariff, except Canadian energy products, which will face a 10 percent tariff, according to the executive orders. The orders also placed a 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods. The auto and electric equipment sectors in Mexico are most exposed to disruption from sweeping tariffs, as is mineral processing in Canada, according to economists at S&P Global. In the United States, the largest risks are to farming, fishing, metal and auto production.

US/CAN and US/MEX Railroads may be an opportunity to look at.

Is all of these aimed at China, to prevent the Chinese from avoiding tariffs by setting up shop in CAN/MEX?

https://www.wsj.com/world/china/chinas-local-governments-settle-overdue-bills-with-apartments-not-cash-50a35053 China’s Local Governments Settle Overdue Bills With Apartments, Not Cash In recent years, Chinese property developers have been so strapped for cash that they have used unsold apartments to settle debts to construction companies and furniture suppliers . Now, Chinese local governments are following suit.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/10/business/china-central-bank-bonds.html China’s Central Bank Stops Buying Bonds as Deflation Fears Grip Economy In a striking sign of the Chinese economy’s stagnation, the central bank said on Friday that it had temporarily stopped buying government bonds. The central bank’s unexpected action is aimed at braking a recent shift by investors toward purchasing bonds while shunning riskier assets like stocks and real estate. That shift has driven China’s long-term interest rates to a record low. The decision by the central bank, the People’s Bank of China, was notable because central banks facing weak growth usually buy bonds to pump money into an economy. This is what the Federal Reserve did during the global financial crisis 16 years ago and other recent financial upheavals.

Thanks Prasad. The activity feed and the search functionality were down yesterday, and are up today.

You read my mind

If my memory serves me, Bill has taken positions (long as well as short) and then went on media and road shows trying to drum up support for his position.

It's a grand jury indictment, if I am not wrong.

The flexibility to do whatever you want with your time.

Thanks for the response @Spekulatius

Why?

Thanks @wabuffo

@Spekulatius Your forecast seems to be coming true https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/04/business/china-foreclosures-mortgages.html Foreclosures in China Soar, Threatening to Choke Off Bank Profits When the housing market was flying high, mortgage defaults were almost nonexistent. But now the legal system is struggling to keep up with evictions. Banks in China are foreclosing on a growing number of apartments after homeowners could not pay their mortgages, as the country’s housing crash threatens the financial system. The roster of homes seized and listed for auction leaped 43 percent last year, according to official data. Numerous Chinese banks have disclosed increases in mortgage defaults during the first half of this year. The downward spiral in apartment prices has since accelerated. The increase in evictions and foreclosures, although still modest by American standards, piles onto pressures on China’s banks. They face other losses related to the real estate meltdown, including on loans to local governments, property companies in default and buyers of unfinished apartments that developers never delivered. To make matters worse, corporate borrowers in China have long posted real estate holdings as collateral. Bank managers are finding that the collateral is worth much less than when the loans were extended.

One need not go and live in China for 5 years to understand this. Here is a real current example. The brilliant Elon Musk, who is very vocally taking on the POTUS and the VP of USA, is remarkably quiet when it comes to Xi. I wonder why