Good morning. Crazy Eddie (before his arrest) was constantly on television in the New York area shouting about sales at his stores with the famous comment that “prices are insane!” Well, if Brooklyn-born Eddie Antar was alive today he might be bringing back his famous phrase by shouting about aluminum prices … as the Trump steel and aluminum tariff increase (scheduled to be instituted later this week) is already having an effect on prices around the globe. As a backstory, Reuters reports U.S. manufacturers are heavily reliant on aluminum imports and prices jumped 54% since Friday and are up 146% so far this year … while Goldman warns the announced 50% import fee is not yet fully priced in. Meanwhile, there is little capacity in the U.S. as the last primary aluminum smelter was built around 45 years ago. With so many industries highly dependent on aluminum … the statement of Crazy Eddie seems louder than ever in the world of aluminum … as prices really are “insane.” Meanwhile stocks are down slightly this morning but following a 6% gain in May … we feel the bull deserves a day of rest. Even so, there are concern about the market upward trend continuing as the U.S. and China are participating in a war of words … with each accusing the other of cheating on recent handshake tariff agreements. What helped drive markets over the last few weeks were reports … contrary to expert beliefs … that inflation is finally nearing the Fed’s desired 2% level. But Mark Cuban claims the results to be a bit tainted … as much has been due to stockpiling … and prices will soon catch up. There could be some truth to this (unless some agreements happen soon) as BofA claims stored inventory will soon be extinguished … with food and beverage needing replenishment in less than a month. Meanwhile, imports have slowed … by 20% month-over-month according to DailyShot … which is the highest drop in (gulp!) over 35 years. Sorry to write so much today … I bought a new Keurig (before prices go up) and the coffee seems stronger. Besides, there are lots of interesting topics to chat about … but I’ll shorten things and end my note in a moment. What intrigued me are the last few stories below on Artificial Intelligence. One talks about how jobs are already being lost to “AI” … while another article goes much deeper and claims our adoption … instead of helping us … will prove to be the end of humanity (with a limited number of lucky survivors). But the very last note below struck a nerve … for it tells of a number of people looking at the many conveniences of today … and wishing things would revert to the way they were years ago … with less machines … fewer distractions … just … well … simpler and less-stressful times. While this might seem quite relaxing indeed, it must be conceded that we are never going back … but, instead, will continue to advance forward at an ever-increasing speed. I queried AI this morning about how to handle those people who feel machines are actually hurting society … and my ChatGPT came to a decision … … these are the people who must first be eliminated. Have a great day, Joseph G. Witthohn, CFA Have any questions? Please contact info@teamemerald.com
|
Call Us: +1 (800) 722-4123 
Back