Good morning.

Okay, I’m confused … which those who know me well will agree is nothing new.  But the ever-changing situation with the tariffs both baffles and worries me.

The President tossed out a tariff number for most Chinese goods last Friday that drove investors to the sidelines and immediately turned a positive market open into a rout … claiming the need for an additional (yes, additional) 100% to be placed on imported products from that country.

On Fox News, the President announced that these proposed new tariffs … which equates to an astounding 157% on some items … are “not sustainable” though “they could stand” and … well … I frankly have no idea what the heck I had just watched and listened to.

The issue is that not only does it affect portfolios, but how do businesses … especially small businesses … and consumers … even plan when the landscape even one hour from now might change?

The first article below is fairly telling as the claim is that much of the tariff increases have fallen on the shoulders of the American consumer … though we were assured it would not.  I will say I agree with one thing the President claims.  This is not sustainable.

I think what put me in a bad mood was shopping at Costco (my second home) yesterday … and I pulled back a bit when I realized my “coffee pods” (Dunkin) had basically skyrocketed in price.  A bit higher and I will need to replace my morning caffeine fix with beer (which, somehow, is now cheaper by the ounce).

Even the cost for clothing has jumped.

I went to buy a new belt (a bit larger than the last one) and the price for that was much higher than when I bought one just six months ago.

I realized I should probably have gone without one until I lose a few pounds.

Making me think my purchase might have been a huge waist.

Have a great day,

Joseph G. Witthohn, CFA

Have any questions? Please contact info@teamemerald.com

As of 11:51 AM today: There is concern that tariffs are starting to take a bit of a bite out of consumer’s wallets but the White House feels it will eventually be felt most by foreign exporters (CNBC) https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/16/tariff-costs-to-companies-this-year-to-hit-1point2-trillion-with-consumers-taking-most-of-the-hit-sp-says.html   … still, people have to pay bills … and some are finding it increasingly difficult to pay for auto loans that were taken out on fairly expensive vehicles (Bloomberg) https://archive.ph/9E8Tr   … but concern is not limited to autos … as … just as we have seen many times through history … loose lending standards have led to growing problems (CNBC) https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/17/global-bank-stocks-sell-off-as-fears-mount-over-bad-loans.html   AI-generated content is continuing, and this has improved so much that it is increasingly difficult to be able to tell if what you are reading is actually written by a machine (PCMag) https://www.pcmag.com/news/slop-central-more-than-50-of-articles-online-are-now-ai-generated   … but AI can go too far on occasion. One woman in Florida … in a very weird story … “made up” her attacker … and had AI-generated pictures to prove it (TheSmokingGun) https://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/bizarre/chatgpt-attacker-729315   Is this the future?  Or maybe there is a better question … is this the future we want? Some feel humanoid robots can help fight crime … some like it … while others are scared (NYPost) https://nypost.com/2025/10/16/business/marc-benioff-pitches-robo-cops-to-help-fight-crime-in-san-francisco/ The statements above are supplied for educational purposes only. The statements depict the viewpoints and opinion of the author and are not necessarily the views of Emerald Asset Management or its affiliates. The information described herein is taken from sources which are believed to be reliable, but the accuracy and completeness of such information is not guaranteed by us. Emerald Asset Management PA, LLC | 717-556-8900 | 3175 Oregon Pike, Leola, PA 17540 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can unsubscribe from this list. ———————————————————————————- The statements above are supplied for educational purposes only. The statements depict the viewpoints and opinion of the author and are not necessarily the views of Emerald Asset Management or its affiliates. The information described herein is taken from sources which are believed to be reliable, but the accuracy and completeness of such information is not guaranteed by us.