Good morning. “I’ll get you, copper!” While that saying was made by Dan Duryea in the 1949 movie, “Johnny Stool Pigeon,” in the future it might be attributed to Donald Trump who attacked copper in recent days by placing a 50% tariff on imports of the metal … under the guise that our non-domestic supply has become a national security risk. As … according to Reuters … “the White House framed the new tariffs as a way to counter China’s dominance of the global market” … we domestically produce over half of our nation’s demand and almost all of the rest comes from Chile, Canada and Peru … so the rationale presented over China is … well … a bit puzzling. But tariffs on copper aren’t the only thing facing additional fees … as “letters” going out to an increasing number of countries (which the Administration curiously claims to be “the same as a deal”) promise to create a bit of concern as we get closer to the supposed August 1st triggering date. I had a bit of an interesting issue yesterday as I dropped off my kid at Kennedy airport (fighting the ridiculous traffic on the Belt Parkway and then experiencing the massive construction and re-routing going on at JFK). What was even more maddening was the GPS telling me my return trip home (110 miles) would take 4 hours and 33 minutes as it tried to route me through lower Manhattan. Yikes! After I pulled over for NY pizza, I adjusted the seat to my attributes by pushing a button … and the time dropped to just over 2 hours. What I then realized is my son had togged over to “avoid highways” in the car’s computer. Ugh. There was a bit of a ruckus in the tennis world over the weekend, as playing in a “professional” match was billionaire hedge fund investor Bill Ackman. While he was selected as a “wildcard entry” by his partner (well within the rules), the criticisms were many … including his taking a promotional spot away from a promising young player. And icing on the cake for cynics … as if it was needed … was the result … the losing result … as the head of one International Tennis Federation tournament claimed he had “… just watched the absolute worst professional tennis match I have ever seen.” What this might do, however, is open the door for wealthy individuals to buy their way onto the roster of professional teams. I can just see it now … September 2025 … … starting quarterback for the New York Jets … … Jeff Bezos. Hmm … come to think of it, that might be quite an improvement. Have a great day, Joseph G. Witthohn, CFA Have any questions? Please contact info@teamemerald.com
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