Good morning. Stocks are down to start the day as we head into a holiday weekend … but that certainly doesn’t mean news has taken a vacation by any means. An inflation number came in this morning and your “take” on the result will probably be dependent on what you read. Why do I say this? I quickly glanced at stories immediately following the result and in addition to the scary Yahoo Finance headline of: “Key Fed inflation gauge rises at highest pace since February” … different organizations reported actual numbers … thus leading to my confusion. The Bureau of Economic Analytics told us “PCE inflation came in … as expected for July (at) 2.6%” … while Trading Economics reported the rate “… remained at 2.7% … below forecasts” … while Creative Planning told us “… inflation has moved up to 2.9%.” As Casey Stengel once pointed out (while watching the NY Mets play in their early days): “Can’t anybody here play this game?” This morning, I envisioned a large group of business news writers wearing Met uniforms. Meanwhile, the Fed certainly has a lot on its plate, but any indigestion might not be caused by the hefty serving but by the courts … as governor Cook is challenging the right of Donald J. Trump to fire (and then replace) her. This might actually end up at the Supreme Court which seems to be quite busy lately playing Whack-a-Mole amid all the lawsuits flying around. When watching infomercials, one common refrain from announcers is the screamed phrase, “and that’s not all!” Well, the same is true amid this morning’s major stories of interest to investors as the “de minimis” tariff exemption has ended … meaning lower-cost products (under $800) are no longer excluded from paying an extra fee. This could be major. I actually took a few minutes to look around my kitchen at “little de minimis items” that were not manufactured here and saw such simple things as my Pendleton Coffee Mugs (made in China), Tylenol Cough Tablets (Canada), Kirkland Parchment Paper (made in France; packed in Canada); and even Organic Ghee … which is marked: “made in USA” with an additional note of “with domestic and imported butter.” There is a lot at stake with this de minimis tariff and if prices rise as a result … even a little bit … a lot of people are gonna be mighty mad. I think, though, the President will backtrack on this rather quickly … or at least just reduce the exemption amount. Sometimes decision-makers rethink their decisions once they realize it may have been made without thoroughly thinking it through. A case in point here is Cracker Barrel. The CEO decided to change the logo and was met with a response that was rather ferocious. I won’t get into what group was or was not angered over their switch … but I did fall in the camp of those who absolutely hated the change … as the new logo was just … well … boring. I love Cracker Barrel … go ahead and change the logo … the menu … the backcountry feel you experience as you enter the restaurant. Sure … change things up. I’ll eat elsewhere. On a final note for today is a disturbing article, the last one below, which tells of some in the Gen Z category absolutely terrified of the uncomfortable habit of talking on a phone … and taking courses to overcome their phobia. Taking classes to overcome … oh, never mind. That about covers things up for today as I want to rush back to Facebook to read more morning gossip, including an update on the most famous engagement in many a year. It seems retired football referee, Ed Hochuli, saw the photo of Travis Kelce proposing to Taylor Swift … blew a whistle and said he should be penalized … … as he claimed, after review, that his knee didn’t touch the ground. Have a great weekend and a happy Labor Day, Joseph G. Witthohn, CFA Have any questions? Please contact info@teamemerald.com
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