Support Our Journalism

Smart. Sharp. Funny. Fearless

Politics National News World Economy Lifestyle Store

Tag: stock market

After Sinking Markets, Trump Flees To His Florida Golf Resort (Again)

Either the world economy isn’t actually burning, or President Donald Trump just doesn’t care.

The convicted felon was spotted jetting off to Miami on Thursday as chaos ensued following tariffs he placed on more than 180 countries and territories.

Trump’s public schedule said he was expected to arrive at the Trump National Doral Golf Club around 5 PM ET for a LIV Golf event, at which he was scheduled to appear.

It wouldn’t be unheard of for the president to take a swing during the game, either. Two years ago, Trump participated in the LIV Golf pro-am at Trump National Golf Club in Washington, D.C.

On Thursday evening, Trump was scheduled to attend a LIV-related dinner event before flying back to his Mar-a-Lago estate for the night. It’s unclear when he will return to the White House.

All in all, it sounds like the president is going to have himself a relaxing Thursday while companies and people across the globe scramble to adjust to the sweeping tariffs he put in place Wednesday.

“Trump is hitting the golf course while your retirement savings takes a nose dive,” House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, a Democrat, posted on X on Thursday.

Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, which are as high as 50 percent, have sparked massive blowback from multiple countries.

“The decision by the U.S. tonight to impose 20 percent tariffs on imports from across the European Union is deeply regrettable. I strongly believe that tariffs benefit no one,” Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin wrote on Wednesday.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba also denounced Trump's actions after a 24 percent tariff was placed on his country. He called the tariffs "extremely regrettable and against our wishes," adding that Japan will "strongly demand a review."

Despite catching fire from other nations and from those in the U.S. just trying to save for retirement, Trump seems to be unfazed.

Of course, the president has been golfing away since he started his second term. Even when Trump was lambasting federal employees for working remotely, he still managed to fit in trips to his golf clubs.

While federal employees are back in the office—despite not having desks, toilet paper, or even an office in some cases—Trump is blowing millions in tax dollars to hit the green. In his first month back in office, the president spent an estimated $10.2 million in federal taxpayer dollars to fund his hobby. That, in turn, funded his own businesses, given they are Trump-owned golf courses.

But when it comes to tanking the global stock market—and Americans’ 401ks—Trump seems to think there is nothing to worry about.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Reacting To Trump Economic Policies, Consumer Anxiety Surges

President Donald Trump's foolish and chaotic economic policy is paralyzing the economy and causing consumer sentiment to plummet—ratcheting up the odds that the United States descends into a full-blown recession, experts said Friday.

The warnings came as the University of Michigan said that consumer sentiment dramatically fell in March, dropping 12 percent from February as consumers of all political stripes said they expect the economy to get worse in the coming year, according to data released by the University of Michigan.

“Republicans joined independents and Democrats in expressing worsening expectations since February for their personal finances, business conditions, unemployment, and inflation,” the University of Michigan said in its monthly survey of consumers. “Consumers continue to worry about the potential for pain amid ongoing economic policy developments. Notably, two-thirds of consumers expect unemployment to rise in the year ahead, the highest reading since 2009.”

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta said Friday that it expects the U.S. economy will have shrunk 2.8 percent in the first three months of 2024—marking a steep decline since Trump took office, when the bank predicted the economy would continue on a growth trajectory.

Even worse is that inflation ticked up in February for the fourth straight month, increasing 0.4 percent even before Trump's idiotic tariffs go into place—which economists say will only worsen the price increases.

Ultimately, the new data points have economists fearing that Trump's policies are going to send the economy off a cliff as both companies and consumers scale back because they are spooked by Trump's chaos.

“There is no other conclusion possible other than the Trump 2.0 economic policies are frightening consumers as much as they do corporations,” said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at FwdBonds, CNN reported. “The economy is going to stall out if not something worse if Washington policymakers are not careful.”

Meanwhile, Washington Post economic columnist Heather Long said that consumer sentiment falling off a cliff could lead Americans to stop spending—which could plunge the economy into recession as the economy is largely dependent upon consumers opening their wallets.

"This is one of the scariest charts I've seen in awhile," Long wrote in a post on X of the consumer sentiment index. "In the 'vibe-cession' under Biden, people gave the economy poor grades. But they were generally optimistic about their personal finances (esp the rich). Under Trump 2025, people at all income levels are worried they will be worse off in a year. This is the type of situation that causes people to really pull back on spending. This is what is different than 2023 or 2024."

Forbesreported in February that consumer spending makes up about 70 percent of the U.S. economy. From the report:

When spending grows, so does the economy. The economy slows when consumers keep their money in their pockets. When spending increases, companies see more business and eventually need more help. As spending trails off, companies eventually postpone hiring. If markets get worse, executives eventually lay off workers.

So if consumers actually stop spending—either because of real or predicted price increases from Trump’s tariffs—that could lead to economic disaster.

Ultimately, amid the negative news about the economy, the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday plummeted more than 700 points as of press time, continuing the market's plunge that began when Trump first started announcing his tariff intentions.

“Republicans are raising costs, crashing the economy and driving us into a recession,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote in a post on X. “What happened to bringing about the golden age of America?”

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

How Trump May Use Trade Chaos For Illegal Gain

You can get rich when stocks go up. You can get rich when stocks go down. When stocks go up, people who knew to buy them in advance may win big. If they go down, investors who had the wisdom to "go short" on them — that is, bet on their decline — can make a bundle.

Clearly, anyone who can predict what stock prices would do can make magnificent profits. And who knew that Donald Trump was about to announce market-moving plans for bigger tariffs, then smaller tariffs, then sideways tariffs, then tariff delays?

Trump knew.

It happens that trading stocks or other investments based on insider information, whether by a corporate executive or government official, is highly illegal. Trump and any confidants who got wind of what he was about to say on tariffs could have made fortunes buying or selling on that information.

Were Trump and friends engaging in such fraud? So far no one has presented direct evidence that Trump's whiplash statements and contradictory actions on tariffs are part of a ploy to manipulate stock prices. But I did ask a conservative banker friend whether he thought insiders were trading on all this tariff chaos. His answer: "I have absolutely no doubt about it."

A number of factors strongly hint that this could be going on.

Hint number one is that if one believes Trump's vows to move forward on tariffs, none of this makes sense. Nearly every economist holds that reckless tariffs will crash the economy. As a negotiating tactic, what have these gyrations produced? Pathetically little.

Example: Trump slapped 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico at midnight, March 4. Stock prices tumbled. Hours later, his Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Trump might reconsider. Trump then announces a one-month delay on some tariffs. Stocks jumped.

U.S. automakers rely on parts from Mexico and Canada to make their vehicles less expensive and easier to sell. Trump "explained" that the American companies could use the month to move that production back to the United States.

Let's cut to the chase: Vehicle makers couldn't build new parts factories in just a month even if they wanted to. But gosh, what a good time insiders could have trading on their pain.

Hint number two is that Trump is firing ethics watchdogs that would call attention to illegal stock manipulation. The Department of Justice, for one, is supposed to prosecute government officials for insider trading. Trump just gave the No. 2 position at DOJ to Todd Blanche, who was his personal criminal defense lawyer.

Trump did a mass firing of inspectors general, some of whom investigate insider trading by government officials. He didn't even give Congress the 30-days' notice required by law.

Hint number three is that Trump simply loves a good scam. It matters not whether the victims are students at his university, investors in his bankrupt casinos or his fans.

Some may recall how the Trump Rebate Banking System suckered sad members of his cult. TRB sold such items as "Trump Bucks," "Trump coins" and membership cards on the false claim they would become legal tender in a future monetary system.

As things now stand, a big chunk of North American trade remains exposed to tariffs. That means Trump has much opportunity to play more tariff games with friendly countries, U.S. workers, manufacturers and ordinary investors.

The time has long passed for Americans to dismiss the idea that Trump's yo-yo "trade policy" is a simple matter of indecision. They should ask whether it involves, or even revolves around, an insider trading scheme benefiting Trump and his consorts. Does anyone have a better explanation for it?

Reprinted with permission from Creators.

Musk's Infamy Is Sinking Tesla Sales - And Its Stock Price

Stocks for the electric vehicle company Tesla just wrapped its worst month since 2022, and it’s all because of its certifiably insane CEO, Elon Musk.

In February, Tesla shares plummeted 28%, signaling their worst month since a 37% drop in December 2022. The stock fell by an additional 3% on Monday alone.

And after Trump announced he would enact his disastrous tariff policy, it could bottleneck Tesla’s manufacturing, fracturing it even more.

“We note that potential tariffs on Mexico and Canada pose significant risk to our [North American] production estimates and could create a supply shock similar to COVID,” Bank of America analyst John Murphy said to CNBC on Tuesday. He also highlighted that “sentiment on the brand [is] potentially souring.”

This comes after the six weeks of Musk meddling in the federal government via his so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which is gutting federal agencies, firing thousands of federal employees, and generally wreaking havoc on Americans.

In addition to Musk poisoning his brand’s supposed coolness, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that the company’s sales in China have slowed by a staggering 49% in February compared with the previous year at that time.

“I don’t even want to drive it,” one Tesla owner told the Associated Press. “He’s destroying the brand with his politics.”

Tesla sales are dropping all across Europe. As Daily Kos’ Markos Moulitsas reported in January, the decline in Tesla sales has largely tracked with Musk’s entrance into politics last year.

Americans are angry over Musk’s hand in the government and have taken to protesting nationwide at Tesla dealerships or allegedly setting Tesla charging stations on fire. And those who were thinking about purchasing Teslas have gone on a “buyers strike,” while many of those who have already bought them are communicating their buyer's remorse with bumper stickers, such as one reading, “We bought this car before we knew.”

Meanwhile, Musk is seemingly enriching himself through the government. Earlier this month, he reportedly hid the State Department’s plan to pay out $400 million to Tesla for armored vehicles—a contract the administration says it’s abandoning after it came to light.

Americans are pissed at Musk’s corruption, and they are telling him in the only way he understands: money.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Shop our Store

Headlines

Editor's Blog

Corona Virus

World

        About The National Memo
    
The National Memo is a political newsletter and website that combines the spirit of investigative journalism with new technology and ideas. We cover campaigns, elections, the White House, Congress, and the world with a fresh outlook. Our own journalism — as well as our selections of the smartest stories available every day — reflects a clear and strong perspective, without the kind of propaganda, ultra-partisanship and overwrought ideology that burden so much of our political discourse.
TAGS

Created By

RebelMouse

About Masthead Terms of Service Privacy Statement Advertise Contact

Smart. Sharp. Funny. Fearless

After Sinking Markets, Trump Flees To His Florida Golf Resort (Again)

Reacting To Trump Economic Policies, Consumer Anxiety Surges

How Trump May Use Trade Chaos For Illegal Gain

Musk's Infamy Is Sinking Tesla Sales - And Its Stock Price

Shop our Store

Constitution Cork Coaster

Democracy Mug

Make America Think Again Hat

Constitution Rocks Glass

Headlines

'Money, Lies And God': Fateful 1995 Meeting Linked Authoritarians In US And Russia

Danziger Draws

Trump Cabinet Nominee Withdraws Over (Sane) January 6 Comments

Autocrat (And Felon) Trump Yearns To 'Disappear' American Citizens, Too

Editor's Blog

Brilliant Tariff Strategy Or Market Manipulation? We Report, You Decide

In Trump's Hands, Absolute Power Brings Inevitable Catastrophe

Why The Trump War Plans Leak Is So Much Worse Than What Hillary Did

Waste, Fraud And Abuse In Musk's Department Of Gross Errors

Corona Virus