Somebody give my man Trump a fiddle.
Somebody make AI replace this guy with Donald Trump pretty please: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZbfNtDCHdM >.
Needs more cheese spray on the face but otherwise the resemblance is uncanny!
Six months into tariffs, businesses have no idea how to price anything
631–640 of 704 posts
Re: Six months into tariffs, businesses have no idea how to price anything
#632Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because companies make more profits when the prices are higher. Under normal conditions, if one company increases their price then buyers will find an alternative. When all the companies increase the price at the same time then there are no alternatives. Customers become acclimated to the new price.
But there then becomes an incentive to lower prices to capture more demand. I don’t think that tariffs will incentivize collusion any more often.
That's very risky for companies to do because because you might not capture that demand. If you fail then you just lost money.
One reason is buyers may only consider alternatives when prices increase.
Re: Six months into tariffs, businesses have no idea how to price anything
#633Earlier quoted context omitted.
The hiring slowdown predates tariffs. For various reasons CEOs either believe they can do more with less people, or that they can hire cheaper people in other geographies, or both. Businesses (tech or financials) don't seem to be telegraphing uncertainty, S&P 500 revenue is at all times high and trending up, earnings/profit all time highs and trending up, valuations all times high and trending up.
Market bubbles combined with parallel political bubbles are probably the real black swan event coming down the pike
What is a political bubble? I googled it, but I'm getting definitions closer to "my news feed only shows me what I want to see"
Re: Six months into tariffs, businesses have no idea how to price anything
#634I'm really hoping the SCOTUS wrecks his whole plan on this. We've had enough kings down through history. We'll know once and for all if they are truly sold out or not when they make this decision because clearly he has been violating the Constitution for months now with these executive orders
Re: Six months into tariffs, businesses have no idea how to price anything
#635Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The most insane ending to all of this that I can imagine The most insane ending is that tarrifs are reverted but most of the price hike will stay for good.
Why would that happen, if it didn’t happen before the tarrifs?
Depends on the market. Markets with lots of competition will have to lower prices. With only 1 or 2 major players? They'll keep prices high based on backroom handshake deals or "i'm not moving till he moves"
Re: Six months into tariffs, businesses have no idea how to price anything
#636I don't understand why there isn't a market or company that develop already to move all items to low tariff area before sending to US. I know that manufacturing things here in Europe, there already used to be round trip by airplane and co to try to lower VAT paid on purchases to the maximum.
That's covered, if you try to go to an intermediary county and they find out they will raise your tariffs back up to 150% for breaking the deal, it's built in to the agreements
Re: Six months into tariffs, businesses have no idea how to price anything
#637In the end it's the biggest leopard ate my face moment ever: China has very high growth momentum that surpasses American living standards soon, and not long before it will surpass American security standards too. China's purchasing power is probably more comfortable than most western countries, with extensive housing and high speed rail and electric cars etc. When a country becomes rich, inevitably other countries as…
China’s GDP growth is no longer in double digits; it’s in the 4–5% range, and many analysts expect it to fall further due to demographic decline and low productivity growth due to capital investments in infrastructure not needed but politically necessary due to city politics. U.S. per-capita income is roughly $80,000, while China’s is about $13,000. Adjusted for purchasing power it would take decades (at current traj…
Debt trap diplomacy is nicely covered in a fun read called Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. Was the standard approach from the US for a while during the Cold War
Re: Six months into tariffs, businesses have no idea how to price anything
#638Trump is even using Tariff threats to strong-arm other countries to retreat on their climate goals [1]. If the Supreme Court agrees that the Trump can do this then that means we have a dictator — one that will do way more harm than the one in North Korea. [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/climate/trump-internation...
He's a very simple-minded person with a hammer that up til now (court case) seemed to be working. He doesn't understand nuance or negotiation or any of that, he understands having the upper hand (military, economic power) and how to bludgeon people with it. That's why when he comes up against similar sized bullies (Putin/Xi) he is flummoxed and beaten every single time because they're much more cunning than him. Sure, he can bully Laos or Thailand and get deals, but the big dogs beat him every time.
Re: Six months into tariffs, businesses have no idea how to price anything
#639Earlier quoted context omitted.
How can you possibly do more harm than the one in NK, literally starving your population?
The one in NK is doing that only to his own country. Trump is destroying the whole planet by withdrawing from the Paris agreement and then by strong-arming other countries to do the same. If we haven't already passed the tipping point Trump's actions will make sure we do, destroying all hope.
Bah, India and China are pumping out way more pollutants than the USA. If you're going to bring the USA up, bring them all up. They all need to get their act together. Europe to a lesser extent but at least they're trying.
Re: Six months into tariffs, businesses have no idea how to price anything
#640Earlier quoted context omitted.
Complicated, costly, and, as it turns out, illegal.
Let’s see if the Supreme Court agrees. Dear Leader must be able to do as he pleases.
I think they will. If they don't see this as gross breakage of the Constitution, then we're cooked no matter what. Clearly there is no "national emergency" like a war or economic depression, so he's breaking the law, either that or the law doesn't mean anything in a legal or common sense interpretation, just the imaginings of a tinpot orange dictator.