I wrote that Washington had swallowed a gigantic anti-business pill. I still believe that.<\/p>\n
It’s gotten worse. Two items:<\/p>\n
First, this insane tweet:<\/p>\n
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And now an escalating tariff on Mexican goods coming into the U.S. — unless Mexico jumps through some impossible hoops:<\/p>\n
First, Mexico must sign a \u201csafe third country\u201d agreement.\u00a0 This would mean that non-Mexican migrants arriving at the United States-Mexico border would not be eligible to apply for asylum or even be allowed entry into the United States for a hearing, since they would be considered \u201csafe\u201d in Mexico. (This violates U.S. law.) Second, Mexico must\u00a0 major crackdown on what the White House calls the transnational criminal organizations managing the transportation of migrants through Mexico. And third, Mexico must seal off its border with Guatemala, if not at the border itself then at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, which is more than 100 miles wide. It’s alsoMexico\u2019s narrowest point.<\/p>\n
I’m writing this at 5:00 AM on Thursday June 6. And our president has just announced “no deal” with Mexico. Hence, the tariffs go in on Monday. 5% to start, then rising to 25%.<\/p>\n
Republican senators have signaled the White House that they’re almost universally opposed to the tariffs. The president has responded that lawmakers would be “foolish” to try to stop him.\u00a0I suspect that they can’t.<\/p>\n
If he declares a National Emergency, he can pretty well do anything.<\/p>\n
I can only guess at the devastation to trade with Mexico — our largest trading partner — might cause. There are many goods that pass back and forth across the border before they finally go on sale in the U.S. So, who knows what the effective rate of 5% might be, or what the disruption to business might be, or how it might hurt American consumers — driving our economy into recession?<\/p>\n
The Fed is already concerned. It’s signaling the chance of a rate cut.<\/p>\n
My own read of the immigration crisis at our southern border is simple: People from Central America don’t want to leave their homes. No one does. They’re rushing to escape violence, corruption, gangs, you name it. Their situation appears to be a worsening — aggravated more since we stopped trying to help them fix their economy. We cut off our aid. Hard to police the lawlessness, if you’re poor.<\/p>\n
Here’s the tweet:<\/p>\n
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How Mexico will remedy illegal immigration when we couldn’t .. remains one of life’s great mysteries.<\/p>\n
When God closes a door, she always opens a window<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n On Monday, we closed on the sale of our California house — at a loss of 26% over what I had in the house — cost plus fixes. Depressing.<\/p>\n By Tuesday, and then Wednesday, the stockmarket rebounds and I’m overwhelmed with what seem to be some magnificent investment opportunities.<\/p>\n The opportunities are outside the market. They’re syndicated residential real estate and a venture fund\u00a0 — wich appears to run its business the way I would. They’ve figured a path to finding opportunities, staffing them, funding them and continuing to nurture their on-going growth. I wish I were 25 years younger and could work with them. Maybe there’s a small role for a smart-ass alta kaka — like me?<\/p>\n Fortunately, I have cash. I can fund these new opportunities.<\/p>\n Those much-hyped Opportunity zones<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Develop real estate in these newly-designed “opportunity zones” and you get hefty tax benefits.<\/p>\n Opportunity zones are hot. Wall Street is peddling them with an enthusiasm once reserved for sub-prime mortgages and auction rate preferreds.<\/p>\n Think of opportunity zones as the condiment in the sandwich, but not the meat. They enhance the sandwich — but the sandwich better make sense on its own two feet.<\/p>\n Wall Street’s business is creating product. Wall Street’s business is taking fees up front. It is not Wall Street’s job to ensure your investment’s success. And, based on my experience with the stuff they peddled me over the years, they never do ensure success. Never. Ever.<\/p>\n Saying No today is a useful skill. The window will open tomorrow on a much better deal.<\/p>\n Short useful thoughts<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n +\u00a0Cannabis is biotech with a focus on only one drug. There’s a huge oversupply of product that will only get worse. The stuff is easy and cheap to grow.<\/p>\n + Backup is good. But practice restoring, please. You can destroy your precious backup if you don’t know what you’re doing.<\/p>\n + Trailhead.com is a useful site of free online training, funded by Salesforce.com. I’m impressed.<\/p>\n +\u00a0The farther you’re away from your WiFi router, the weaker your signal. You’ll get the best signal plugged in by wire. The second best is move closer. The third is an WiFi extender.<\/p>\n + Though many places — like airports, coffee shops, conference rooms – have WiFi, many don’t work or have privacy problems. Hence I tend to use the Personal Hotspot on my iPhone and hook my laptop to it.<\/p>\n + Shipping pictures around the country? FedEx is truly great. Take your art into your local FedEx store. They have the most brilliantly designed boxes. We just sent six framed works of art from California to New York. They arrived in pristine perfect condition. The price was right. Thank you FedEx.<\/p>\n Peace in the middle east<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The U.S. will shortly propose another peace idea for the middle east. The Palestinians have said they won’t attended the meeting – though they have zero idea of what’s in the U.S.’s proposal.<\/p>\n The Israeli diplomat Abba Eban said the Palestinians “never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.”<\/p>\n It’s amazing the royals will even talk to Donald<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n In the lead up to the Trump Tower’s February 1983 opening, a persistent rumor kept appearing in the local New York City press that Prince Charles and his then-new wife Diana were looking at buying an apartment in the building.<\/p>\n The developer, Donald Trump, made up the rumor, floated it and then denied he was the originator.<\/p>\n It was brilliant marketing.<\/p>\n In Search Of The Perfect Fake Hamburger<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n I bought some Beyond Meat, waited a little, then sold it. But now it’s up — way beyond what I sold it for. According to Yahoo Finance, the company is losing $4.75 a share.<\/p>\n My curiosity has no bounds. I bought a package of two Beyond Meat patties from our local supermarket. Here’s my “testdrive.”<\/p>\n Take four pieces of cardboard. Join them together with fake blood (a la Game of Thrones). Cook them for three minutes per\u00a0side. Then eat.<\/p>\n You won’t be impressed.<\/p>\n The primary ingredient is Pea Protein Isolate, which, according to Google, is a natural vegetable protein derived from peas. It’s considered one of the best protein sources for vegans and vegetarians due to its balanced amino acid spread and high protein concentration.<\/p>\n I like peas but not in fake hamburgers.<\/p>\n The Beyond Meat Patties are about twice as expensive as real hamburgers.<\/p>\n My next adventure into fake hamburgers is to try the Impossible Burger, which I understand you can get at several real meat hamburger chains. My friends say Impossible Burgers are “delicious.” Check your local listing.<\/p>\n The British have their own welcoming way<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n This is a 20ft statue they built of our president on a golden throne tweeting his latest from Trafalgar Square, London.<\/p>\n I haven’t lost the hibiscus, yet. But I am feeling good. This weekend I see all my children, all my grandchildren and all my classmates from eons ago. It’s my 50th reunion of the class of 69 at the Harvard Business School.<\/p>\n
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