Originally Posted by bopat (Post 2421902)

Most people, including me, have a mix of stocks, bonds, money markets and cash.

Not a problem to rebalance and take advantage of the perceived short term panic.

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC (Post 2422114)

I truly believe the worst is behind us, numerous countries are joining us at negotiating table.

Originally Posted by Whatnext (Post 2422142)

Doesn't look as if China is going to bend the knee.
Still a few variables out there.

Originally Posted by dewilson58 (Post 2422263)

I like what you did there.

Originally Posted by skarra (Post 2422444)

BRICS is ready to lead the world from this point forward.

China is loving this. We handed it to them on a silver platter.

Originally Posted by Aces4 (Post 2422336)

Thanks to VAT, import taxes, excise taxes, non tax barriers and so forth. What people don't realize is how much they shell out for unemployment, Medicaid, welfare, housing and rent assistance and food pantries for the unemployed in the USA.

Originally Posted by manaboutown (Post 2422562)

China has been ripping us off for generations. Time to level the playing field with reciprocal tariffs.

Originally Posted by manaboutown (Post 2422341)

Don't forger the annual gift tax exclusion. $19K/donee in 2025. Gift Tax: 2024-2025 Exemptions and Limits - NerdWallet

Originally Posted by Boomer (Post 2422368)

Sooooo, I was just perusing this thread to see what you all had to say today.

There sure were a lot of chickens being counted this morning.

When I began buying stocks online and would have a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, I would print the front page of my account, put it in my desk drawer, and wait. Doing that worked like a vaccination against market volatility. I do not panic. Most longtime dividend players do not panic because they feel like if they have made solid choices of stocks, they will get paid to wait. But I don't kid myself. A lot of investors remember GE and what happened under the wrong CEO.

All that being said, I do not think this will be a quick turnaround. I think a lot of wait-and-see time will be going by because every day brings a fresh hell of antics. It's the unpredictability of those antics that could/should cause business leaders and big investors to just bide their time and not make any sudden moves.

Looks like the Regurgitation Nation is being fed some line about how we have to go through hard times and suffer for the cause -- and they are lapping that line right up. Gimme a break. This is not WWII when the Homefront had to do its part. This is a self-inflicted wound. Will it heal? Who knows.

Boomer

PS: Speaking of dividends, a few hours ago, boring old PG increased its dividend. That makes 69 consecutive years of dividend increases -- every early April, like clockwork. The company has paid a dividend for 135 years. Procter and Gamble, one a candle-maker and one a soap-maker, decided to go into business together in 1890, in Cincinnati. They were married to sisters.

Originally Posted by Aces4 (Post 2422381)

I suppose that slow, sure ride to Hades worked for so many but did anyone notice the sled was really picking up speed? Many are so focused on their "portfolio" and don't have a clue as to what the real issues or problems are other than the stock market.

Where this country was heading is far worse than WWII and we have made the turn but aren't out of the woods yet. When the leader of another country states that the diagnosis of the current situation being tackled is correct, you know this can't go on.

Originally Posted by rsmurano (Post 2422384)

Out of the last 40+ years of doing my own investing, I have sold most everything 2x and that was at the end of 2021 and 4 months ago. I stayed in during the 2000’s meltdown, the 2007/8 financial crisis, and the COVID crisis in 2020. I was a long term investor and let it ride. Now, I’ll sell in a heartbeat when I think it’s close to its highs. When you are in your 50’s and older, why do you want to ride a crisis out? You know a recession can happen at anytime and last a few years and then it could take years of gains to get to where you were years ago. Also, just because you have dividends coming in today, doesn’t mean that they will be there tomorrow, during bad recessions this is the 1st thing that companies stop paying.

You have heard the phrase: “pigs get slaughtered!” This applies to people that keep stocks/funds forever instead of taking part or all of the gains from a big jump and put it into another stock/fund that is low and out of favor but has good potential. There were many stocks that I got in during late 2022 and during early 2023 that had 100’s % gains and then I got out of all of them during 2024 and everything else last December and bought money market instead. Did I sell at their highest peaks? No, I don’t time the market for the highest highs or for the very bottom. So I made 200% on 1 instead of 250%, or I sold Apple to soon because it went up 15% after I sold, but I made 100% during the time I had it, so I’m not going to fret the small stuff.

Now, just like in 2022, I want the market to go down another 20%. I want to see Apple back around $140, nvidia lower by 15% - 20%, and a lot more good companies go much lower so they are ripe to make someone a lot of money when the recovery starts.

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby (Post 2422390)

Unemployment compensation is an insurance program, and the premiums are paid by employers. Only some unemployed people qualify for it, and it's only available for 12 weeks unless a state provides more than that. In the case of state-sponsored extensions, those extra payments are usually paid for out of state income tax payroll deductions. Florida doesn't have income tax.

But if all the money paying for unemployed people is that big a deal, maybe more people should've made a louder noise when DOGE started firing tens of thousands of government workers whose families relied on their income - and now have none.

Originally Posted by jimjamuser (Post 2422618)

Yes, basically RICH people get laws passed to favor RICH people. The problem is that passing WEALTH down through the generations is what eventually (maybe now) leads to KINGS. Warren Buffet set up a SMALL trust fund for HIS children so as to make them well off, but NOT RICH. That way each of his children will have to make their own fortune for themselves, if that is what THEY want to do. Virtually, he did what the tax law of the USA SHOULD do, which is force every generation to make it on its own. That way each generation does NOT become lazy and effete. It makes for a smarter and stronger Democracy. NOT having a strong Democracy is why we are in this GIGANTIC PICKLE today.

Originally Posted by jimjamuser (Post 2422638)

I agree. And to add. Why were so many IRS employees fired?