Looks like China & the US have agreed to a temporary reduction in tariff rates (to 30% in this direction, 10% in that direction).

  1. The so-called master dealmaker appears to have rolled over and played dead again. Less than a week from saying there would be no tariff concessions to a huge drop.
  2. This is only a 90-day pause, so there’s still plenty of room for things to fall apart.
  3. A 30% tax is still a 30% tax. I’ll certainly be buying less. So, I would think, will many other people. Recession remains a very real possibility.
  4. It’s still going to be hard to ramp things back up in time to have a traditional consumerist American Christmas, especially given that this continues the policy of making things uncertain for business.

Stock market will no doubt be hugely up this morning, but I don’t expect those gains to last as reality sinks back in.