The Coming Backlash: How the World May Turn on U.S. Business

March 31, 2025 |John Vidas
It begins not with a bang, but with a vote. A populist surge in American politics breathes new life into an old strategy: tariffs. The promise is familiar—protect American workers, punish foreign “cheaters,” and restore industrial dominance. And once...
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The Illusion of Fair Trade: The Trump Administration’s War on VAT

March 13, 2025 |John Vidas
It was a brisk autumn morning when Peter Navarro, Trump’s trade counselor, made another fiery appearance on Fox News. With his usual fervor, he laid out a case that had become a hallmark of the administration’s economic rhetoric: the so-called injustice...
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The Economic Impact of Tariffs: Lessons from Smoot-Hawley and Modern Trade Policy

February 13, 2025 |John Vidas
Daily we are inundated with news on Tariffs --- and much of it contradictory, incomplete, and politically driven. Many of you have asked me to provide a succinct overview on Tariffs. Certainly, a complex subject. Tariffs are more than taxes on imports...
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“Drill Baby Drill” --- Trump 2024 Campaign Slogan: When Oil Dreams Meet Reality

November 22, 2024 |John Vidas
When former, and the newly elected, President Donald Trump chants “Drill, Baby, Drill,” it’s more than a slogan—it’s a full-on energy policy wrapped in ambition, politics, and a dollop of nostalgia for $1.99-a-gallon gas. But before you grab your drill...
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Stagflation: Why It is a Concern Today, What It Is, and How to Navigate It as an Investor

September 24, 2024 |John Vidas
Why Are We Talking About Stagflation Today? In 2024, the term “stagflation” has resurfaced in global economic discussions. The reason is the peculiar economic situation many countries are facing—a combination of slowing economic growth and persistently...
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2024 US Presidential election vs stock market behavior --- shock or business as usual?

July 25, 2024 |John Vidas
Harold Wilson, former UK Prime Minster, comment ---- “A week is a long time in politics” --- underscores the rapid and often dramatic changes that can occur in the political landscape within a fleeting period. The idea that political fortunes, public...
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Coffee --- to partake or not to partake?

June 24, 2024 |John Vidas
I start my mornings with a coffee reading and catching-up on current events and economic outcomes. Usually, a projection of more bad news than good --- as bad news flies off the shelves while good news is buried like treasure. But I know there is a lot...
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Silicon Odyssey: Tracing the Microchip Revolutionary Path – Part 2

April 03, 2024 |John Vidas
To The Future It’s 1999, the new, disruptive, and charged technological era of the internet, an era where you could easily raise money for the most bizarre technology scheme, --- someone told you that Apple, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft were going to...
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Silicon Odyssey: Tracing the Microchip Revolutionary Path

March 21, 2024 |John Vidas
The force of gravity is a constant presence that shapes every moment of our existence, grounding us to the earth, yet it’s so fundamental to our daily experience that we scarcely give it a second thought. Equally, there is a human development, a force...
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Voice of Deception: Understanding and Avoiding AI-Based Phone Scams

January 22, 2024 |John Vidas
Seattle based Hiya, a company specializing in detecting spam phone calls tells us, “The average Canadian receives up to 4-5 spam calls per month”. I receive more of these scam calls in a week. Hiya’s Jonathan Nelson warns --- “Voice cloning technology...
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