Good afternoon, jumping right in with a “…He said what?!”
To the left (so to speak)
an AI-assisted image of socialist Utopian Charles Fourier,
who envisioned a super-duper equalized world, resulting,
inexplicably, a navy of domesticated dolphins, who would
speak French and tow enlightened humans’ seagoing vessels
ever after.
People still manage to cite him today as some sort of visionary,
but often leave these parts out.
Fourier also foresaw lots of hugs and kisses for everyone…
from everyone… to everyone (weirdo).
And… he predicted that the sea would spontaneously turn
into lemonade.
Swim Charles Swim!
Just go. Swim.
A couple of graphs for your viewing pleasure:
U.S. goods imports by country (see chart below): Four jurisdictions (EU, China, Mexico, and Canada) constitute 60% of U.S. imports, and the tariffs applied to them will matter the most.
China raises innovation stakes (see chart below from Semafor): “China is an increasingly important powerhouse of scientific innovation. In biotech, the country went from just 160 new drugs under development in 2015 to 1,250 last year, rivaling the U.S. and eclipsing the European Union in output, with products including cutting-edge treatments for cancer and obesity. Meanwhile three Chinese firms, Baidu, Pony.ai, and WeRide, are Waymo’s only real competition in autonomous vehicles, despite Tesla’s recent splashy launch; all three have large commercial operations underway. Beijing is also backing its tech companies with billions in spending on data centers and chip manufacturing, part of a policy aimed at making China a technology superpower, particularly in AI.
Here’s this week’s RBC Wealth Management newsletter report thingy:
In this week's issue...
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, U.S. President Donald Trump’s signature mega-legislation, implements sweeping changes across the U.S. economy. The law brings pro-growth, investor- and business-friendly provisions but also places greater strain on an already very high federal debt load. We look at the highlights and lowlights before assessing the potential economic impact.
Regional developments: Canada’s stabilizing labour market reduces the urgency for monetary stimulus; Jerome Powell: Will he stay or will he (be let) go? Also, a mixed bag of UK inflation and labor market data; Indonesia-U.S. trade deal reached, but details are limited.
Full story here.
Enjoy your weekend!
Mark