Trump can just subsidize the US ranchers. It’s all just play money for Trump.
Reducing cost of living remains a priority for the Trump administration. Other perks for beef producers might be possible.
Still making some progress on lower oil prices. But oil from Russia and Iran is a factor. Big moves to stop their sales could raise oil prices.
I like to see some evidence of that. Something more than lip service. Proposed legislation? Proposed rule making within the confines of existing law?
I suspect, since they’re rural, that they voted for the Felon. So that’s what they get. They voted for it, now they have to suck it up.
As I’m not invested in the agricultural sector, it won’t affect my portfolio. But if Argentinian beef is cleaner than US beef (e.g. hormones and antibiotics), I’ll start seeking out the Argentinian product.
Oil prices, eggs, and now beef show clear intent. Interest rate cuts should help. Oil prices trickle into lower fuel prices and that plays a role in everything retail.
Retail prices are hard for govt to influence. Recall that Nixon tried a price freeze but without much success.
Me either but I do monitor them. I notice Bunge and ADM are doing quite well. Probably means they play a role in grain trading even when its not US grain.
There seems to be a lot of energy being expended to prevent massive hikes in healthcare premiums.
Trump administration is also offering deals w drug companies. Exemption from tariffs on drugs for three years in return for matching negotiated prices w other countries for Medicaid patients. So far Pfizer and Astra Zennica have agreed to participate.
Of course negotiated prices may be more meaningful to many of us.
As with anything, the devil’s in the details. Or is it more accurate to say the devil doesn’t share details? But I digress…
Here are a few snippets -
“According to the White House, the Pfizer and AstraZeneca deals focus on lowering drug prices in Medicaid, which experts say likely isn’t a big lift for companies because the Medicaid price and the most-favored-nation price may be similar. If the goal is to lower costs for consumers, Medicaid copays are already considered low.”
"Rachel Sachs, a professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis who was a senior adviser in the Office of General Counsel at the Department of Health and Human Services in 2022 when Medicare gained the option to negotiate prices for key drugs, said the public doesn’t know how enforceable these agreements are.
“It’s reasonable to ask the question whether confidential agreements are a good way to make public policy,” Sachs said.
She noted that stock prices for the companies spiked after announcements of the deals, “which is not typically thought to be a sign that prices will be markedly lower.”
I’ll give you this, TFG looks very serious about lowering drug costs -
I’m curious what’s been done to support the statement of “oil prices”. Mostly that’s been geopolitics outside of our control.
Eggs went up in price because massive numbers of hens were slaughtered to counter the bird flu epidemic. Now new hens are coming on line, again having nothing to do with government policy. (If anything, the opposite, as the government offices charged with monitoring such have been decimated.)
Beef prices may come down because of Argentinian beef. Then again, there’s a newly slapped; 50% tariff on Brazilian beef, so explain that, please. (For the record, Brazil produces 5 times the beef that Argentina does.)
Sounds like somebody’s been fishing and has caught a gullible fish.
I think there have been negotiations w OPEC especially Saudi Arabia to keep production high and reduce oil prices. OPEC is known to see cutting oil prices as similar to cutting interest rates. It’s a way to stimulate global economies.
Similarly US has been reluctant to address Russian oil exports as it will raise oil prices—as happened after new sanctions.
Oil is not the thing that will directly effect the US economy dragging it off kilter.
Denying China oil and China denying us RRE is going to have horrifying consequences.
Russian oil was low in price because of our suggested selling price to India and China by the Russians. OPEC won’t make that up price-wise.
The US default is starting to loom in the news.