Richard Ramsey

This exchange is revealing, terrifying, and intellectually bankrupt. No world leader would ever want to enter a room to deal with this guy because he's a crank.

Unpacked: Trump's Tariffs, TACO Trade, Big Beautiful Bill, Uncertainty Squared Podcast Episode · Trading Up · 04/06/2025 · 43m

Enjoyed the trip down memory lane with Jim Fitzpatrick & Ferris Bueller’s Day Off on this podcast 👇Not so much chewing the fat as chewing the TACO 🌮 #Trump #Tariffs @qubelfastofficial.bsky.social podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

The first boats carrying Chinese goods with 145% tariffs are arriving in LA. They’re half-full. Expect shortages soon | CNN Business American consumers are on the cusp of tough choices because of President Donald Trump’s trade war.

Ships now pulling into US harbors from China are the first to be subject to the massive tariffs that America is imposing on most Chinese imports. Many of them are half full.

That means, in a matter of weeks, consumers will face higher prices and shortages of certain items.

The Constitution explicitly gives the right to set tariffs to Congress. And Congress delegated to the President power to set tariffs in times of national emergency.

So the constitutionality of these tariffs rests on whether they're a response to a national emergency. 🤔

YouTube video by Steve Rosenberg Steve's Reading Russia - Russian Press Review (14 April 2025)

No hint of compromise in today’s Russian press. On the prospects for peace in Ukraine, one paper declares: “Trump is in a hurry…Russia is in no hurry for a deal.” Another paper says Vladimir Putin’s demands “have barely changed” from the ones he issued last June. #ReadingRussia

Delta Airlines earnings call today was apparently pretty clear that transatlantic air travel bookings are taking a nosedive, alongside everything else.

Donald Trump waiting for his Wile E. Coyote / Liz Truss moment

World Uncertainty Index has more than doubled since Trump won election in November. March’s reading is the third highest of the monthly series.Expect April 2025 to be a new record high in uncertainty.

Widespread layoffs, purge of leadership underway at U.S. health agencies The move comes after Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s announcement of a sweeping reduction of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Exclusive: Members of President Donald Trump’s National Security Council, including White House national security adviser Michael Waltz, have conducted government business over personal Gmail accounts.

Car Tariffs There's a really good joke at the end

This week’s edition of MFN is about why a 25% tariff is not always in fact a 25% tariff.

Also very heavy on the #dataviz

mostfavourednation.substack.com/p/car-tariffs

World Uncertainty Index doubled between November 2024 and February 2025. February’s reading is its highest since March 2020 when the pandemic 😷 came to the fore. Data for March expected to surge to a series high following the post-Zelensky & Trump Oval Office encounter

Patrick Blower @blowercartoons on #Putin #Trump #RussiaUkraineWar #PeacePlan @Telegraph – political cartoon gallery in London original-political-cartoon.com

Average house price in Northern Ireland jumps by £50k in five years, while new builds surge by £75k Double-digit price inflation recorded in four districts

Latest NI house price index from LPS/Nisra: Average home sold for £183,259 in Q4 2024: +£15k in a year... +£50k in 5 years.
Average new build cost £241,683 in Q4 2024: +£23k y-y and +£75k v Q4 2019.
6/11 districts saw prices increase by 10-11% last year.
www.irishnews.com/news/busines...

EU considers tapping €93bn in unspent Covid recovery funds for defence Brussels explores redirecting post-pandemic financing as part of options to boost investments in military

This was first discussed back in Nov, after Trump won the US election, for Ukraine. Then it waned. Now it's making a comeback. Unlikely to be the EU's first line of fiscal attack

www.ft.com/content/f28b...

he's an ignorant thug but to most voters this wouldn't obviously be false.

Northern Ireland New Dwellings prices hit a *record* high in Q4 2024. Up 10.5% y/y and marginally above Q3 2007 peak. It’s been a while since ‘record highs’ were a thing in Northern Ireland. Just don’t mention inflation!!

www.finance-ni.gov.uk/sites/defaul...

The U.S. Economy Is Racing Ahead. Almost Everything Else Is Falling Behind. The gap between Americans’ prosperity and quality of life has grown since the 1990s.

“This country has the lowest life expectancy of any rich country, which was not true for most of the 20th century. The U.S. has the highest murder rate of any rich country and the world’s highest rate of fatal drug overdoses.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/04/b...

Chinese E-Commerce Stocks Drop as US Post Blocks Parcels from China, HK China Stock Markets Live: Traders Watch for Reactions to Tariffs, DeepSeek

BREAKING: Chinese e-commerce stocks drop after the US Postal Service suspends inbound parcels from China and Hong Kong.

Follow our live blog for the latest news and analysis. ⤵️

The Big Five - 2 February edition My regular update on global conflict and confrontation. This week: Trump fumbles around for peace, Ukraine's Russia strikes gain momentum, and the NorKs are taken off the frontline.

I have just posted my regular update on global conflict and confrontation. This week: Trump fumbles around for peace, Ukraine's Russia strikes gain momentum, and the NorKs are taken off the frontline. And of course, I finish with my top five reads of the week. mickryan.substack.com/p/the-big-fi...

I can be as critical as anyone of the government's occasionally muddled message on growth but Look! At! This! Chart!! Anything they've done pales next to this GIGANTIC UNFORCED ERROR COMMITTED IN 2016!

(fagpacket maths follows)

on.ft.com/4hzyvbJ

electric/hybrid vehicles now account for more than half of passenger vehicle sales in china

The Impact of 25% Tariffs on Canadian GDP The Bank of Canada vs Deepseek

Stephanie Kelton has an interesting blog post today on what happened when she asked DeepSeek to estimate the effects of a 25% tariff on Canada’s GDP. stephaniekelton.substack.com/p/the-impact...

financial times: president trump insisting he’s serious about greenland in phone call with denmark prime minister

“five current and former senior european officials briefed on the call said the conversation had gone very badly.”

State Department issues immediate, widespread pause on foreign aid The “stop-work orders” appear to apply to US aid for all countries except Israel and Egypt.

This will probably have a whole range of consequences (mostly negative) for #Ukraine and many other nations that those behind this order will have underestimated.
www.politico.com/news/2025/01...

share of americans who oppose pardons for jan 6 protesters: 58%

-reuters/ipsos

YouTube video by Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific? Rear Admiral (Ret.) Mike Studeman on why he said #ElonMusk is "compromised & co-opted" by #China

Former chief of Naval #intelligence on danger of #ElonMusk and his apparent conflict of interest between his economic interests in #China and advisory role to #Trump

www.youtube.com/shorts/rgWFJ...

🇨🇳⚠️ With Chinese ships suspected to have cut key undersea communications cables around the world, a Newsweek review of Chinese-language patent applications shows that engineers in China invented devices to sever such cables quickly and cheaply.

Following Draghi down the central banker to political leadership pipeline

*MARK CARNEY ANNOUNCES HE'S RUNNING FOR CANADA LIBERAL LEADER

His tenure at the BoE was blighted by his obvious interest in the bigger things that politics to offer. This is probably his more natural habitat. But even if he wins the Liberal Party leadership isn't he certain to lose badly at the GE?