China halts export of rare earthes

[Zincwarrior]

SK could wipe out NK in less than 6 months... and if anyone attacked SK they would be attacking the USA... that's how many troops we have stationed there...

You misperceive, I am arguing China would have NK attack SK to pin down US forces there and in Japan, and then invade Taiwan. They only need about 48 hours. Then its a fait accompli.

Thats the problem. They can invade and we can't stop them, but we can immeidately get dropped into a war with a peer level opponent on their side of the ocean.

Remember the Phillipines 1942?

 

[Rambunctious]

You misperceive, I am arguing China would have NK attack SK to pin down US forces there and in Japan, and then invade Taiwan. They only need about 48 hours. Then its a fait accompli.

Thats the problem. They can invade and we can't stop them, but we can immeidately get dropped into a war with a peer level opponent on their side of the ocean.

Remember the Phillipines 1942?

And the rest of Asia including Japan would attack China along with Australia...
In the words of Trump... they hold no cards...

 

[Zincwarrior]

And the rest of Asia including Japan would attack China along with Australia...
In the words of Trump... they hold no cards...

No they wouldn't. China is a nuclear power. They don't have a treaty with Taiwan.

 

[Winston]

Yes, but not wroth 50,000 dead over, and still losing Taiwan, and maybe South Korea. I am sure they would tell NK to invade at the same time.

China is a paper tiger. Sure, they could put two million soldiers in the field in a New York minute, a fourth of them women. But their Navy would be eliminated within a month, probably two weeks. Same goes for their Air Force. China doesn't defeat us on the battlefield, they defeat us financially and Trump is playing into their hands.

 

[Winston]

And the rest of Asia including Japan would attack China along with Australia...
In the words of Trump... they hold no cards...

Except the bond market. And it is a Trump card, LOL.

 

[Zincwarrior]

China is a paper tiger. Sure, they could put two million soldiers in the field in a New York minute, a fourth of them women. But their Navy would be eliminated within a month, probably two weeks. Same goes for their Air Force. China doesn't defeat us on the battlefield, they defeat us financially and Trump is playing into their hands.

They are a peer level opponent, with nukes. If we are worried about fighting them, trading with them appears contraindicated.

 

[konradv]

Here Illegally plus MS-13 member = adios!

The guy from MD was neither.

 

[Edgetho]

SK could wipe out NK in less than 6 months... and if anyone attacked SK they would be attacking the USA... that's how many troops we have stationed there...

SK would wipe the Norks out in less than a week. Believe it. The Norks, like all communist scumbag countries, is a Paper Tiger. South Korea, OTOH, is badass. The Norks would put up a good fight for about 3 or 4 days. Tops. As soon as the 'true believers' get killed (first day or two) the rest of their Army would surrender almost immediately.

I know those South Korean guys and they are seriously badass dudes. The average South Korean is 3 (three) inches taller than the average Nork. commie scum can't even feed their own people.

Taiwan? Not to be trifled with. Seriously. They wouldn't defeat China straight up, but they would end them. Taiwan would get hurt badly, crushed even, but China would come apart. Taiwan is a seriously badass country. Plus, the Japanese would NOT be happy about China invading Taiwan and believe me when I tell you -- The Chinese want nothing to do with Japan. Goes back a thousand years. Japan even kicked the Mongols' asses. Taiwan used to be called 'Formosa'. A Japanese colony. With a lot of Japanese descendants living there to this day.

After their defeat at the hands of the USA, Japan would take it out on China. Sheer numbers is shit. Means nothing. Japan is smart, creative, tough and implacable once started.

China isn't going to do anything outside their own territory, IMO.

 

[yidnar]

The trade war continues as China stops export of several rare earthes globally.

China Halts Export Of Key Metals, Magnet As Trade War With US Intensifies

As the trade war between the US and China escalates, Beijing has suspended the export of several critical rare earth elements, metals and magnets, threatening to choke off supplies to the West

www.ndtv.com

Could China bring down the entire West this way?

no .. China needs us worse than we need them .. their economy is about half the size of the US with a population nearly 5 times larger .. and the US is still the largest producer and exporter of food ..

 

[citygator]

My 401k, like yours is worth exactly what it was worth last year. Nothing.

Until they are cashed in, they are just a piece of paper. If I were cashing mine in now, I might be a little upset but I would wait.

This is all gonna settle down and come out better than ever. I've been there before. Sold the T-shirt. Lost my ass in '88 when Ronnie was suffering dementia and changed the Capital gains tax, which caused the Markets to shit the bed. So, I thought, "Hey, I have a Securities license and I'm smart. I'll get out while the getting is good!"

Bad move. Learned my lesson, too. Dumbass Rookie mistake. Cost myself a shit-ton of money that I really never made back. Now I just ride the waves and don't look back.

I would recommend that for everybody. Make your investment decisions and -- Walk away. If you made a provably bad decision, get out of it. I made a move a couple Months ago when I got out of a EuroPac fund. First move I've made in 20 years. Probably my last, too.

But, yeah, everybody's 401k is getting hurt right now. But not as bad as they did under Sponge Brains Shits Pants. Or the Bastard Son of Frank Marshall Davis. And not as bad as what the next dimocrap scumbag will do.

Inflation MUST come down or we'll all be retiring into 2 BR Condo's in The Villages. The retirement House I could have bought 5 years ago for $250k is now $600k. I can't afford that. Even worse, I can't afford the recurring expenses........ Insurance on it would be near $10k (florida), taxes over $8k.

How much has your retirement house gone up? Can you still afford it? Or, if you can, will it eat up too much of your available Capital? It's one thing to retire, it's another to have to sit around and watch Re-Runs all day, eating TV Dinners because the cost of going out for even a casual dinner with Mama is $100 a shot.

You are now building your wealth on a lower base. That's not good for you long or short term. The market is perfect democracy. It's voters voting with their pocketbook. Their votes say that this trajectory is a worse outcome than what was being done under Biden.

Inflation was tamed for the last 2 years and now it is positioned to explode again due to Trump's policies. Ask any economist from either party.

I am not the typical American so my financial situation is not typical. I do empathize though as many Americans are facing lower savings, higher house prices, and a president that doesnt care about affordable healthcare.

 

[San Souci]

The trade war continues as China stops export of several rare earthes globally.

China Halts Export Of Key Metals, Magnet As Trade War With US Intensifies

As the trade war between the US and China escalates, Beijing has suspended the export of several critical rare earth elements, metals and magnets, threatening to choke off supplies to the West

www.ndtv.com

Could China bring down the entire West this way?

Time to embargo the bastards. They need US more than we need them.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

What result would make you rethink the wisdom of these actions on tariffs? Is there any failure where you would come back and say "that was a bad idea and poor strategy?".

There’s this: we’re closer to REALID and social credit score than we are to finding Epstein’s clients

That help?

 

[citygator]

Your first mistake is having those funds in a 401K. The absolute only reason to have a qualified 401K is to take advantage of any employer matching funds. When you withdraw those funds you are going to be hit with income taxes on what you deferred and on the earnings. You could create a charitable remainder trust, either a CRAT or a CRUT. But that is going to limit your yearly distributions

A ROTH is a much better option, pay the taxes now and the money is what I call NONEYOU money. What you take out during retirement is none of the government's business. Of course, there are contribution limits with the ROTH. But investing non-qualified money means paying capital gains taxes instead of income taxes on any distributions.

Your second mistake, not wanting to make moves. Harvesting losses within nonqualified investments is an integral part of proper portfolio management. I know the mantra, invest for the long-term is always spouted, but just like in retail, profit is in turnover, not carryover. Warren Buffet may be the most famous value and long-term investor, yet he still utilizes loss harvesting.

And speaking of Buffet, what the hell is a retirement home? Selling the family home, with the revenue being tax-free, and moving to a two-bedroom condo in the Villages might be a better move than biting off a new house, and certainly not taking out a mortgage for it.

But perhaps your biggest mistake, flippin Florida. Damn skippy insurance is through the roof, because Florida is a shithole. Hell, they are giving South Carolina a run for their money now. Western North Carolina is a much better option, and even the Piedmont and Coastal areas have a lower cost of living, and in most cases, better healthcare and safer. Hell, I don't even bother locking my door when I leave.

The rest of your rant is just political posturing. Sure, the market did good under Trump. S & P up 67%. And yes, that was better than Biden. But Obama, up 182%. Clinton, up 210%. Eight years of Bush Jr. , down 40%. Even his Daddy, in four years, posted a gain of 51%. Reagan, up 118%. The day Obama was inaugurated I left for work, driving a mile down my private drive, a hawk following me overhead. That day I took in hundreds of thousands of dollars in investments and by the time he left office, well my ass was a hero.

Im going to respectfully disagree with some and agree with some of your post.

Disagree:
1. Matching funds in a 401K is a huge benefit when compounded for years. Never pass that up.

2. Your income is very likely to be lower in the future when you are retired than when you are earning wages so delaying taxes is a huge benefit and that extra income also compounds.

Agree:
I agree Florida is a rough market with lots of swings over the years. I have a beach home there. I live in western NC today and I love it.

 

[Bleipriester]

no .. China needs us worse than we need them .. their economy is about half the size of the US with a population nearly 5 times larger .. and the US is still the largest producer and exporter of food ..

China´s economy is way larger.

 

[Bleipriester]

Time to embargo the bastards. They need US more than we need them.

That remains to be seen.

 

[Jroc]

Yeah! We should’ve American slave labor. Damn right.

No we should mine our own f****** minerals you stupid f*** why do you love China so much ? why do you like to give China the power to cut us off from what we need? minerals, pharmaceuticals because you're an idiot a slave labor lover , what if if it was your family in the slave labor camps. Just so you can have cheap Chinese junk..dumbass

 

[Jroc]

Market was up 65% over Biden’s term, which is fantastic no matter who you are.

We will be lucky if we avoid a recession under this dope.

Biden dumped hundreds of billions of dollars on the economy to artificially prop it up .... Sure to help made a believer of dumbasses like you

 

[Jroc]

So that kind of destroys the idea that Biden was some kind of disaster for the economy. If he had caused a recession or something, employment would have dropped.

Employment rose for immigrants and government workers only.under Biden other than those jobs that came back from the covid shutdowns

 

[Jroc]

You misperceive, I am arguing China would have NK attack SK to pin down US forces there and in Japan, and then invade Taiwan. They only need about 48 hours. Then its a fait accompli.

Thats the problem. They can invade and we can't stop them, but we can immeidately get dropped into a war with a peer level opponent on their side of the ocean.

Remember the Phillipines 1942?

China can't take Taiwan and 48 hours and delusional we're probably one of those people who said Putin could take Ukraine in a couple weeks

 

[Marener]

Employment rose for immigrants and government workers only.under Biden other than those jobs that came back from the covid shutdowns

That’s because everyone else already had jobs.