"BMT Investors" Bulletin Board

[kscarbel2]

President Trump threatened Apple with a tariff of at least 25% if it does not manufacture iPhones in the US, ramping up pressure on the tech giant to secure more domestic production.

I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else.. If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the US.

[mowerman]

I’m certain most of us are wondering why we’re paying 1,000 bucks and more for cellphones thier putting together in 3rd world countries and exactly who is benefiting from this??????? Bob

[kscarbel2]

China is a potential adversary. But what I really worry about is us; the enemy within. Can we get our own act together - our own values, our own capability, our own management? The amount of mismanagement is extraordinary - by state, by city, for pensions, and that stuff is going to kill us.

Jamie Dimon

 

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[mowerman]

Yes I mentioned that couple of weeks ago .. bean counters  hard to find real  leaders my wife’s company is a perfect example… the right hand doesn’t know what the left is doing, and if you have a legitimate complaint or suggestion, nobody wants to hear it, and it never gets to the top … bob

[mowerman]

So in other words, they sold us down the river years ago and now there’s no way of paddling back ha ha pretty much the size of it. I’m glad I’m old. Next generation can worry about it…. Bob

[mowerman]

Tried to buy a belt about six months ago. That was absolutely nothing I could find anywhere made here . Boot world wanted 50 bucks for Chinese belt …. I’m not paying that found one in kohls for half that made in Spain bob

[kscarbel2]

 

[mowerman]

nice to hear from a multi billionaire thats not spending his entire interview badmouthing everything congress is trying to improve,,,wow,,bob

[kscarbel2]

"I could end the government's deficit in five minutes. You just pass a law that says that any time there's a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election.”

Warren Buffett

[kscarbel2]

Oil is spiking $5 because Israel has launched attacks on Iran.

Oil futures shot higher and U.S. stock-market futures sank Thursday evening on reports that Israel was attacking sites in Iran, raising new fears of an all-out conflict in the Middle East.

Explosions were reportedly heard in Tehran. “In the wake of the state of Israel’s preventive attack against Iran, missile and drone attacks against Israel and its civilian population are expected immediately,” Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said. Nuclear and military sites were being targeted.

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[kscarbel2]

Financial Times  /  June 13, 2025

Israel’s strikes against Iran have threatened to ignite a regional conflict that disrupts oil supplies across the Middle East, with traders reviving the decades-old question of whether Tehran could respond by closing the vital industry chokepoint at the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, surged 12% to a high of $78.5 in the early hours of Friday morning after Israel launched dozens of strikes against Iran’s nuclear program and military facilities, killing at least two top commanders.

Prices fell back to $75 a barrel as it became clear that Israel [at the request of the US and Saudi Arabia] had stopped short of targeting Iran’s oil infrastructure, but prices could move significantly higher depending on how Tehran retaliates.

The market is reasonably calm because the Israelis chose not to target oil infrastructure, but if you’re Iran, you know that’s the Achilles heel. They could attack oil facilities in the Gulf or tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.

About 21 millionn barrels of oil from Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates pass daily through the narrow waterway separating the Islamic republic from the Gulf states, representing a third of the world’s seaborne oil supplies. Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait in the event of an attack.

Tehran could launch attacks on tankers to disrupt traffic, as it did during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. However, that would also disrupt the more than 1 million barrels a day that Iran exports to China.

When Iran and Israel exchanged air strikes in April and October 2024, it was Iran that struck first with Israel retaliating. This time, the sequence has reversed — a shift that could significantly influence market expectations and risk perceptions. If Iran disrupts oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, targets regional oil infrastructure or strikes US military assets, it could push oil up above $100.

Equally, Israel could escalate its assault by targeting Iran’s vital Kharg Island terminals, which are responsible for 90% of Iran’s oil exports and the primary source of income.