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ThinkProgress: Trump confidant dumped millions in steel-related stock last week (Also the Trade War thread)


No Excuses

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Billionaire investor and longtime Trump confidant Carl Icahn dumped $31.3 million of stock in a company heavily dependent on steel last week, just days before Trump announced plans to impose steep tariffs on steel imports.

 

In a little-noticed SEC filing submitted on February 22, 2018, Icahn disclosed that he systematically sold off nearly 1 million shares of Manitowoc Company Inc. Manitowoc is a “is a leading global manufacturer of cranes and lifting solutions” and, therefore, heavily dependent on steel to make its products.

 

The filing came just seven days before a White House event where Trump announced his intention of imposing a 25 percent tariff on steel imports.

 

Trump’s announcement rattled the markets, with steel-dependent stocks hardest hit. Manitowoc stock plunged, losing about 6 percent of its value. Reuters attributed the drop to the fact that Manitowoc is a “major consumer of steel.” As of 10:20 a.m. Friday, the stock had lost an additional 6 percent, trading at $26.21.

 

 

https://thinkprogress.org/trump-ichan-steel-imports-cf7deb8beaf0/

 

Insider trading 101. If the SEC still does what it's supposed to do, this should be a major scandal that demands an investigation. This is the kind of corruption that is a hallmark of oligarchies.

 

Also might as well make this the trade war thread. It seems like the tariffs won't just be for steel and aluminum. 

Edited by No Excuses
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In a little-noticed SEC filing submitted on February 22, 2018, Icahn disclosed that he systematically sold off nearly 1 million shares of Manitowoc Company Inc. Manitowoc is a “is a leading global manufacturer of cranes and lifting solutions” and, therefore, heavily dependent on steel to make its products.

 

The key point here is that Manitowoc isn't just reliant on steel to make its cranes.  The purpose of cranes, largely, is to put steel and other materials into place for the construction of buildings.  If steel costs more, less buildings will be built, and thus less cranes will be needed.  

 

Icahn has always been a scumbag.  

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There is a real LeRoy Jenkins feel to this whole thing. No official statements. No coordination between State, Commerce, Congress and WH.

 

Just a series of dumb impulsive tweets by a really dumb person, who unfortunately is in a position of power that he absolutely does not deserve or is qualified for.

Edited by No Excuses
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2 minutes ago, No Excuses said:

There is a real LeRoy Jenkins feel to this whole thing. No official statements. No coordination between State, Commerce, Congress and WH.

 

Just a series of dumb impulsive tweets by a really dumb person, who unfortunately is in a position of power that he absolutely does not deserve or is qualified for.

 

 

I fully expect him to, at some point, get mad and tweet out that he is raising interest rates.  

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I just want to make sure I'm on record saying that I don't believe this is actually going to be implemented.  Trump gets mad and does dumb ****, because he is an angry dumbass.  There are smarter people around him that will change his mind (which is easy when your actions are not moored to any underlying reasoning or deeply held belief and, rather, are purely an expression of your id). 

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4 minutes ago, PleaseBlitz said:

I just want to make sure I'm on record saying that I don't believe this is actually going to be implemented.  Trump gets mad and does dumb ****, because he is an angry dumbass.  There are smarter people around him that will change his mind (which is easy when your actions are not moored to any underlying reasoning or deeply held belief and, rather, are purely an expression of your id). 

 

Dunno about this one, PB. Maybe I'm just numb and have accepted the possibility that he just might kill us all, but not before making our lives absurdly more difficult. I don't see who's going to stop him. His cronies will back anythinv he does. Anything.

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2 minutes ago, Mr. Sinister said:

 

Dunno about this one, PB. Maybe I'm just numb and have accepted the possibility that he just might kill us all, but not before making our lives absurdly more difficult. I don't see who's going to stop him. His cronies will back anythinv he does. Anything.

 

That's fair.  I could be wrong.  I just want to be on record so when I'm right, ya'll KNOW IT. :806:

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12 minutes ago, PleaseBlitz said:

I just want to make sure I'm on record saying that I don't believe this is actually going to be implemented.  Trump gets mad and does dumb ****, because he is an angry dumbass.  There are smarter people around him that will change his mind (which is easy when your actions are not moored to any underlying reasoning or deeply held belief and, rather, are purely an expression of your id). 

 

Wait, what?  There are smarter people around him?   Have you seen his staff, his appointments, his cabinet?

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Giant steel mills aren't going out of business because of imports - they were driven out of business by far more efficient domestic mini-mills. The behemoth mills are stuck in 100 year old technology. Much of the steel we import is, iirc, in forms/grades not manufactured in the U.S. Steel is a commodity, essentially a raw material. The goal/winners of mercantilism are those who import raw materials and export finished goods. We fought a revolutionary war because we felt we were on the other end.

When W. tried this same stupidity, it cost more jobs (200,000) than there were people employed in the entire steel industry. This makes about as much sense as putting a 24% tax on internet sales to rescue the decline of retailers.

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33 minutes ago, PleaseBlitz said:

I just want to make sure I'm on record saying that I don't believe this is actually going to be implemented.  Trump gets mad and does dumb ****, because he is an angry dumbass.  There are smarter people around him that will change his mind (which is easy when your actions are not moored to any underlying reasoning or deeply held belief and, rather, are purely an expression of your id). 

 

I don't know. Peter Navarro seems to have his ear, which is bad news for everyone because he is a terrible economist with awful ideas.

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-03-02/what-trump-s-trade-guru-peter-navarro-doesn-t-get-about-economics

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Asshole thinks that being president is like a CEO. 

 

But government is very different. Most of his frustrations are because he keeps butting up against the Constitution, and he's learning his limits. 

 

Granted he can do a lot of damage but there are some constraints. 

 

And he hasn't been playing much golf because the DMV in February.  He's about to pop.

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11 minutes ago, No Excuses said:

 

I don't know. Peter Navarro seems to have his ear, which is bad news for everyone because he is a terrible economist with awful ideas.

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-03-02/what-trump-s-trade-guru-peter-navarro-doesn-t-get-about-economics

 

oh christ how did I not remember that Trump listened to that moron Navarro.  He's an utter moron when it comes to trade issues.

 

"According to Politico, Navarro's economic theories are "considered fringe" by his fellow economists.[44] Al-Jazeera notes that "few other economists have endorsed Navarro's ideas."[45] A New Yorker reporter described Navarro's views on trade and China as so radical "that, even with his assistance, I was unable to find another economist who fully agrees with them."[46] The Economist described Navarro as having "oddball views".[47] The George Mason University economist Tyler Cowen has praised him as “one of the most versatile and productive American economists of the last few decades”, but Cowen noted that he disagreed with his views on trade, which he claimed go "against a strong professional consensus."[44] University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers described Navarro's views as "far outside the mainstream," noting that "he endorses few of the key tenets of" the economics profession.[48] According to Lee Branstetter, economics professor at Carnegie Mellon and trade expert with the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Navarro "was never a part of the group of economists who ever studied the global free-trade system ... He doesn't publish in journals. What he's writing and saying right now has nothing to do with what he got his Harvard Ph.D. in ... he doesn't do research that would meet the scientific standards of that community."[49] Marcus Noland, an economist at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, described a tax and trade paper written by Navarro and Wilbur Ross for Trump as "a complete misunderstanding of international trade, on their part."[28]"

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Navarro

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Just everything about this is just, like, the worst.

 

It's a bad idea and Trump and co should feel bad.

 

Icahn and others are woefully corrupt.

 

Wilbur Ross is pulling some Marie Antoinette bs.

 

Just, like, this entire thing is a dumpster fire with the match lit by Trunp himself.

 

I can't wait for the poly sci 700 level, 6 credit, two-semester class on the Trump administration, and why everything he did was dumb.

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