By coinnews 
00:00 Speaker A
We’re going to get to some trending tickers now, taking a look at auto stocks today as Piper Sandler issuing issuing a slew of downgrades and price target cuts, except for one notable EV maker. The analysts flashing price targets on Rivian and Stellantis, saying, quote, for most stocks in the car manufacturing supply chain, there’s too much political uncertainty to make actionable recommendations. However, the analysts reiterating an overweight rate on Tesla, saying the drama is nothing new. For most stocks in the car manufacturing supply chain, there’s too much political uncertainty for actionable recommendations again. So, I think what’s really interesting here, obviously, is that this is the latest admission that there are going to be certain sectors of the market that will be negatively impacted by tariffs. Obviously, they say Tesla is not part of that, which is interesting. They also talked about how used car names like Carvana, for example, could be beneficiaries of the tariffs as people look for cheaper cars on the used car marketplace. What stood out to you, John?
01:56 John
Well, you know, the used car point is interesting because what we saw during the supply chain disruptions of 2021-2022 was a flood of people into used cars. Used car prices went went dramatically higher. But I think you have to take the Piper Sandler example on cars and look at other industries. What does this mean for forestry, for trucking, in particular? And basically, anything that involves commerce and transportation between the US, Canada, and Mexico, I think is going to get caught up in this. And those are two, those are three names right there, three industries that I think you have to consider pretty carefully. And then also, obviously, metals.
03:23 Speaker A
Right, and it it it might be an example of more of the market action that we’re going to see as we do get clarity on those reciprocal tariffs come April 2nd as well.
03:40 John
Yeah, and then, you know, again, we just keep hearing these words over and over again. What struck me about the Piper Sandler recommendation was how much it echoed what the Fed said, which is that given uncertainty, it’s hard to make recommendations. People, you know, people kind of get stuck in their place when they’re not sure where things are going to go yet. Every, you know, everybody freezes until they see how things are going to play out. And I think this is going to be a theme for for 2025 overall.
04:37 Speaker A
And perhaps for investors finding areas of the market where you can be certain is the only.
04:46 John
Well, but also, if this is happening at the Fed, and if it’s happening on Wall Street, it’s got to be happening in boardrooms too. When you think about hiring, and when you think about new investment strategies, you know, do you want to put that plan in the US? Do you want to go ahead with your with your build out in Vietnam or or Thailand? Everybody wants to see how this is all going to play out, and it’s why I think the strategy of confrontation between President Trump and the rest of the world kind of is slowing down the the economic wheels at a time when he proposed a pro-growth strategy to speed up the economic wheels.
05:46 Speaker A
I mean, you can take it even further. If it’s happening in boardrooms, it’s happening at Delta, Verizon, all these companies saying that they’re pausing capex due to the uncertainty. It’s happening in households, right?
06:06 John
And it it might be that as these things become clearer that the gears will start turning again very fast. But right now, I think we’re in a slow growth period, and it’s going to be like this until all these different uncertainties get sorted out over the course of the year.
06:33 Speaker A
Does April 2nd give us that clarity?
06:37 John
No. No, because I mean, as we saw in February and March, that can change on April 3rd, or April 4th. And then, you know, once the reciprocal tariffs get sorted out, if they do, then you move on to China. Uh, so, and the big story, I keep referencing 2018 as like my reference point for 2025, because that’s when the tariff story was big. 2017 was all about tax cuts. 2018 was all about tariffs. That was all a China story. And the S&P 500 fell as much as 20% during those negotiations. So I think it’s a strap in, we’re on a roller coaster here.