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By Editorial Board, Bloomberg, 7/28/2026
MarketMinder’s View: This op-ed dives into tariffs, which are inherently political, so please note MarketMinder favors no politician or political party, assessing developments solely for their effects on the economy, markets and/or personal finance. We generally agree with the thrust, laid bare by the title, that the Trump administration’s new replacement tariffs, which were designed to backfill those shot down by the US Supreme Court in February and the temporary ones enacted shortly thereafter, are an economic negative. Tariffs always are, and they hit the imposing nation hardest. That being said, we take issue with the idea that these replacements are worse than the former because they are likely to prove more resilient to court challenge and, therefore, lasting. And we take issue with the suggestion this rekindles inflation risk. First, tariffs have been in place for most of the last year, with maybe a couple-day window in between. Markets know this. They know tariffs are bad, but have pre-priced the effect. They even excessively pre-priced a worse scenario than reality delivered, given exemptions, deals and the lower statutory rates than those announced on “Liberation Day.” Consider: The World Bank estimated America’s average tariff rate would exceed 25% after April 2025’s revelations. This puts the rate at 11% now, but it is actually lower than that: Based on collections, it is under 10%, per Fisher Investments’ analysis of tariff collection as a share of imports. Moreover, some of the new announcements (tariffs on Canada) look like mere negotiating ploys in the talks to revise or reboot the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. And those on Brazil have so many carve outs as to make them near-meaningless. Look, we know this backdrop isn’t ideal. But stocks don’t need ideal to rise—and the economy has shown it can deal, too. This issue isn’t really a swing factor for markets or the economy. For more, see our 7/24/2026 cover story, “The New Tariffs in Town Are Still Old News.”
Some Attacks and U-Turns, but Ships Sail Red Sea Despite Houthi Blockade
By Leanne Abraham and Jenny Gross, The New York Times, 7/27/2026
MarketMinder’s View: In the latest out of the Strait of Hormuz, new maritime data suggest last week’s Houthi militia blockade forced nearly a dozen ships to reverse course. Not great for those vessels, and perhaps renewed uncertainty contributed to last week’s higher Brent crude prices (per FactSet). Yet as the article also explains, many ships are adapting. “On Thursday, [maritime data firm] Kpler found, 43 ships crossed the strait, up from 35 the day before, when the Houthis claimed they had targeted two Saudi oil tankers with missiles and drones.” Just as we saw with Houthi-led Red Sea disruptions in 2024, tankers are still braving the Strait and utilizing different tactics to make the trip. Some are turning off their location transponders to avoid detection. Others are re-routing through the Suez Canal. Yes, the latter means slower, costlier shipping—but goods are still getting to their final destination. For some recent perspective, tankers re-routed around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope back in 2024, and the disturbance barely registered on a global economic or market scale. Don’t overlook corporations and governments’ ability to adapt to these challenges to ensure business carries on as usual.
Investors Donβt Want to Scrap Quarterly Reports. Companies Should Think Twice.
By Jonathan Weil, The Wall Street Journal, 7/27/2026
MarketMinder’s View: There is growing evidence the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) will allow US-listed companies to opt out of quarterly reporting requirements, requiring only semi-annual reporting ahead. And, as evidenced by this article, many see less information as a negative for investors and stocks alike. Others, however, posit the potential change as a tailwind via lower compliance costs and more US listings. We don’t follow either of these. We suspect this change’s effects will be minimal. Consider UK stocks, which experienced this shift in 2014. About 90% of these companies continued reporting quarterly because of investor demand—just because companies can change their reporting requirements doesn’t mean they will. On the other side, we reckon the benefits here are well overstated. As Bloomberg’s Alison Schrager covered in an OpEd last fall, compliance and regulatory costs are already up following Sarbanes-Oxley, and reporting audits aren’t a huge slice of that. Hence, we doubt this change would materially boost companies’ margins. For more on this, please see our September 2025 coverage, “Fine Solution Seeks Material Problem.”
By Editorial Board, Bloomberg, 7/28/2026
MarketMinder’s View: This op-ed dives into tariffs, which are inherently political, so please note MarketMinder favors no politician or political party, assessing developments solely for their effects on the economy, markets and/or personal finance. We generally agree with the thrust, laid bare by the title, that the Trump administration’s new replacement tariffs, which were designed to backfill those shot down by the US Supreme Court in February and the temporary ones enacted shortly thereafter, are an economic negative. Tariffs always are, and they hit the imposing nation hardest. That being said, we take issue with the idea that these replacements are worse than the former because they are likely to prove more resilient to court challenge and, therefore, lasting. And we take issue with the suggestion this rekindles inflation risk. First, tariffs have been in place for most of the last year, with maybe a couple-day window in between. Markets know this. They know tariffs are bad, but have pre-priced the effect. They even excessively pre-priced a worse scenario than reality delivered, given exemptions, deals and the lower statutory rates than those announced on “Liberation Day.” Consider: The World Bank estimated America’s average tariff rate would exceed 25% after April 2025’s revelations. This puts the rate at 11% now, but it is actually lower than that: Based on collections, it is under 10%, per Fisher Investments’ analysis of tariff collection as a share of imports. Moreover, some of the new announcements (tariffs on Canada) look like mere negotiating ploys in the talks to revise or reboot the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. And those on Brazil have so many carve outs as to make them near-meaningless. Look, we know this backdrop isn’t ideal. But stocks don’t need ideal to rise—and the economy has shown it can deal, too. This issue isn’t really a swing factor for markets or the economy. For more, see our 7/24/2026 cover story, “The New Tariffs in Town Are Still Old News.”
Some Attacks and U-Turns, but Ships Sail Red Sea Despite Houthi Blockade
By Leanne Abraham and Jenny Gross, The New York Times, 7/27/2026
MarketMinder’s View: In the latest out of the Strait of Hormuz, new maritime data suggest last week’s Houthi militia blockade forced nearly a dozen ships to reverse course. Not great for those vessels, and perhaps renewed uncertainty contributed to last week’s higher Brent crude prices (per FactSet). Yet as the article also explains, many ships are adapting. “On Thursday, [maritime data firm] Kpler found, 43 ships crossed the strait, up from 35 the day before, when the Houthis claimed they had targeted two Saudi oil tankers with missiles and drones.” Just as we saw with Houthi-led Red Sea disruptions in 2024, tankers are still braving the Strait and utilizing different tactics to make the trip. Some are turning off their location transponders to avoid detection. Others are re-routing through the Suez Canal. Yes, the latter means slower, costlier shipping—but goods are still getting to their final destination. For some recent perspective, tankers re-routed around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope back in 2024, and the disturbance barely registered on a global economic or market scale. Don’t overlook corporations and governments’ ability to adapt to these challenges to ensure business carries on as usual.
Investors Donβt Want to Scrap Quarterly Reports. Companies Should Think Twice.
By Jonathan Weil, The Wall Street Journal, 7/27/2026
MarketMinder’s View: There is growing evidence the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) will allow US-listed companies to opt out of quarterly reporting requirements, requiring only semi-annual reporting ahead. And, as evidenced by this article, many see less information as a negative for investors and stocks alike. Others, however, posit the potential change as a tailwind via lower compliance costs and more US listings. We don’t follow either of these. We suspect this change’s effects will be minimal. Consider UK stocks, which experienced this shift in 2014. About 90% of these companies continued reporting quarterly because of investor demand—just because companies can change their reporting requirements doesn’t mean they will. On the other side, we reckon the benefits here are well overstated. As Bloomberg’s Alison Schrager covered in an OpEd last fall, compliance and regulatory costs are already up following Sarbanes-Oxley, and reporting audits aren’t a huge slice of that. Hence, we doubt this change would materially boost companies’ margins. For more on this, please see our September 2025 coverage, “Fine Solution Seeks Material Problem.”