A recent stock sell-off was "explained" to the public as "investors are worried due to tariffs on Chinese imports."  However, it should be known that market makers are doing this on a regular basis: from a cacophony of daily news, they pick up one story and broadcast it as a "reason" for the stock market moving up or down in a particular day.   It makes the unsuspecting public (who is always positioned in a way to maximize losses) feel "good" and "in the know" even if people lose money at every market turn — fake news at its best.  However, keep in mind that the sell-off manifests much deeper reasons: reconfiguration and correcting decades-old unfair trade imbalances. The best tariff (tax on imported goods) equals zero — at least this is what standard economic theory says.  However, such a rule is valid only when both trading partners are set at zero.  If either side moves one iota above...(Read Full Article)