Category: Art Of The Deal

Coulda Had A Pipeline

47 Art Of The Deal Ethical Energy 12 Comments

Your second juxtapose of the day.

I want a new country.

“I have a guy who’s unbelievable at doing swimming pools up the road”

47 Art Of The Deal Trump 11 Comments

Don’t bring a bureaucratic grift op to a property developer fight;

The president said he scrapped plans to have the granite replaced, which he said was estimated to cost $301 million and would take at least three years.[…]

The president went with a plan to clean the granite and lay down a new “industrial grade pool” surface for $1.5 million, he said. All told, it would take a few weeks. Trump noted it would be ready well before July 4, when the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of its independence.

New Governor, Same As The Old Governor

Art Of The Deal Gradually Then Suddenly New Governor 26 Comments

All I know about cutting trade ties with the US is how well it worked out for Cuba.

Under Mark Carney, Canada’s posture toward the United States has shifted with surprising speed—less theatrical than Trump’s, but no less consequential. In April 2025, we were promised a renewed economic and security partnership. By the summer, we were told the existing deal was already the best possible outcome. Fast forward to April 2026, and suddenly our reliance on the U.S. is framed as a strategic weakness. All of this, notably, after months without meaningful engagement or negotiation.

That messaging matters. Especially when delivered in a widely viewed address suggesting that CUSMA—the backbone of North American trade—is somehow on life support. It leaves industry asking a basic question: what exactly is the plan?

Did Viktor Orbán Just Play the EU?

Art Of The Deal Baiting The Left Insufferable Twits 18 Comments

Interesting theory:

In a display of political chess so brilliant it borders on the comical, Viktor Orbán sniffed out long ago that the European Union, George Soros, Obama, and the whole globalist club were gunning for him. With no worthwhile left-wing opposition left in Hungary (none of them cracked the laughable 5% electoral threshold), the Hungarian prime minister decided to solve the problem his own way: he took his top ally and right-hand man, Péter Magyar, and sent him out front as a deluxe “opponent.”

The plan was as simple as it was genius: Magyar, who until 2024 was a key piece of the Orbán government, dramatically jumped ship, played the dissident, eagerly accepted funds from the very Eurocrats who despise Orbán, and positioned himself as the great hope for “change.” The European left and their patrons fell into the trap like flies into honey. “At last!” they shouted in Brussels, as they cracked open the checkbook. No one understood a thing, of course, because hardly anyone speaks Hungarian and the headlines in Western media were too flattering to question.

Related: Newly elected Hungarian PM Péter Magyar visits the state broadcaster and shares some truth bombs.

Thank You For Your Attention To This Matter

Art Of The Deal Religion Of Submission Terrorism 13 Comments

Open Source Intel;

The U.S. has begun enforcing a naval blockade on Iran, targeting all vessels entering and exiting its ports across the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

The move is expected to inflict about $435M in total daily losses across Iran’s exports, roughly $13B per month, even as its oil revenues rose 37% during the war to about $139M per day.

The IRGC had been operating a paid “protection corridor,” charging up to $2M per vessel in crypto, but the blockade could halt exports, disrupt imports, trigger food shortages, and accelerate the collapse of the rial.

Plus: vessels entering the Strait of Hormuz without authorization are subject to interception, diversion, and capture by the U.S. military. […] “The blockade will not impede neutral transit passage through the Strait of Hormuz to or from non-Iranian destinations.”

More: The thing about that Persian Gulf stranglehold is that, like the Sword of Damcles, it’s only effective until it’s played.”

I’m on the road this week and mostly out of the news cycle, so drop related links in the comments.

Thank You For Your Attention To This Matter

47 Art Of The Deal Religion Of Submission 42 Comments

Iran denies, but which Iran?

Related @RealAndyLeeShow: Canadian entities named in sanctions against Hizballah.

Unexpectedly

Art Of The Deal New Governor 9 Comments

Juxtapose time.

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed sharply in January as exports surged to a record high and imports fell, a trend that if sustained, could see trade contributing to economic growth in the first quarter.

Canada’s trade deficit widened in January as exports of motor vehicles and parts fell to the lowest level in more than four years. Canadian goods exports decreased by 4.7%, the biggest monthly decline since April 2025, Statistics Canada reported Thursday. That pushed the country’s trade shortfall to $3.65 billion.

Kill shot: Economists surveyed by Bloomberg were expecting Canada’s trade deficit to shrink to $1.1 billion January from $1.3 billion in December.

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