Happy New Year January 2 2026

The Year that Was and Wasn't

2025 was no slouch year when it came to economic news and events.

As expected, the Trump administration did more than a few things to stir the pot when it came to jerking around regulations, mandates, laws and the conduits for such things.

I won’t get into specifics, as the subject is an inflammatory one, but it is safe to say he is making things harder for some industries and easier for others.

The general stock market set more than a few new highs in 2025 while other parts of it languished. The artificial intelligence trade (AI) went nuclear for most of the year and then fell on at least part of its face in the last few months of the year.

Gold and silver prices went up by a lot, while the vapor coins (Bitcoin and the like) retreated into the swamplands. The government hates it when gold and silver rise too much.  So much like these did in the in response, and similar to what they did in the 1980s, government minions (CME) raised the margin amounts on these two metals more than once in 2025. Raising margin rates makes it more expensive for investor’s that borrow money to buy such things such as the monster traders, fund managers and some mom and pop investors.

Hey, when you don’t like the price of something, change the rules if you make the rules, and they do both.

Inflation didn’t go away and as usual however, Washington bureaucrats claimed it was getting better. How often have we heard that?

Meanwhile, some popular eating establishments closed more than a few stores in response to slower sales and/or rising costs. Either one or both of those eat into profits and the best defense is to fire some people and shutter the doors they use to go to work thru.  Starbucks, Wendy’s, Denny’s, Jack in the Box, Hardee’s, Papa John’s, and Outback Steak House are some of the notables pulling in their horns.

Car loan defaults are setting records again as well as other types of consumer debt. Student loans remain at the top of the default list. In 2026, student loan forgiveness could be taxable if enough congressmen and women extend the program that waives the IRS tax free ruling that exists now.

No doubt the protests signs will come out in force as the vote to tax the amount forgiven gets closer to the voting floor.

The electric vehicle (EV) mandates that look to rid the world of Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) may be under pressure. Hertz unloaded a potful of its EV cars and Ford Motor took a 19.5 billion charge off on its attempt into the fray of the EV car.

Having received billions in free money back in 2009 through the Advanced Technology Manufacturing Loan Program (ATVM) to “make more fuel efficient vehicles”, along with some other automakers, the charge off, at least in my mind, was prepaid for by us taxpayers.

Turns out government mandating what consumers can and cannot buy doesn’t go too well if the technology to make such changes can’t replace the thing that is being mandated out.

Sean Ring, of the Daily Reckoning, smartly observed Apple didn’t have to mandate out the old mobile phone to get consumers to buy their “Smart” phones just as TV streaming services didn’t have to get government help mandating out DVDs so people would buy their services.

Government mandates don’t work well when the public or the technology isn’t ready for the proposed change. The same might be said of solar power and those huge wind monstrosities turning like giant propellers on landscapes everywhere.

Simply put, people just consume too much energy to replace the ICE. That isn’t opinion. It’s just how the math works out. Someday I imagine the ICE will go the way of the DODO bird, but for now, many argue it just ain’t so. But it IS the direction we need to GO!. 

And finally, Iconic investor Warren Buffett stepped down from managing his holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, after doing so for over half a century, increasing its value up some +5,5000,000%.

Nice job Warren. Too bad I haven’t owned it the whole time. I would imagine most of you can unfortunately say the same thing.

Too many other notable events occurred in 2025 to list them all here, but it’s safe to say a lot can happen in a years’ time. No doubt a plethora of new changes will occur in 2026 and I, for one, can’t wait to see what they are.

  “Watching the markets so you don’t have to”    

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(As mentioned please use the below disclaimer exactly) THANKS   (Regulations)    

This article expresses the opinion of Marc Cuniberti and is not meant as investment advice, or a recommendation to buy or sell any securities, nor represents the opinion of any bank, investment firm or RIA, nor this media outlet, its staff, members or underwriters. Mr. Cuniberti holds a B.A. in Economics with honors, 1979, and California Insurance License #0L34249 His insurance agency is BAP INC. insurance services.  Email: news@moneymanagementradio.com

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