| DAILY ISSUE Tom Yeung here with today’s Smart Money. In the early 2000s, the head football coach at West Virginia University, Rich Rodriguez, began experimenting with a new play. The strategy involved the quarterback reading the defense during a play and making a snap decision to either keep the ball or hand it off to a running back. The run-pass-option (RPO) play proved a success… and the NFL took notice. Today, RPO is used by a half-dozen NFL teams and is even credited with helping the Philadelphia Eagles prevail over the dominant Kansas City Chiefs in last weekend’s Super Bowl LIX. President Donald Trump could be said to be using the same type of strategy. Over the past three weeks, Trump has kept the world off balance with a constant stream of high-profile announcements. Two weeks ago, he announced plans to implement 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico… only to delay them at the last minute. He’s talked about rebuilding Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” and then failed to elaborate on any plan specifics… sending oil prices on a small rollercoaster ride. On Monday night, he announced new plans to impose 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. And earlier today, he announced new, reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trading partners. These tariffs – which Trump calls “The Big One” – were executed via executive order this morning, although they won’t take immediate effect. Usually, these snap decisions would have investors scrambling to play defense… But today, we’re interested in how to make our own big play. That’s because these tariff threats have also created some incredible opportunities for sharp-eyed investors. And they’re leaving a particular mining company at irresistible prices. Let’s see why… | Recommended Link | | | | While everyday investors keep piling into names like Nvidia, Apple, and Amazon... the owners of those very companies — Jensen Huang, Tim Cook, and Jeff Bezos — are dumping their OWN shares at a record pace. This is exactly what we saw 25 years ago… right before the dot-com crash wiped out millions of American’s portfolios. Now, “America’s top trader” is warning that big tech could be barreling right toward another dot-com style implosion. Click here for the critical details. |  | | Seeing and Moving the Goalposts It’s often tricky for investors to know which of Trump’s headline-grabbing proclamations will come true. Some need to be taken seriously, while others are bluster. But so far, Eric and I have been broadly correct in our guesses. Much of the Americas remain tariff-free, thanks to back-and-forth negotiations, while China has seen an increase. We discussed this in a previous Fry’s Investment Report weekly update… Countries like China will see some increase in tariffs… But many other regions will see room to negotiate lower tariffs (or none at all) in exchange for something else. It’s easy to see El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele agreeing to accept migrants in exchange for maintaining its duty-free access to the U.S… And it’s more than likely that Trump will come to an agreement with Canada to keep the oil and gas taps open. We see no reason to panic-sell our commodity-producing stocks that export to the United States. (You can read our full report by becoming a member of Fry’s Investment Report. Click here to learn how.) We also foresaw Trump’s nomination of vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to Health and Human Services Secretary as not negative for healthcare stocks. Shares of AI healthcare superstar Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) – a Fry’s Investment Report holding – remain 15% above our initial buy price. That’s because we’ve tended to focus on Trump’s goalposts, rather than his strategy of getting there. However, Trump does change his goals as well, which forces us to reconsider our global macro predictions. So, here is our latest adjusted predictions on what America’s “quarterback” will do next… Tracking Trump’s Tariffs Steel Tariffs The steel import duties are more likely to go through. America imported just 23% of its finished steel from abroad last year, and we could cover as much as a quarter of any import shortfall with greater domestic utilization. Current U.S. capacity utilization rates sit at 74.4%, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute, and those rates have regularly risen as high as 80% during periods of shortage. Therefore, we may see a 25% steel tariff go into effect, or some lowered figure once negotiations begin. Aluminum Tariffs Aluminum is more of a puzzle because America has so little primary domestic production (i.e., aluminum not made from recycling or scrap). In 2023, the U.S. produced just 0.75 million metric tons of primary aluminum – not enough to cover even a fifth of domestic consumption. The remainder comes from scrap recovery and imports. The same year, America imported 4.9 million metric tons of the metal and recovered 3.3 million metric tons from recycling. In addition, the aluminum supply chain is heavily linked between the U.S. and its northern neighbor. Canada exports roughly 75% of its raw aluminum supply, while the U.S. re-exports half of its downstream aluminum products back to Canada, which includes semifinished products and scrap. That means tariffs on aluminum will have an outsized impact for relatively little gain. America simply lacks a domestically integrated supply chain, and a tit-for-tat trade war won’t bring back aluminum smelting overnight. (This is the process of extracting aluminum from bauxite.) That’s why Eric and I believe these Trump’s aluminum tariff threats are leaving one of Eric’s recommendations at irresistible prices. It is one of the largest aluminum producers in the world, with operations in 10 countries. And if thing go the way we foresee, this company could rise 20%... 50%... even 80% from here. You can learn more about this metals play by becoming a member Fry’s Investment Report. As a member, you’ll get access to all of Eric’s latest recommendations, as well as his monthly issues and my weekly updates. It is also the best place to stay informed on what we expect America’s “quarterback” will do next… and how these RPO plays will affect your investments. And stay tuned, Fry’s Investment Report members: Eric’s February issue will be available tomorrow. So, be sure to keep an eye out on your inbox. And if you’re not a member, click here to learn how to join up. Regards, Tom Yeung Markets Analyst, InvestorPlace P.S. Of course, tariffs aren’t the only move in the president’s RPO arsenal. The United States finds itself in a battle with China for AI supremacy… and Trump is moving mountains of money and other resources to make sure we win that war. In his latest presentation, the AI Crossover Summit, My InvestorPlace colleague Louis Navellier says these moves will help American AI companies reach the next stage of AI’s evolution. Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang pounded the table about “AI’s next frontier”… and called it a $100 trillion opportunity. Now, Louis is sitting down to explain AI’s crossover moment, and to share details on seven AI crossover companies poised for triple-digit surges. You can catch Louis’s free broadcast summit here. | 
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