People Take Pictures of the Summer

©2025 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"People take pictures of the Summer, just in case someone thought they had missed it, and to prove that it really existed." – Ray Davies

Viewpoint Diversity by Harvard

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Harvard leaders have discussed creating a program that people briefed on the talks described as a center for conservative scholarship, possibly modeled on Stanford’s Hoover Institution, as the school fights the Trump administration’s accusations that it is too liberal.

A spokesman for Harvard said an initiative under discussion “will ensure exposure to the broadest ranges of perspectives on issues, and will not be partisan, but rather will model the use of evidence-based, rigorous logic and a willingness to engage with opposing views.” He added that the school has been accelerating efforts to set up the initiative, which would “promote and support viewpoint diversity.”

Learn more about how Harvard is getting close to making this 'viewpoint diversity' happen.

Great Analysis of How Tariffs Are Paid by Americans

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Ed Gresser's analysis of how tariffs impact consumers (Americans) is excellent.  If I were updating my Exporting book, which I should and will soon, I would reference this.  He uses an example of a Vietnamese supplier.

The buyers’ tariff payment [business owner who imports], in turn, is included in the bill you pay in the store. This is because these buyers add it to the bills they’ve paid to their Vietnamese supplier and to the shipping company carrying across the Pacific to the United States. The result is the “landed cost” from which they mark up to cover costs — wages, building rent, transport, maintenance, marketing, etc. — and leave a profit margin. If the product doesn’t sell, the store takes the loss; if you buy it, you cover their tariff cost. Using the hypothetical example of a container carrying 1,000 Vietnamese-made wooden chairs valued at $100 each, here's the arithmetic.

Read on for the full analysis.

The OKAPA Water Bottle: Elevating An Everyday Ritual Through Meticulous Design and Uncompromising Engineering

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At its core, the OKAPA bottle elevates an everyday ritual through meticulous design and uncompromising engineering. Launched in January 2025, the new bottles are available in eight contemporary colorways curated by renowned color and materials specialist Beatrice Santiccioli (BSD), including Misti Pinku, Goldie Samba, and Fetishe Noir, among others.

In working with IDEO, global brand expert Hardy Steinmann, CEO and Founder, OKAPA says:

“IDEO’s thinking starts where other firms end. Our collaboration was the art of playing thought ping-pong. It resulted in a high-tech, sophisticated, intelligently beautiful, and fashionable lifestyle product. The final design is so perfect, I made it my mission not to change anything..” 

Learn more by reading the fabulous, meticulous, story here.

Tariffs: Oh Keep Up Will You?

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President Donald Trump has delayed imposing higher tariffs on US imports, while sending letters to 14 countries including Japan and South Korea detailing the levies they face.

The latest development on global trade by Trump comes as a 90-day pause the White House placed on some of its most aggressive import taxes was set to expire this week (7/7/25).

Starting August 1, 2025, here's what you might expect.  Chaos in the name of the game here.

Today in Global Small Business: The Predictability of Unpredictability

©iStock/Yutthana Gaetgeaw

What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• Trump is not the first American president to deploy an Unpredictability Doctrine.
• Dalai Lama, a global symbol of Tibetan culture and resistance, turns 90.
• How maritime ports can advance industrial climate tech solutions.
• Quote of the week:  "You can have a plan, but you have to be flexible. Every day is unpredictable, and you just have to go with the flow." – Jane Krakowski
• Planning for the unplannable: What supply chain leaders should be doing now.
• Container lines pull back on India-US pricing push.

I Simply Know They're Just One Thing

©2025 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"About Jesus Christ and the Church, I simply know they're just one thing." – Joan of Arc

Honoring Independence Day 7/4/25 and Hoping For a Better, Freer America Soon

©iStock/larissagalles

When You Find Yourself In Times of Trouble, Listen to the Beatles (Video music)

The Winners and Losers in Trump's Big, Beautiful Tax Bill

©iStock/Denis Novikov

The Big, Beautiful Tax Bill (BBTB) is indeed big: 1,116 pages in the House version and 887 pages in the Senate. How attractive it is to you depends largely on how big your paycheck will be in 2026.

What's in the BBTB?  Who comes out a winner?  Who comes out a loser?  Find out here.

The Dollar's Worst Start to the Year in Decades

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The United States’ currency has weakened more than 10 percent over the past six months when compared with a basket of currencies from the country’s major trading partners. The last time the dollar weakened so much at the start of the year was 1973, when the United States made a seismic shift and ended the linking of the dollar to the price of gold.

The combination of Mr. Trump’s trade proposals, inflation worries and rising government debt has weighed on the dollar, which has also been buffeted by slowly sliding confidence in the role of the United States at the center of the global financial system.   

Maybe the dollar isn't that weak after all because it started from such a high level.

Learn more about the state of the dollar, full-scale de-dollarization and how the weaker dollar impacts investments from Americans outside the USA.