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When the Floor Gives Out: Dow’s Dividend Cut Exposes Deeper Cracks
As tariffs loom and renovations spark presidential ire, investors navigate a landscape where government moves dictate market moods.
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When the Floor Gives Out: Dow’s Dividend Cut Exposes Deeper CracksAs tariffs loom and renovations spark presidential ire, investors navigate a landscape where government moves dictate market moods. July 25, 2025 |
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Visualizing the clash between bureaucratic excess and unintended market wins. |
Good morning, folks. Washington is busy flexing power it barely understands. Whether through headline chasing Fed visits or tariff flirtations dressed as industrial policy. But back in the real economy, the pain is more precise: Dow Inc., once a rock in retirement portfolios, just chopped its dividend in half and blamed the world for its woes. It’s a story that says more about industrial rot than regulation and a reminder that yield without resilience is just bait. Let’s get into today’s Morning Bullets. – Truly yours, Fred Frost |
📈 Yesterday's Market RecapMarkets closed higher yesterday, buoyed by strong earnings beats from tech and consumer sectors, even as tariff uncertainties lingered. The S&P 500 notched a fresh high, reflecting investor optimism amid mixed economic signals.
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📈 Daily Performance Snapshot
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🔭 What to Watch TodayWith earnings season in full swing and policy ripples from Washington, keep an eye on how these developments could sway sectors from tech to commodities, reminding us that government actions often create more volatility than value.
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💡 Opportunity WatchAmid tariff-induced shifts, savvy investors spot edges in AI storage, biotech breakthroughs, and undervalued income plays, proof that market distortions from policy can unearth real value for those who look beyond the headlines.
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🔥 The Big BulletDow Inc. Slices Dividend as Earnings EvaporateWhat happened: Dow Inc. sent a shiver through dividend-watchers yesterday, cutting its quarterly payout by half, from $0.70 to $0.35, after posting a steep Q2 loss of $835 million, a sharp reversal from its $439 million profit a year ago. Revenues missed expectations, dropping 7.4% to $10.1 billion amid sluggish demand for plastics and industrial materials. Management pinned the miss on oversupply and "unfair" global competition. The dividend cut, expected to conserve nearly $250 million in cash, came alongside thinly veiled lobbying for tariff support. Shares sank more than 16% on the day, the stock’s biggest drop in five years → MarketWatch Why it matters: For a company once considered a ballast in income portfolios, this is no routine belt-tightening. A dividend this large doesn’t get halved unless the pressure is structural, and persistent. It’s a red flag for the broader industrials complex, where margins are already under siege from flatlining demand, Chinese oversupply, and inventory pileups. And let’s not ignore the optics: Dow’s dividend was a symbol of financial stability. Gutting it now hints at something deeper unraveling beneath the balance sheet. What’s next: Earnings from sector peers, like DuPont, Eastman Chemical, and LyondellBasell, will now arrive under a microscope. Watch especially for guidance on pricing power and capex cuts. Politically, Dow’s appeal for tariffs might resonate in an election year, but don’t bank on Washington bailing out poor pricing strategy. For investors, this is a wake-up call: dividend durability needs more than history, it needs cash. Defensive rotation into quality names with clean payout ratios may accelerate from here. |
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🧭 Policy & Market Ripples
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📜 This Day in History – July 25On this day, history reminds us how policy shifts and innovations reshape landscapes, much like today's tariff booms inadvertently fueling recycling, proving markets adapt when governments overreach. |
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