TWEEDLE TIMES—The biotech boom appears to be well underway after a three-year sabbatical. Biotech has been out of favor since its massive crash in June 2022, when investors like Cathie Wood lost as much as 90% in the sector.
Wood returned to the space this week with a $13.9 million bet on high-stakes/gene-editing biotech company, Beam Therapeutics (BEAM).
The IBB iShares Biotechnology ETF shows promise as a clear uptrend is now visible. But the rally could meet headwinds due to a 200% tariff tantrum targeting offshore manufacturing.
Luckily for CountryDumbs, aTyr Pharma is a Paul Schimmel company whose manufacturing base is in North Carolina, shielding it from any direct geopolitical tariff blowback.
Other macro concerns for the market are the escalating trade war, including a 35% tariff threat on Canada, 50% tariffs on copper and Brazilian goods (like coffee), and the possibility of 15-20% blanket tariffs across the globe.
The war in Ukraine shows no sign of cooling, and in the Middle East, Houthi rebels continue to target commercial ships in the Red Sea.
The group sunk two earlier this week.
Still, despite growing geopolitical concerns at home and abroad, inflation remains contained, interest rates and unemployment claims are stable, and bitcoin is making all-time highs—surging to more than $118,000.
Wall Street is closely eyeing the latest trade developments, but so far, investors have discounted any threats to the market as political theater.
“We’ve been climbing a wall of worry….” Wood said. “But these are the kinds of bull markets that I think are the most durable. When the market climbs through all of that controversy, it’s really signaling something.”