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Message From The Editor
KEEPING A STEADY HAND ON THE TILLER
Businesses of all kinds, investors and citizens in the Western nations are roiled by the nonstop threats and political theater being generated by America's president.
In just the past week, U.S. president Donald Trump has:
• threatened to further increase tariffs on Chinese imports saying he's "ready to go" with $500 billion in tariffs - and stocks in Asia are falling.
• was quoted as saying "I'm not thrilled" about the Fed's rate hike in the United States. (It's rare for a president to interfere with the Fed's business for clearly political reasons.)
• New focus on uranium imports - the Financial Post headline said, "Everything is now fair game" and that Canada is unlikely to be spared from US uranium protections
• announced that he was "close to a Mexico trade deal" and said that 'Canada may come later'
• had a private in-person meeting with Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, an unprecedented move that was upsetting to many Americans
• and, coming out of the Helsinki meeting, Putin told his Russian diplomats that he had proposed holding a referendum in Ukraine after Trump appeared to leave open the possibility of reorganizing Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea
• and to end the week off, on Friday it emerged that Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen and secretly taped Trump discussing payment to a Playboy model before the election.
One writer recently described Trump as a 'wrecking ball' and it appears that he is doing everything he can to disrupt established trading relationships with countries all over the globe. We are in for a bumpy ride.
In spite of that, we still need to earn a living.
Let's not forget that the economy is strong in both Canada and the United States. Unemployment is at record lows and although interest rates are now rising, they're still at very low levels.
So, it's still a good time to borrow money. Canada is enjoying a spectacular hot and sunny summer. None of us is getting any younger, but our kids are growing up and every summer is a chance to make wonderful family memories. It's still a good time to buy a boat.
The whole point to this week's column is to say the new tariffs in our industry are very disruptive and higher prices will result, but I would still suggest your customers should buy now. Don't miss a year of pleasure.
Remember, you can't sell a boat that you can't get.
Adjust your orders. Protect your business, but attend the dealer meetings, talk to your suppliers and boatbuilders. We need to all work together to ensure that we have adequate inventory for the winter boat shows and for a realistic estimate of what our customers will buy in the spring of 2019.
Andy Adams, Editor
aadams@kerrwil.com
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Feature
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BOATING ONTARIO DIGS DEEP INTO THE CAREER PATH OF A SERVICE TECHNICIAN
Earlier this month, 125 Boating Ontario members took a few moments to share their company's commitments to creating meaningful career paths for service technicians. These members represent over 360 technicians in the province and have given us a robust cross section of today's opportunities in the marine business.
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Feature
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TOP TUNERS TO ATTEND YAMAHA TECH GP ON JULY 24
On Tuesday, July 24, the top Yamaha technicians in Canada will compete in the 2018 Canadian Technician Grand Prix, an intense contest that will challenge the mechanical, electronic and customer service skills of Canada's best Yamaha dealer service staff.
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Changing Scene
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Education
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ABYC AND NASBLA COLLABORATE IN GROUNDBREAKING EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY
The American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) and the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) have partnered to allow ABYC members to attend classes in NASBLA's Boat Operations and Training (BOAT) Program…
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Events
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JOIN THE MARINE FABRICATORS CONFERENCE ON THE HISTORIC QUEEN MARY
Join your peers and industry leaders at the annual Marine Fabricators Conference in sunny Long Beach, California. This three-day event provides the opportunity to attend a variety of sessions and hands-on demonstrations, expand your network and grow your business.
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RCYC PARTNERS WITH HOME-SHARING SERVICE STAYBILLETY FOR 2018 SAIL CANADA YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Royal Canadian Yacht Club is saying #ComeOnIn! The sailing club, through Sail Canada, is partnered with StayBillety to assist sailors and fans with housing for the 2018 Sail Canada Youth Sailing Championships which is taking place from August 24th-31st...
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Education
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'WEATHERING THE STORM' - IMI HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS AND RECOVERY CONFERENCE
The International Marina Institute (IMI), a subsidiary of the Association of Marina Industries (AMI), is offering a one-day Hurricane Preparedness and Recovery Conference on Monday, October 29, 2018 in Miami, Florida.
Read More
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New Products
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GARMIN'S NEW PANOPTIX LIVESCCOPE
The PanoptixLiveScope scanning sonar system includes a compact GLS 10 sonar black box with an LVS32 transducer and a simple plug-and-play Garmin Marine Network connector for easy installation and integration with a compatible Garmin chartplotter.
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NEW LED DOWN LIGHTS FROM HELLA MARINE DELIVER UNIFORM ILLUMINATION ANYWHERE
Headaches associated with artificial lighting often result from eye strain caused by inconsistent illumination. New EuroLED 95 Down Lights from Hella Marine generate a bright, uniform spread in two compact…
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Launchings
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JEANNEAU ANNOUNCES THE NORTH AMERICAN RELEASE OF THE NEW NC 1095
In response to customer demand, and in keeping with current market trends, Jeanneau continues to develop their outboard powerboat lines to offer larger models, tailored to the North American market. With this in mind…
Read More
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Boating Stock Market
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Calendar
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Muskoka Boat and Cottage Show
July 27 - 29, 2018
Graventhurst, ON
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Port Credit In-Water Boat Show
August 24 - 26, 2018
Port Credit, ON
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Victoria Classic Boat Festival
August 31 - September 2, 2018
Victoria, BC
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... View All Events
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Daily Updates
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