Every geographic area has its assets and if you live in the area, you will soon find them and begin to treasure them. To make an income often requires the exporting of goods to other places or to bring in people to the area or a combination of both. If the place becomes too popular, which is a good thing for the economy, the locals think about times when it was not the place to be. There are cycles, a town which has not seen any significant activity for generations is rediscovered because the buildings were built in a different era and people visit. There are many reasons why cycles happen, sometimes politics adds a dimension.

In an article by Jeffery Collins of the Associated Press, if you think bourbon, you think of Kentucky products. 95% of all bourbon made in the US comes from Kentucky. The trade group estimates the industry brings more than 23,000 jobs and $2.2 billion to the state.

The number bourbon brand is Jim Beam and it takes at least 4 years of aging in barrels before being bottled. At the present time. there were 16 million barrels of bourbon aging in Kentucky warehouses, more than triple the amount held 15 years ago.

When President Trump introduced tariffs to every country in the world, the world leaders asked what product is primarily in a Republican state that is imported into their country? One of the answers is bourbon. In the April to June quarter, bourbon exports fell 85% in Canada and over 50% in Europe.

Jim Beam has a number of distilleries in Kentucky, the largest in Boston, Kentucky, has decided to halt production at its Clermont location. The bottling and warehouse remain open as well as the James B Bean Distilling Co visitor center and restaurant. At the moment, because Jim Beam can make improvements to the line, there are no layoffs at the present time.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, in business the hard part is the customer and ensuring customer needs and expectations are met. The easy part is supposed to be politicians because people who work tend to vote. If politicians do their best to partner with business, business leaders can worry about customers. Similar to economic cycles, sometimes governments help and sometimes they do not.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.