ASIA: China has been busy cultivating at least two new coal markets, Mozambique and South Africa, and expanding trade with smaller exporters, including Kazakhstan, Myanmar and Colombia. Cultivation has been underway since the start of the year, as domestic demand for coal-fired power rises acutely amid an electricity crunch and ban on the commodity from […]

ASIA: The US plans to launch new trade talks with China, but will maintain tariffs on Chinese imports as it presses Beijing to fulfill pledges to buy more US goods and services, according to Biden administration officials. The Biden administration will directly engage with Beijing in the coming days to enforce commitments in their trade […]

ASIA: Japan’s services sector activity shrank for a 20th straight month in September as the coronavirus pandemic continued to weigh on sentiment, though the pace of decline eased from the sharp contraction seen in August. The government last week ended state of emergency curbs it had imposed to get the health crisis under control, as […]

QUESTION: Marty, you have said that if they move to a digital currency they think they will eliminate crime. What will happen to the underground economy? BH ANSWER: Since money drives them, it is possible that they might tax it. When the Colosseum was struck by lightning in 217 AD, repairs were expensive, and money […]

ASIA: The US in cracking down on China to commit to phase one of the trade agreement made under the Trump Administration. China agreed to buy at least $200 billion in goods from the US between 2020 ad 2021. As of August, China had only reached 62% of their agreement. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai […]

This year’s World Economic Conference will be interesting. There is no need to talk about the Great Reset or vaccines, as we are confronted with a very unique economic situation. Quite frankly, I seriously doubt that those handling Biden have any idea of the consequences of their end game goals that will be unleashed on […]

ASIA: Global manufacturing activity took a big hit from supply chain bottlenecks and escalating costs, exacerbated by pandemic-induced factory shutdowns in Asia and signs of slowing Chinese growth, surveys showed on Friday. While countries where outbreaks of the Delta coronavirus variant receded saw an improvement in activity, growth shrank in some as chip shortages and supply […]

ASIA: Goldman Sachs cut China’s growth forecast to 7.8 percent this year from the previously estimated 8.2 percent, as the world’s second largest economy faces “yet another growth shock” in the form of constraints on energy consumption. The country is already battling to save Evergrande amid fears that Chinese property behemoth could turn out into […]

ASIA: China’s ambitious foreign infrastructure push has saddled poor nations with “hidden debt” worth $385 billion, and more than a third of the projects have been hit by alleged corruption scandals and protests, a study said Wednesday. Research from international development research lab AidData said that opaque deals with state banks and companies under President […]

ASIA: China remained on course to be more than 30% short of its 2021 commitments under the phase one trade deal with the United States with four months left, according to the latest analysis of trade data between the world’s two largest economies. The phase one trade deal outlined in the agreement mention that China […]