ASIA: The US and China’s top trade negotiators have held “candid, pragmatic” talks, in their first meeting under the Biden presidency. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He held a virtual meeting to discuss matters. In the virtual meeting, both sides said they discussed the importance of the trade relationship between […]

ASIA: As the trade deal between the U.S. and China runs into its second year, Chinese purchases are still running short of the agreed amount, according to the U.S.-based Peterson Institute for International Economics. The deal stipulated that relative to imports from the U.S. in 2017, China needed to buy at least $200 billion more […]

ASIA:   The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today: NIKKEI 225 increased 46.78 points or 0.17% to 28,364.61 Shanghai increased 10.73 points or 0.31% to 3,497.28 Hang Seng decreased 46.18 points or -0.16% to 28,412.26 ASX 200 increased 15.60 points or 0.22% to 7,045.90 Kospi decreased 12.12 points or -0.38% to 3,144.30 […]

ASIA: As with most developed nations, China reported a significant decline in births last year (0.53%). The nation abandoned their one-child policy in 2016 that was put into effect in 1979, however, the population has continued to decline. China’s birth rate was 0.57% between 2000 and 2010, with a total population f  1.41 billion. The […]

ASIA: The Chinese yuan advanced to its strongest level since 2018 as it defied attempts by the central bank to slow its gains amid an improving outlook for China’s economy. The currency rose as much as 0.3% to 6.4114 a dollar, the strongest since June 2018, after breaching its previous year-to-date high of 6.4245 reached […]

QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong, You say that wheat fell during the Great Depression during the Dust Bowl when supply would have declined. This makes no sense. Would you address that question? KL ANSWER: Your problem is typical in analysis. It appears that 99% of the people always try to reduce some event to a single cause […]

ASIA: China urged the Philippines on Tuesday to observe “basic etiquette,” and eschew megaphone diplomacy after the southeast Asian nation’s foreign minister used an expletive-laced Twitter message to demand that China’s vessels leave disputed waters. In a statement, China’s foreign ministry urged the Philippines to respect the nation’s sovereignty and jurisdiction and stop taking actions […]

ASIA: A report published by group of analysts says that the “peak” of China’s economic growth has already passed or will soon do so and momentum will only “wane” further for the remainder of the year, after slowing domestic and overseas demand led to lower-than-expected sentiment in the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors in April. The […]

ASIA: The US and China have long had a tumultuous relationship, but now Beijing has said that it would like to remain diplomatic partners with the US so long as the nation respects its domestic policies. “It is normal for China and the US to have some differences, but the key is to have mutual […]

  ASIA: Japanese retail sales rose at the fastest pace in five months in March as consumer demand recovered from the huge hit it took from the coronavirus pandemic last year. The world’s third-largest economy has emerged from last year’s slump on an export recovery, though a glacial vaccine rollout and a resurgence in infections […]