QUESTION: Marty, You are wrong. The US Treasury can create the money as the Constitution says it can. Article I, Section 8, Clause 5. The Congress shall have the Power to coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures. To coin is used as a […]

ASIA: President Trump tweeted today that China has let us (the U.S.) down by not purchasing American agricultural products as promised. This could impact the possibility of an amicable trade agreement. The positive reports indicating progress seem to have no positive end goal. Trump concluded his tweet with “hope they will soon,” a more optimistic […]

ASIA: Russia reported that China has announced plans to open six new free zones as an attempt to open up its economy (with external pressure to do so). China also announced that they will expand the existing Shanghai free zone. Spokesperson Gao Feng said, “China has been opening up more sectors of the economy as […]

ASIA / AUSTRALIA: The government of China has told Hong Kong the actions of the protesters who stormed and vandalized Hong Kong’s legislature was “totally intolerable.” Meanwhile, the UK has warned China that serious consequences will occur if it breaches an agreement guaranteeing freedoms in the city. Regarding the US-China trade deal, Peter Navarro, a […]

ASIA / AUSTRALIA: The Chinese foreign minister has stated that they will “not allow” the G20 to discuss matters regarding Hong Kong. Recently, Hong Kong overruled a previous ruling that allowed Chinese extradition. Over the weekend, Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen requested that the U.S. stop their inappropriate tariffs and actions against Chinese companies. […]

QUESTION: I am confused. Is it true that only the Federal Reserve can create money and not the Treasury? HB ANSWER: It all depends upon your definition of money. If you are asking about paper currency, then the answer is yes. If you are speaking of “elastic money,” which really is just book-entries, then that is […]

ASIA / AUSTRALIA: Nikkei has reported that Apple plans to move some of its manufacturing out of China. However, it is unlikely that the jobs will go to the US against the president’s wishes. “A lower birthrate, higher labor costs and the risk of overly centralizing its production in one country. These adverse factors are […]

ASIA / AUSTRALIA: There was upbeat news regarding the U.S.-China trade deal today. Trump stated that he and President Xi spoke and that they will have an extended meeting next week at the G20 event. A 6.7 magnitude earthquake hit the north east of Japan today, with expectations of perhaps multiple tsunamis to hit the […]

ASIA / AUSTRALIA: Hong Kong repealed their decision to allow extradition to China after thousands went to the streets in protest of the original decision. Prominent activist Joshua Wong has called for the city leader Carrie Lam to step down. Chinese technology giant Huawei has admitted that there has been as much as a 40% […]

ASIA / AUSTRALIA: Chinese technology giant Huawei signed a deal with Russia’s largest telecoms operator MTS to develop 5G technologies and launch a fifth-generation network in Russia within the next year. This is another example of the close Chinese-Russian relationship. Swiss bank UBS and Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Trust (who has 2.6 trillion under management) have […]