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: 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 […]

ASIA: China has “indefinitely” suspended key economic dialogue with Australia, the latest in a growing diplomatic rift between both countries. The relations between two countries have been on the decline since Australia called for a probe into the origins of the virus and banned Huawei from building its 5G network. In a statement on Thursday, […]

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 […]

COMMENT: I think the only woman he shook hands with, ironically, was Margery Taylor Green, if that was her – it’s hard to tell these days. Another troubling idea he introduced, if I’m not mistaken, was to start indoctrinating kids in junior kindergarten. At the end everybody crowded around Biden and held his fists for […]

  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 […]

ASIA: China’s economic indicators for the first quarter of 2021 have been released. At an annualized rate, the economy grew 18.3% from January through to April, facilitating a complete economic recovery as the world deals with the disruption of COVID-19, and consumption reasserts itself, registering the highest tally since 1993. In line with the GDP […]

Roberto Speranza is the Italian politician of the Chamber of Deputies who served as national secretary of Article One. He also served as the Minister of Health since 2019 under the government of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and was later confirmed by Prime Minister Mario Draghi. During his tenure, he was in charge of the […]

ASIA: According to a study, some 75% of the world’s bitcoin mining is done in China. The reason given for this in the report is cheap electricity and relatively easy access to manufacturers who make specialized hardware. As a result, the nation’s bitcoin carbon footprint is as big as one of its ten largest cities, […]

QUESTION: Hello Martin, can you explain to me how a currency would sustain value for international trade if a country, like Canada (where I live), did what you suggested and stopped issuing debt and just printed money to level that was 5% – 10% of national GDP? would it depend on the attractiveness of what […]