At least 65 people are dead after a 6.8 magnitude earthquake rocked the province of Sichuan. This comes as 21 million people in Chengdu are confined to their homes as China has placed yet another city on a strict lockdown to adhere to its zero COVID policy. In fact, 65 million people in 33 cities […]

Pelosi knew when to sell! Paul Pelosi, Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, sold off 25,000 shares of Nvidia. A month later, the US government banned Nvidia from selling chips to Russia and China to “address the risk that the covered products may be used in, or diverted to, a ‘military end use’ or ‘military end user.’” […]

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen is eager to strengthen relationships with the US by producing more semiconductor chips. The US recently set aside funds specifically to build up domestic manufacturing, but shortages remain a serious problem. Taiwan’s growing relationship with America has angered China, and Ing-wen’s words will certainly be a subtle elbow to the One […]

Liz Truss has been made Prime Minister of Britain. This was expected, but also the darkest day possible for Britain. Previously, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace had backed Liz Truss’ view that Russian forces must be pushed out of “the whole of Ukraine” – and suggested this should include Crimea. Even the Guardian at the time had […]

The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) has been at its lowest level since, ironically, 1984. The reservoirs are composed of four underground sites constructed from salt domes on the Gulf Coasts of Louisiana and Texas. The White House began extracting oil from the emergency reserves to combat rising gas prices. Politicians simply hope that the […]

ASIA: The southwestern Chinese capital of Chengdu announced a lockdown of its 21.2 million residents as it began four days of citywide testing for COVID-19 as some of the country’s most populous and economically important cities battle outbreaks. Residents of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, were ordered to stay at home from 6 p.m. […]

ASIA: India’s economy grew 13.5% from a year ago in the April-June quarter, its fastest annual pace in a year, data released on Wednesday showed, though it is seen losing momentum in coming quarters as higher interest rates cool economic activity. June quarter growth, driven by manufacturing and services, such as accommodation and travel, rebounding […]

The video above has gone viral, depicting Taiwanese soldiers throwing rocks at drones believed to be sent by China. Reports are circulating that Taiwan also allowed store-bought civilian drones to enter its airspace, which leaves many to wonder how they can compete against China’s military surveillance. Backed by the US, Taiwan is beginning to push […]

COMMENT: Thank you for your monthly subscription, interviews, and blog. I have a monthly subscription to Socrates. I did do investments and made more than enough to pay my yearly dues, albeit with some stomach ache. Weekly might have been better than monthly, but my investment amounts are not at the institutional level. Socrates doesn’t […]

ASIA: Profits at China’s industrial firms sank in July, reversing previous gains as fresh COVID-19 curbs dragged down demand and squeezed factory margins, while power shortages due to heatwaves threatened production. Profits at China’s industrial firms fell 1.1% in January-July from a year earlier, wiping out the 1.0% growth logged during the first six months, […]