Surging numbers of COVID-19 cases have forced Chinese leaders to lock down important manufacturing cities including Shenzhen and Changchun. The lockdowns could impact the production of many electronics, including iPhones. The Wall Street Journal reports: A number of manufacturers including Foxconn 2317 -1.46% Technology Group, a major assembler of Apple Inc.’s AAPL +2.82% iPhones, said they were halting operations in Shenzhen in compliance with the local government’s policy. The government placed the city into lockdown for at least a week and said everyone in the city would have to undergo … [Read more...]
Archives for March 2022
Remote Workers’ Success Unmasks America’s Blue City Weakness
For decades America's big blue blob cities attracted droves of highly educated workers in the most advanced fields, but as soon as they had the opportunity to escape, employees headed for greener pastures. Christopher Mims explains in The Wall Street Journal that remote work is here to stay, and that employees are finding new homes in American cities far from the coasts. He writes: Silicon Valley, make way for Silicon U.S.A. In a feedback loop that could transform the economic geography of the U.S., millions of Americans are moving, and companies are following them—tech companies in … [Read more...]
CHINA COVID OUTBREAK: Stocks Plummet as Lockdowns Linger
Stock prices are falling rapidly in Hong Kong as China is hit with a renewed COVID-19 outbreak in important cities like Shenzhen. Dave Sebastian reports for The Wall Street Journal: The rout in Chinese stocks deepened as the country’s escalating battle with Covid-19 rattled a market already contending with potential U.S. delistings, domestic regulatory pressure and the global economic consequences of the war in Ukraine. After a recent surge in coronavirus infections, authorities have imposed restrictions on cities including Shenzhen, the southern financial and technology hub where … [Read more...]
Bipartisan Criticism Kills Biden’s Venezuelan Oil Gambit
Senators from both Republican and Democratic Parties have come out to criticize the Biden administration for its attempt to open up Venezuelan oil supplies to America while President Nicolás Maduro runs the country. Gideon Long and Michael Stott report for the Financial Times: The Biden administration saw the Ukraine crisis as an opportunity to re-engage with Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian regime in Venezuela, hoping to secure alternative oil supplies and prise away a key Moscow ally. But after news leaked of a secret mission to Caracas by three top White House officials, sparking a … [Read more...]
BIDEN WHITE HOUSE: Inflation Is Going to Get Worse
You can feel every time you fill up your gas tank or go to the grocery store that America is suffering the worst inflation in 40 years. American families like yours are watching as prices spike and wondering when it will stop. According to the Biden administration, not any time soon. In fact, it could get worse before it gets better. Christian Datoc reports for the Washington Examiner: The White House Council of Economic Advisers noted that "there has been substantial run-up in energy prices since February resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine" and that "energy and commodities prices … [Read more...]
Moral Hazard Now A Permanent Part of Investment Landscape
Will markets ever work again? The actions of the LME this week, in forgiving a Chinese nickel producer and certain brokers who dealt with the company their terrible trades suggest that the answer is no. James Mackintosh reports for The Wall Street Journal: The tide went out this week in London’s nickel market, and we discovered—in Warren Buffett’s immortal words—who had been swimming naked: a giant Chinese producer that couldn’t meet its margin calls, additional security brokers require when leveraged trades lose money. Instead of letting the market cleanse itself of this indebted trader, … [Read more...]
BIDENOMICS: Americans Suffering Worst Inflation in 40 Years
You knew it was only a matter of time. Government spending at record levels, and Fed funds rates at record lows. How long could inflation be kept at bay? Not forever. And now, it has been unleashed. Inflation in February hit rates unseen since 1982, forty years ago. Gabriel T. Rubin reports in The Wall Street Journal: The Labor Department’s consumer-price index, which measures the cost of goods and services across the economy, was at its highest rate since January 1982, when annual inflation was 8.4% Rising energy prices, including higher gasoline prices, helped push up the inflation … [Read more...]
Tech Savvy Korea Embraces 5G for Metaverse, Autonomous Cars, and More
South Korea has integrated 5G mobile data networks into its infrastructure faster than any country on earth. The country's rapid implementation of 5G makes it a case study for what the future hold for countries adopting the technology. The Wall Street Journal reports: South Korea was the world’s first country to roll out commercial 5G networks, in 2019, and currently has the highest proportion of the population using 5G—roughly 36%, compared with 21% in China and 16.5% in the U.S.—according to Omdia, a tech-market research firm. As of 2021, South Korea also ranked No. 1 in 5G download … [Read more...]
THE JONES ACT: The Reason America Buys Russian Oil
Americans don't use Russian oil because it makes economic sense, they use it because bad policies have made American oil for American consumers make less sense. Chief among these bad policies is the Jones Act, which strangles the ability of American oil producers to get their product to consumers in the same country. At Cato Institute, Colin Grabow explains: With imports of Russian oil (as well as coal and natural gas) now banned, the country’s refineries must decide on alternative sources. The good news is that there are U.S. grades of crude oil well‐suited for refineries on the East and … [Read more...]
Microsoft on the Front Lines of Cyberwarfare
As Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, so did its cyberwarfare. Anticipating Russia’s actions, Microsoft’s Threat Intelligence Center was already on high alert when it noticed a never-before-seen piece of malware called “Wiper” aimed at Ukraine’s government sites and financial institutions. Within hours Microsoft was able to roll out a patch to block the code which erases or “wipes” the data from computers. David Sanger, Julian Barnes, and Kate Conger of Boston.com write (abridged): Last Wednesday, a few hours before Russian tanks began rolling into Ukraine, alarms went off inside Microsoft’s … [Read more...]