Economic Overviews

Jim Bianco & Joseph Wang; Ron Paul & Phillip Patrick (Birch Gold); Russell Brand; Jim Rickards v. Max Keiser; Michael Saylor; Charles Hugh Smith; Andy Schectman; George Noble and Mike Maloney have their say in the top videos of the week.

This article focuses on five myths about China’s economy and its financial system with my hope that offering more realistic assessments will help investors better judge the opportunities and risks of investing in China.

The reason for the weakening of the Chinese economy is much deeper than the COVID-19 lockdown. It is caused by the burst of the enormous real estate bubble and the crackdown on the private sector, which has led to a cut in investment growth.

My business partner is working in China and corresponds with me regularly as to what is happening there with the COVID-19 resurgence and the impact the country's zero-COVID policy is having on its citizens and its economy.

China has mandated a strict “zero COVID” policy since the onset of the global pandemic, which has led to tight lockdowns across the country whenever cases have started to spike and these cautionary measures have had far-reaching impacts on China’s economy, especially on its supply chain and logistics operations.

The global economy is perched on the edge of an abyss, and averting our gaze doesn’t actually lessen the risk, it increases it because problems which aren’t faced directly and addressed directly fester and rot the system from within.

[This article takes] a look at the state of the U.S. economy by assessing the tightness of the "economic screws" (i.e. the key economic metrics) that hold the economy together [and concludes that, despite the slowing growth rate of the economy, the majority of the important economic screws remain tight enough to prevent a recession and to keep the stock market from falling into a bear market. [Let me explain.] 

Every few years, the World Bank takes on the task of measuring the world's wealth that include endowments of nature, ranging from wilderness to oil wells, as well as the human capital embodied in the education and skills of its people, in addition to the more traditional measurement of based on the value of houses, or the stock market, or retirement accounts.

The proverbial...hit the fan here and it is going to result in reduced shipments out of China, further exacerbating supply chain issues around the world. In addition, the economic and social impact on China's population is becoming severe. Here is what has been happening here for the past few days.

The next few weeks in China should be interesting: if a COVID-19 break-out occurs in mainland China like it already has in Hong Kong the effect could be catastrophic!