Trade

G20 and the Financial War

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By Alasdair Macleod – Re-Blogged From Goldmoney

This weekend, the G20 nations meet at Buenos Aires. The most important issue will be America’s use of trade policy, ostensibly to bring an end to China’s unfair trade practices. Rather, it could mark a significant milestone in the cold war against China and drive the global economy into a slump.

Introduction

President Trump initiated the trade war with China. There is a widespread assumption he is pursuing his “art of the deal”, coming into negotiations aggressively to get a satisfactory compromise. Therefore, the script goes, China will be forced to climb down on its restrictive practices, technology and patent theft, and modify its Made in China 2025 (MiC2025) initiative to open it to American corporations. Trade negotiators from both sides have been working in the background to achieve some sort of progress before Presidents Trump and Xi meet at the G20 this weekend, which buoys up hopes of a positive outcome.

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Trump, Xi Agree to Temporary Truce in Bid to Contain Trade War

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By Bloomberg – Re-logged From Newsmax

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to keep their trade war from escalating with a promise to halt the imposition of new tariffs for 90 days as the world’s two largest economies negotiate a lasting agreement.

The truce between the U.S. and China emerged after a highly anticipated dinner Saturday between Trump and Xi on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Argentina. The leaders agreed to pause the introduction of new tariffs and intensify their trade talks, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters hours later in Buenos Aires.

Trump, Xi Agree to Temporary Truce in Bid to Contain Trade War

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The State of Shale Gas and Oil in the U.S.A. Today

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By Andy May – Re-Blogged From WUWT

A few news items from The Shale Gas News, by Bill desRosiers of Cabot Oil & Gas. The main paragraphs below are adapted from desRosiers, but I’ve added some detail. Things are looking very good for the U.S. oil, gas and coal industries.

Trump: US May Not Impose More Tariffs on China

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By Thomson Reuters – Re-Blogged From Newsmax

President Donald Trump said on Friday that he may not impose more tariffs on Chinese goods after Beijing sent the United States a list of measures it was willing to take to resolve trade tensions, although he added it was unacceptable that some major items were omitted from the list.

Trump has imposed tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese imports to force concessions from Beijing on the list of demands that would change the terms of trade between the two countries. China has responded with import tariffs on U.S. goods.

Prices When Gold Is Money

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By Alasdair Macleod – Re-Blogged From GoldMoney

We are getting ahead of ourselves here. Gold does not circulate as money – yet. It might never do so. Perhaps the end of government currency, fiat money imposed on us by government laws, may never be replaced by what for millennia has been the people’s money, gold. Do we even wish it? Given what we have to do to get there, probably not.

It is hard to think of a life without Nanny State giving us her money-tokens to buy our sweets, telling us what to eat and what medicine to take. But Nanny State is getting long in the tooth. When she was younger, she was less controlling. Her constant refusal to allow us, the ordinary people, to do what we want is an increasing source of friction.

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Vision

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By Leronard E ead – Re-Blogged From FEE

Where there is no vision, the people perish.

—PROVERBS 29:18

Vision is the blessing of foresight, but it has no chance of realization without its companion blessing, insight. In the absence of these twin attainments—each within our reach—the people perish, that is, they vegetate rather than germinate, stagnate instead of growing in awareness, perception, consciousness. Vision, therefore—the power of penetrating to reality by mental acuteness—must be developed if our role in human destiny is to be fulfilled.

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The Biggest Of Big Pictures

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By Alasdair Macleod – Re-Blogged From Gold Eagle

I have had a request from Mrs Macleod to write down in simple terms what on earth is going on in the world, and why is it that I think gold is so important in this context. She-who-must-be-obeyed does not fully share my interest in the subject. An explanation of the big picture is also likely to be useful to many of my readers and their spouses, who do not share an enduring interest in geopolitics either.

That is the purpose of this article. It can be bewildering when a casual observer tries to follow global events, something made more difficult by editorial policies at news outlets, and the commentary from most analysts, who are, frankly, ill-informed. Accordingly, this article addresses the topic that dominates our future. The most important players in the great game of geopolitics are America and China. But before launching into an update, I shall lay down the disciplines required for an informed analysis.

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