ASIA:   The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today: NIKKEI 225 increased 370.73 or 1.34% to 28,048.94 Shanghai increased 24.00 or 0.67% to 3,592.17 Hang Seng increased 136.12 or 0.55% to 24,837.85 ASX 200 increased 63.40 points or 0.87% to 7,320.10 Kospi decreased 3.16 points or -0.11% to 2,956.30 SENSEX increased 381.23 […]

ASIA: China has been busy cultivating at least two new coal markets, Mozambique and South Africa, and expanding trade with smaller exporters, including Kazakhstan, Myanmar and Colombia. Cultivation has been underway since the start of the year, as domestic demand for coal-fired power rises acutely amid an electricity crunch and ban on the commodity from […]

The greatest problem I have is that those in power are evolving to the lowest possible denomination. Thirty years ago, I would have intelligent conversations with heads of state. Those days are gone. If I met with Biden, I would probably have to bring a napkin to wipe the drool from his face. I think […]

ASIA: The US plans to launch new trade talks with China, but will maintain tariffs on Chinese imports as it presses Beijing to fulfill pledges to buy more US goods and services, according to Biden administration officials. The Biden administration will directly engage with Beijing in the coming days to enforce commitments in their trade […]

ASIA: Japan’s services sector activity shrank for a 20th straight month in September as the coronavirus pandemic continued to weigh on sentiment, though the pace of decline eased from the sharp contraction seen in August. The government last week ended state of emergency curbs it had imposed to get the health crisis under control, as […]

ASIA: The US in cracking down on China to commit to phase one of the trade agreement made under the Trump Administration. China agreed to buy at least $200 billion in goods from the US between 2020 ad 2021. As of August, China had only reached 62% of their agreement. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai […]

ASIA: Global manufacturing activity took a big hit from supply chain bottlenecks and escalating costs, exacerbated by pandemic-induced factory shutdowns in Asia and signs of slowing Chinese growth, surveys showed on Friday. While countries where outbreaks of the Delta coronavirus variant receded saw an improvement in activity, growth shrank in some as chip shortages and supply […]

ASIA: Goldman Sachs cut China’s growth forecast to 7.8 percent this year from the previously estimated 8.2 percent, as the world’s second largest economy faces “yet another growth shock” in the form of constraints on energy consumption. The country is already battling to save Evergrande amid fears that Chinese property behemoth could turn out into […]

ASIA: China’s ambitious foreign infrastructure push has saddled poor nations with “hidden debt” worth $385 billion, and more than a third of the projects have been hit by alleged corruption scandals and protests, a study said Wednesday. Research from international development research lab AidData said that opaque deals with state banks and companies under President […]

John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (1839–1937) was born into a large, poor family in upstate New York that moved to Cleveland, Ohio. He became an assistant bookkeeper at age 16 and went into several business partnerships beginning at age 20, concentrating his business on oil refining. He became rich when he founded the Standard Oil Company […]