Baltic Dry Index. 1016 -39 Brent Crude 67.55
John Kenneth Galbraith. The Great Crash: 1929.
Run, do not walk, to the nuclear shelter!
When elephants fight it’s best to get out of the way fast. In this trade war between
President Trump and China’s President Xi, neither can be seen to emerge the
loser. Each is trapped in a corner of their own making.
President Xi just became leader for life, in
the mold of Mao and Deng. If he caves in to President Trump at his first test,
he might as well give up power now, and hand over power to a real Chinese
strongman. But President Trump says America First. He can hardly back down and
switch to America First after China.
While the stock pedlars are busy out promoting “buy more, it’s all about
upcoming earnings season,” that’s the equivalent of setting out to go fishing
as a hurricane approaches. Any fish aren’t
worth the risk.
Market tops, start slowly, as the market goes
nowhere for weeks and months as the market slowly rolls over. Market crashes,
hit fast often after a major blunder or series of blunders.
Below, the blackest of black clouds have
appeared.
April 3, 2018 / 10:49 PM /
Updated an hour ago
U.S. escalates China trade showdown with tariffs on $50 billion in imports
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump
administration on Tuesday raised the stakes in a growing trade showdown with
China, targeting 25 percent tariffs on some 1,300 industrial technology,
transport and medical products to try to force changes in Beijing’s
intellectual property practices.
The U.S. tariff unveiling, representing about $50 billion (£35.5
billion) of estimated 2018 imports and aimed at dealing a setback to China’s
efforts to upgrade its manufacturing base, drew an immediate condemnation from
Beijing, along with a threat of retaliatory action.
China’s Ministry of Commerce said it “will soon take measure of equal
intensity and scale against U.S. goods.”
“We have the confidence and ability to respond to any protectionist
measures by the United States,” the ministry said in a statement quoted by the
official Xinhua news agency.
The ministry did not reveal any specific countermeasures, but economists
widely view imports of U.S. soybeans, aircraft and machinery as prime targets
for trade retaliation.
The tariff list from the U.S. Trade Representative’s office followed China’s
imposition of tariffs on $3 billion worth of U.S. fruits, nuts, pork and wine
to protest new U.S. steel and aluminium tariffs imposed last month by U.S.
President Donald Trump.
More
April 3, 2018 / 10:49 PM /
Updated 8 minutes ago
China vows countermeasures as U.S. issues extensive tariff list
WASHINGTON/BEIJING
(Reuters) - China condemned the United States on Wednesday as the Trump administration
pushed ahead with plans to slap tariffs on about $50 billion (£35.5 billion) of
Chinese industrial and hi-tech products, and vowed imminent countermeasures in
the escalating trade dispute.
---- China’s Commerce Ministry said in a statement that it “will soon take measures of equal intensity and scale against U.S. goods”, and Beijing’s ambassador to the World Trade Organization, Zhang Xiangchen, urged members to “join with China in firmly resisting U.S. protectionism”.
The ministry did not reveal any specific countermeasures, but economists
widely view imports of U.S. soybeans, aircraft and machinery as prime targets
for retaliation.
The trade showdown between the world’s largest economies has fuelled
market fears that they could spiral into a trade war, crushing global growth.
Tariffs Seek to End Chinese Car Imports Before They Really Start
By David Welch
A small-but-growing number of
Chinese-assembled cars making their way to the U.S. auto market could be under
threat as the Trump administration looks to slap
a 25 percent duty on about $50 billion worth of imported goods.
So far, sales of Chinese-made cars in the U.S. have been minimal. Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd.-owned Volvo Cars started importing S60 sedans from the country in 2015. General Motors Co. has followed with the Buick Envision sport utility vehicle and Cadillac CT6 plug-in hybrid, with both selling stateside in small numbers: 4,367 Envisions were sold in the U.S. last month, less than 1.5 percent of GM’s total sales, plus only 17 plug-in Cadillac CT6s, according to Autodata Corp.
Ford Motor Co. doesn’t import any models from China yet but plans to start bringing its Focus compact in from China next year. A spokeswoman for Ford said the carmaker encourages both governments to work together to resolve issues and declined to comment further. Spokesmen for GM and Volvo didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment.
“At this point, the decision would put on hold any plans to import cars,” said Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting for LMC Automotive, adding that, “it’s really ploy to get the Chinese to the table.”
The real upshot for carmakers in the U.S. is that companies may think twice about any future imports. If President Donald Trump goes through with the proposal, he would add a duty for most cars and commercial trucks, as well as many auto parts. The tariffs aren’t final yet, and the Trump administration has indicated it’s open to negotiations with China.
More
Trump Tariffs Stick It to U.S. Manufacturers
Firms might as well give
back half of that $26 billion-a-year tax cut they just got.
By David Fickling
U.S. manufacturers have done pretty well out of the Trump
administration.
While profits in the sector haven't quite matched the heady levels
seen in President Obama's last years in office, they've been better than
in almost any prior period.
Spending has been running hot. The most
established gauge of expected manufacturing activity, the Institute of Supply
Management's purchasing managers index, edged above 60 in February, a level
that's been breached only a handful of times since the Federal Reserve brought
inflation under control in the early 1980s.
Then there are the corporate tax cuts passed in December. Manufacturing is likely to be the single biggest beneficiary from the measures, adding $262 billion to the bottom line over the decade through 2027.
Such a handsome set of rewards had to come with some strings attached. The bill came due Tuesday, in the form of the latest front in the simmering U.S.-China trade war: A list of roughly a thousand separate products that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer plans to subject to a 25 percent supplementary tariff.
In contrast to some of the initial skirmishes in this battle, the list appears to have been chosen with care. Officials started with all products felt to benefit from Chinese industrial policies, before removing those that were "likely to cause disruptions to the U.S. economy," those that would hit consumers' pockets hardest, and those that couldn't have levies for legal or administrative reasons.
The protection of individuals' wallets is probably the most important part of that. As Gadfly has argued, China has a substantial advantage in this trade war in that the majority of its biggest exports to the U.S. are consumer goods whose purchasers tend to be price-sensitive voters. Trade in the opposite direction focuses far more on intermediate products bought by Chinese companies expected to do their bit for Beijing. By sparing consumers, Lighthizer is sending a strong signal he won't let this fight be lost because of discontent on the home front.
That's why, while hundreds of product lines under tariff code 85 (electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof) will be subject to a 25 percent impost, subsection 8517 -- mobile phones, which constitute about 40 percent of U.S. imports from China for that category -- won't suffer a cent.
more
Asia Stocks Fluctuate Amid Trade Row; Dollar Falls: Markets Wrap
By Andreea Papuc
Updated on 4 April 2018, 06:17 GMT+1
Asian stocks were mixed as traders awaited
China’s response to the latest step in an escalation of trade tensions between
the world’s top two economies. The Australian and New Zealand dollars led an
advance against the greenback.
Equity benchmarks fluctuated across the
region and U.S. equity futures declined. South Korea’s stock benchmark had the
biggest decline among major Asian markets. A recovery in U.S. equities from a
technology-fueled drubbing on Monday seemed to be largely overshadowed by the
Trump administration’s issue of its list of Chinese products proposed for
tariffs that came after the close of trading in New York. China condemned the
move and said it will respond. The yen and Treasuries were steady after sliding
Tuesday as risk appetite returned.
More
Nothing is so admirable in politics as a short memory.
John Kenneth Galbraith.
Crooks and Scoundrels Corner
The bent, the seriously bent, and the totally doubled over.
Today, the EUSSR
again, being well, the EUSSR. French railways, nationalised just like Comrade
Agent Corbyn wants to do in GB, lose a massive 3 billion euros a year, on top
of their Mont Blanc sized 47 billion in debt. It’s probably cheaper to close
them all down and send everyone to their destination by Uber taxi.
"You start out giving your
hat, then you give your coat, then your shirt, then your skin and finally your
soul."
Charles
de Gaulle.
April 3, 2018 / 1:12 AM
French rail unions take on Macron with mass rolling strikes
PARIS
(Reuters) - French railway services were thrown into chaos on Tuesday, the
first day of rolling nationwide strikes that are set to run for months in the
toughest test yet of President Emmanuel Macron’s determination to modernise the
French economy.
Just one in four trains were running in the Paris region, national rail
company SNCF said, as people made their way back to work after an extended
Easter holiday weekend on what French media dubbed “Black Tuesday”.
Platforms at Gare du Nord, Paris’s busiest railway station, were so
crowded with commuters that some tumbled onto the tracks and had to be helped
back up, television footage showed.
“I do understand why they’re striking,” said Marie Charles, a Paris
commuter. “But today is my first day in a new job so I have to admit I could
have done without the strike.”
The four main rail unions plan to strike for two days out of every five
for the next three months — a total of 36 days of disruption — to fight a
shake-up of the SNCF before its monopoly is ended in line with European Union
rules.
The last French president to square off against rail unions over
workers’ benefits came off worst. The strikes of 1995 paralysed France and
forced Prime Minister Alain Juppe to pull the reforms — a defeat that ultimately
prompted Juppe to quit and then-president Jacques Chirac to dissolve the
government.
The unions appear weaker now, however, and are divided over their
responses to Macron’s many social and economic reforms.
If
Macron triumphs — and this is by far the biggest test the 40-year-old former
investment banker has faced so far — it will set the tone for other proposed
changes, including revamping the education system and overhauling pensions.
Macron has already faced down the unions over easing labour laws.
----As the industrial action began, nearly one in two SNCF staff stayed off work. Only one in eight high-speed TGV trains ran and international services were severely affected too.
No trains were set to run between France, Switzerland, Italy and Spain.
One in every three trains to Germany was to operate, while the Eurostar service
connecting London, Paris and Brussels was down to three out of every four
trains, the SNCF said.
----Energy sector workers already plan to join the strike action from April 3 to June 28, to protest against the planned liberalisation of the power sector.
Air France unions have called for a strike over pay on Tuesday, although
the company said it expected 75 percent of flights to operate as usual. Further
Air France action is planned for April 7, 10 and 11.
More
"How
can you govern a country that has 246 varieties of cheese?"
Charles
de Gaulle.
Technology Update.
With events happening fast in the
development of solar power and graphene, I’ve added this section. Updates as
they get reported. Is converting sunlight to usable cheap AC or DC energy
mankind’s future from the 21st century onwards?
ABB second helping in Dubai
$90m substation to integrate power from solar park to city grid
UAE utility Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has contracted
ABB to build a second substation to integrate power from
the multi-phase Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park into
Dubai’s electrical grid.
ABB will be responsible for the design, supply, installation and commissioning
of the $90m Shams 400/132kV project.
UAE utility Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has contracted
ABB to build a second substation to integrate power from
the multi-phase Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park into
Dubai’s electrical grid.
ABB will be responsible for the design, supply, installation and
commissioning of the $90m Shams 400/132kV project.
http://renews.biz/110668/abb-second-helping-in-dubai/Oil rich Saudi Arabia to build world's largest solar power plant
By AFP Published: April 3, 2018
AL UYAYNA:
Saudi engineers whip up a simulated sandstorm to test a
solar panel’s durability at a research lab, the heart of the oil-rich kingdom’s
multi-billion dollar quest to be a renewable energy powerhouse.
The world’s top exporter of crude seems an unlikely champion of clean
energy, but the government lab in Al Uyayna, a sun-drenched village near
Riyadh, is leading the country’s efforts for solar power as it seeks to
diversify.A dazzling spotlight was shone on those ambitions last week when Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled plans to develop the globe’s biggest solar power project for $200 billion in partnership with Japan’s SoftBank group.
Bahrain makes largest oil discovery in its history
The memorandum of understanding to produce up to 200 gigawatts of power by 2030 – about 100 times the capacity of the current biggest projects – was the latest jaw-dropping statement as the Saudis look to wean themselves off oil.
If built on one site, the solar farm would cover an area twice the size of Hong Kong, according to a Bloomberg News calculation.
----“This may take time, but we have all the raw materials – sunshine, land and most importantly, the will,” he added, giving AFP a tour of the facility widely known as Solar Village.
Engineers were working away testing solar panels under harsh conditions.
A miniature sandstorm inside a cylindrical chamber battered one panel. A
machine with what appeared to be a large boxing glove punched another.
The site, which also includes a solar field that supplies electricity to
neighbouring villages, was established some three decades ago.
But the push for renewables only now appears to be gaining momentum.
It is driven by a key incentive – to free up more oil reserves for
export, the kingdom’s chief revenue earner.
Saudi Arabia currently draws on oil and natural gas to both meet its own
fast-growing power demand and desalinate its water, consuming an estimated 3.4
million barrels of oil daily.
That number is expected to rise to 8.3 million barrels in 10 years,
according to the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, eating up
the bulk of Saudi Arabia’s crude production.
More
Patriotism is when love of
your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your
own comes first.
Charles de Gaulle
The monthly Coppock Indicators finished March.
DJIA: 24,103 +272 Down
10. NASDAQ: 7,063 +300 Down 13. SP500: 2,641 +202 Down 10.
All
three slow indicators moved down. For some a new bear signal, for others a take
profits and get back to cash signal.
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