Brian Gongol
China's government is starting to question America's ability to pay down the Federal debt
The essence of the current economic situation is that the United States is starting to feel the effects of approaching its national credit limit. We've borrowed too much -- in the public sector, the private sector, and the household sector -- for too long, and now the people who have been lending us the money are starting to question our will and capacity to pay it back. When China's prime minister is willing to question the full faith and credit of the US government in front of reporters, the rules of borrowing and lending have changed. And just as we've expected for some time, China is finding new willingness to show off its military strength by harassing unarmed American ships, because, in essence, they hold the doomsday machine of $727 billion in US government debt and even more in other forms of US currency. What's odd is that the Chinese government appears to be passing up the opportunity to purchase cheap American securities right now. Good for America, bad for China. And on a related note, we had better not expect that China's going to be very responsive to anyone's goading about human rights when they hold so much cash.
And so the trade retaliation begins
The EU is imposing huge new tariffs on biodiesel from the United States, as part of an escalating tit-for-tat battle of trade barriers and retaliatory measures between the United States and the EU. The last thing the world needs right now is a rising tide of trade protectionism.
Television stock advice probably has a net negative value overall
Just see what Jim Cramer has had to say over time
"Fix a Leak Week" starts Monday
