[2009] China: The Recession’s Real Winner

China is also well aware of its dependence on imported oil and is acting in surprisingly farsighted ways. It now spends more on solar, wind, and battery technology than the United States does. Research by the investment bank Lazard Freres shows that of the top 10 companies (by market capitalization) in these three fields, four are Chinese. (Only three are American.) It is also making a massive investment in higher education.

“For the last decade, as China’s economy kept growing at unprecedented rates, most Western analysts kept discussing when it would crash,” says Zachary Karabell, the author of a smart new book, Superfusion, on the Sino-U.S. economy. “Now with China surging ahead through this crisis, all they can discuss is, when will China stall? It’s as if they see the facts, but they can’t quite make sense of them.” China’s strange mixture of state intervention, markets, dictatorship, and efficiency is puzzling. But it’s time to stop hoping for China’s failure and start understanding and adapting to its success.
— Read on www.newsweek.com/china-recessions-real-winner-81339

Trump’s Error-Laden ‘Foreign Virus’ Speech Has Investors Spooked

Americans considering whether to re-elect Trump in November will get a look on Thursday at how the crisis might have been handled in a different administration. Former Vice President Joe Biden, the front-runner to challenge the incumbent president, will deliver a speech on the virus, after announcing a Public Health Advisory Committee on Wednesday to provide his campaign “science-based, expert advice” on the outbreak.
— Read on www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-12/trump-s-error-laden-foreign-virus-speech-has-investors-spooked