China getting rid of US debt holdings amid Washington DC’s escalatory actions and overall US decline

This year marks exactly 50 years since the establishment of ties between the United States and the People’s Republic of China. US President Richard Nixon visited China in 1972 and initiated an unprecedented thaw in relations, the first ever between a Communist power and a leading capitalist one. It was a very unusual occurrence, especially as the (First) Cold War was reaching its zenith precisely at that time. Although Mao Zedong himself and Nixon paved the way for the establishment of this relationship, it was only after Deng Xiaoping took power that the modern Sino-American relationship grew and in many ways shaped the economic and geopolitical realities of our time.

China getting rid of US debt holdings amid Washington DC’s escalatory actions and overall US decline

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US debt held by China drops to lowest in 12 years

Speaking at a Senate Banking Committee hearing, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged that the recent battle with inflation could tip the country into another recession.

Larry Summers warns unemployment must rise to cool inflation

Ex-Treasury Secretary Larry Summers warned that millions of currently employed Americans must lose their jobs in order for the Federal Reserve to succeed in its bid to cool inflation.

Larry Summers warns unemployment must rise to cool inflation

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Larry Summers Says US Needs 5% Jobless Rate for Five Years to Ease Inflation

Maybe he can ship some more jobs overseas [/sarcasm]?! I’d suggest shipping him, overseas, but I wouldn’t even wish that on my enemy!

I Cannot Live on Tomorrow’s Bread

On April 19, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released its annual World Economic Outlook, which forecasted a severe slowdown in global growth along with soaring prices.‘For 2022, inflation is projected at 5.7 percent in advanced economies and 8.7 percent in emerging market and developing economies – 1.8 and 2.8 percentage points higher than projected in … January’, the report noted. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva offered a sobering reflection on the data: ‘Inflation is reaching the highest levels seen in decades. Sharply higher prices for food and fertilizers put pressure on households worldwide – especially for the poorest. And we know that food crises can unleash social unrest’.

I Cannot Live on Tomorrow’s Bread

Related:

This Isn’t Putin’s Inflation

H/T: The New Dark Age

OPEC chief says there’s ‘no capacity in the world’ that could replace Russia’s 7 million barrels a day in oil supply + More

OPEC chief says there’s ‘no capacity in the world’ that could replace Russia’s 7 million barrels a day in oil supply (Archived)

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The House voted to ban the import of Russian oil even though Biden already banned it by executive order

Bank of America predicts that a ban on Russian oil exports could push prices as high as $200 a barrel – and breaks down why this could trigger a global recession or stock market crash

But the strategists noted that the status of the United States as an energy independent country – meaning it produces as much energy as it consumes – could mitigate the impact of this. US-listed oil stocks Exxon Mobil and Chevron were both up by just under 1% Monday.

Asia Times: Migration and geopolitics: the Belarus-Poland border crisis

It is crucial to cut through the hype and posturing to ensure this crisis does not escalate into dangerous conflict By ALFRED DE ZAYAS And ADRIEL KASONTA

Fake news and fake law make it difficult to understand the highly politicized migrant crisis in the Mediterranean, in the Balkans and on the border between Poland and Belarus.

Asia Times: Migration and geopolitics: the Belarus-Poland border crisis