Via Finanz und Wirtschaft's Christoph Gisiger,
Howard Marks, Chairman and founder of Oaktree Capital, warns that investor behavior has entered the zone of imprudence and thinks that China is the biggest threat for the US economy.
We and others have long wondered how long it would be before China looks to flex its military muscle in the Mid-East under the “war on terror” banner.
Xi has been especially keen on demonstrating the PLA’s growing influence in 2015 especially as it relates to Beijing’s maritime might. Anyone who follows geopolitics is likely well acquainted with China’s land reclamation efforts in the Spratlys, where dredgers have been busy constructing some 3,000 acres of new sovereign territory on which Xi is building a number of things including runways and ports.
The last trading week of 2015 begins on a historic precipice for stocks: as reported over the weekend, the U.S. stock market has not been lower for any year ending in a “5? since 1875.
Authored by Pepe Escobar, Op-Ed via RT.com,
In his seminal 'Fall of Rome: And the End of Civilization,' Bryan Ward-Perkins writes, "Romans before the fall were as certain as we are today that their world would continue forever... They were wrong. We would be wise not to repeat their complacency.”
Overnight China's finance ministry reported the latest data on state-owned firms profitability. At a cumulative CNY 2.04 trillion (or $316 billion) for the January-November period, this was another nearly double digit decline, or -9.5% from the year ago period, following a -9.8% drop for the 10 month period the month before.