For 2016, international merchandise trade statistics point out China has net imported roughly 1,300 tonnes of gold, down 17 % from 2015. The importance of measuring gold imports into the Chinese domestic gold market - which are prohibited from being exported – is to come to the best understanding on the division of above ground reserves in and outside the Chinese domestic market.
Submitted by Wayne Madsen via The Strategic Culture Foundation,
Submitted by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,
Australians’ private debt has soared to 187 per cent of their income. Debt is up from about 70 per cent in the early 1990s.
The jobless rate rose for the second straight month in December to 5.8 per cent, and underemployment, the number of workers wanting more hours, is near an all-time high. Wage growth is the lowest on record.
Submitted by Shoshana Bryen via The Gatestone Institute,
First, the AP reported that according to a transcript of a phone call between the presidents of the US and Mexico, Trump threatening to send US troops to Mexico if it was unable to stop the "bad hombres down there." Then, in a separate report from the Washington Post, Trump labeled a refugee swap deal with Australia "dumb" on Thursday after a Washington Post report of an acrimonious telephone call with Australia's prime minister, replete with alleged "yelling" and which Trump hung up after just 25 minutes, that has threatened a rift in ties between the two ally nations.