This won't help US-China relations... Despite international sanctions aimed at curbing the country’s nuclear activities, North Korea’s economy grew by 3.9 percent in 2016, which is the highest growth rate since 1999 (6.1 percent).
You will find more statistics at Statista
Authored by Nomi Prins via The Daily Reckoning,
I’ve just wrapped up a long trip to Japan. And I’ve taken away one lesson from all of my conversations, speeches and research: The rise of nationalism in the U.S. will cause massive shifts in global trade alliances.
One of the main beneficiaries will be Japan. Now, Japan might not be on your radar, day-to-day, but it’s about to play a very important role in the world of Donald Trump.
Here’s what I mean…
Having staged a dramatic reversal at the end of 2016, when the world's formerly most bearish hedge fund - it was net short over 100% in late 2016, which in turn led to a -24% return last year...
... rerisked, turning flat in just a few months, Horseman Global - now short developed markets and long emerging markets, and having lost 8.31% through the end of June - is once again dipping its toes in shorting stocks in general, and shale producers in particular. And, in Russell Clark's latest letter, the Horseman CIO explains why.
Several years ago, Gluskin Sheff's superstar economist (previously at Merrill), David Rosenberg (in)famously flipped from bear to bull, predicting what amounts to a victory for the Fed: a jump in (wage) inflation, a burst in economic growth, and an overall selloff in that most deflation-dependent asset, the US Treasury.
For the last two years, short interest in the US stock market's largest ETF has collapsed as bears have been squeezed back to their lowest level of negativity since Q2 2007 (the prior peak in the S&P). But, there's a bigger issue - despite record highs and 'no brainer' dip-buying, anxious longs have dumped S&P ETF holdings for four straight months - the longest streak since 2009 - seemingly confirming Canaccord's recent finding that "it's not complacency, it's paralysis."