Two weeks after China allegedly unveiled a new ICBM system "in response to Trump's provocative remarks", a report which however was subsequently denied by Chinese officials, China had no qualms about revealing another highly accurate ballistic missile in recent Rocket Force drills, which is capable of threatening not only Taiwan and the contested South China Sea islands, but also U.S. and Japanese bases in Asia.
Is The Trump Administration Already Over?
Paul Craig Roberts
Hopes for the Trump administration are not burning brightly. Trump’s military chief, Gen. Mattis, is turning out to be true to his “mad dog” nickname. He has just declared that Iran “is the single biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world.” https://sputniknews.com/politics/201702041050338034-mattis-iran-terrorism/
He has declared Russia to be the number one threat to the US.
He has threatened intervention in China’s territorial affairs.
In a relatively quiet session, which may see US traders sleep in a bit after last night's Superbowl thriller, European and Asian shares rose ahead of Mario Draghi’s testimony at the European Parliament, while US equity futures were fractionally higher (up 0.1% to 2,293) after stocks jumped the most in a week, as traders assessed the trajectory for interest rates while scrutinizing every new Trump tweet.
One year ago, S&P futures would tumble the second a flashing red headline noted that things involving China, the Yuan, or the PBOC were not playing out as expected. One year later, the market has forgotten it ever cared about the world's biggest debt bubble.
However, the time may have come to once again start worrying about China.
With the Yuan suffering its largest annual decline ever and avenues for capital flight surging in value (Vancouver homes and virtual currencies), it is perhaps not entirely shocking that, according to the Institute of International Finance, capital outflows from China surged last year to a record $725 billion. Furthermore, IIF warns, outflows could accelerate further if U.S. firms face political pressure to repatriate profits.