China

The moment Apple geeks were waiting for arrived this morning with the launch of the iPhone X aroudn the world. The new phone went on sale and was greeted by huge crowds outside Apple stores in some Australian and Asian cities. What a difference a month makes when we reported in "This Is Embarrassing": 2 People Show Up For iPhone 8 Launch in China.

Fortunately for Apple, which yesterday smashed expectations and reported strong guidance, the iPhone magic appears to be back as the Wall Street Journal reports:

Authored by Valentin Katasonov via The Strategic Culture Foundation,

We know... there are several candidates to choose from. For example…

It might be Anbang - the acquisitive insurance behemoth – see “Anbang Just Became A ‘Systemic Risk’: Revenues Crash As Its Chairman Is “Detained”

It might be China Evergrande – the developer of “ghost” properties and described by J Capital’s, Anne Stevenson-Yang as “the biggest pyramid scheme the world has yet seen” – see “Stevenson-Yang Warns ‘China Is About To Hit A Wall”.

Authored by Pepe Escobar via The Saker blog,

The 19th Party Congress has made it very clear that “socialism with Chinese characteristics” – as codified by President Xi Jinping – is China’s road map ahead. Not only does the strategy graphically eschew those much-lauded “Western values”; it will, in Xi’s own words, offer “a new option for other countries and nations who want to speed up their development while preserving their independence.”

By the SRSrocco Report,

The world's top gold producer saw its mine supply plummet by 10% in the first half of 2017.  According to the GFMS World Gold Survey newest update, China's gold production in 1H 2017 fell the most in over a decade.  The fall in Chinese gold production is quite significant as the country will have to increase its imports to make up the shortfall in its mine supply