China’s State Council announced plans for further support packages aimed at helping struggling industries and boosting domestic demand. Stimulus packages for six industries–auto, textile, steel, shipbuilding, electronics, and machinery–were already announced earlier. Following the new announcement China will provide support packages for ten more industries, among them the oil refining and petrochemicals industries.
While China initiated the biggest price spike in commodities in the last decade it is now on a path to ease future price surges before they occur. The time for China couldn’t be better, as many commodity producing enterprises and countries are suffering severely under the global plunge in commodity prices, a direct effect of decreased demand worldwide. Many of these entities are now in urgent need of capital to finance projects planned and started during the peak in commodity prices. By investing in struggling commodity enterprises China could help keeping supply on its current level and hence prevent future price surges once demand catches up again.
Australian unions called for a closer monitoring of Chinese investments in the country’s commodity industries. China’s increased investment in struggling commodity enterprises, such as Chinalco’s (China’s largest aluminium producer) recent bid to invest $19.5 billion in Australia’s Rio Tinto, triggered concerns among Australian unions of China manipulating commodity pricing and production.
A few months ago, I wrote about the early stages of the conflict in Ukraine through the lens of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. While it appears likely that the war will carry on into the foreseeable future, enough time has passed for us to make an honest assessment of each side’s relative […]
The Ukrainian Army has made dramatic strides in the last few weeks. Ukraine’s tactical commanders have outfoxed their Russian counterparts, and by issuing a feint towards the south the UA has been able to earn substantial gains in the north of their country. The impact of these efforts have been compounded by the steady stream […]
In mid-May the Irish political party, Sinn Féin, won the plurality of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Many American readers might not fully understand the significance of Sinn Féin’s political victory- but rest assured that subjects of the United Kingdom and a wide range of political movements the world over have heard the message […]
The first wave of the Russian offensive in Ukraine has fallen short of Russian autocrat Vladmir Putin’s ambitions. Most analysts deduced that Putin had hoped to achieve a decapitation strike of the Ukrainian government- taking Kiev and replacing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zolinski with a pro-Kremlin voice. Kiev has been threatened repeatedly through the course of […]
On the weekend of March 26th, the notorious MS-13 gang went on a massive killing spree in El Salvador which left more than 70 people dead by Sunday. Even for a country where powerful gangs hold massive sway, this recent tragedy stands out considering that it was the bloodiest day on record since the civil […]
