Mike Norman Economics

Smackdown. The DuranFurious China ramps up support for Russia on Skripal, calls West’s actions “outrageous” Alexander MercourisSee alsoThe National InterestRussia and China Are Now Building Weapons Together Dave Majumdar | Defense Editor

Does the launch of the petro-yuan represent the ultimate deathblow to the petrodollar – and the birth of a completely new set of rules? Not so fast. That may take years, and depends on many variables, the most important of which will be China’s capacity to bend, tweak and ultimately rule the global oil market. As the yuan progressively reaches full consolidation in trade settlement, the petro-yuan threat to the US dollar, inscribed in a complex, long-term process, will disseminate the Holy...

It seems that the 'Novichok' fairy-tale the British government plays to us provides for a happy ending - the astonishing and mysterious resurrection of the victims of a "military grade" "five to eight times more deadly than VX gas" "nerve agent" "of a type developed by" Hollywood.... Did the Brits jump the shark? Moon of Alabama"She Is Risen!" - Last Act Of 'Novichok' Drama Revealed: "The Skripals' Resurrection" balsoSouthFrontSkripal Case – The Big Picture Written by J.Hawk exclusively...

Is getting ready to pull out of Syria?SouthFrontTrump: US Will Withdraw From Syria “Very Soon” Or, is the US digging it for the long haul? US Deploying Heavy Military Equipment To Consolidate Its Presence In Syria’s Al-Tanf – Russian Foreign Minsitry

Chasing Amazon. Reuters Walmart discussing closer ties with Humana, including possible acquisition: sources

Stephanie is now a contributor to Bloomberg View. Stephanie Kelton is a professor of public policy and economics at Stony Brook University. She was the Democrats' chief economist on the staff of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee and an economic adviser to the 2016 presidential campaign of Senator Bernie Sanders. This is her maiden post. Bloomberg View — Opinion Use Fiscal Policy, Not the Fed, to Fight the Next Slump Stephanie Kelton | Contributor

Here’s my latest take on what’s going on.

Diplomatic ping-pong. China seeks a "win-win," while Washington regards geopolitics as a zero-sum game.Asia Times Beijing’s ‘win-win’ Korean Peninsula scenario Xuan Loc DoanSee alsoNot only Turkey.Geopolitics AlertTurkey Breaks with NATO, Refuses to Expel Russians Jim Carey

[embedded content] The imminent introduction of oil trading in yuan is a very bold move by the Chinese, because the US will not give up the basis of its hegemony – the dollar as the world’s reserve currency – without a fight, Max Keiser, host of RT’s financial program ‘Keiser Report’ has said. The Chinese plan to roll out a yuan-denominated oil contract before the end of this year is a very brave move, since countries who “tried to exit the oil-dollar matrix have met terrible ends,”...

“At the moment, it’s a game of chicken with no off-ramp,” Tom Pickering, another former US Ambassador to Russia, has said. “And we need to be looking at the off-ramp.” While this piece is mostly about Russia and Putin, this observation about about China is also noteworthy: Regime change may not be being spoken of in terms of China, but the latter fully understands that it is at the top of the Bolton-Pompeo-Trump ‘hit list’, and that its standing as ‘revisionist threat, number one’ enjoys...