Mike Norman Economics

US declares economic war on China. “The sheer scale of their coordinated efforts to develop their economy, to subsidize, to create national champions, to force technology transfer, and to distort markets in China and throughout the world is a threat to the world trading system that is unprecedented,” Lighthizer said. “We must find other ways to defend our companies, workers, farmers, and indeed our economic system,” he implored. “We must find new ways to ensure that a market-based economy...

Why the Minsk 2 agreement is so important.Fort RussUkrainian general admits the truth about Lugansk and Donetsk Boris Dzherelievsky, in kolokolrussia.ru, translated by Tom Winter

In his Tuesday General Assembly address, Trump is expected to call for international action against nonexistent North Korean and Iranian threats. According to an unnamed White House source, he’ll focus on “world regimes that threaten security,” adding: “Obviously one of the chief regimes that will be singled out in this regard is the regime of North Korea and all of its destabilizing hostile and dangerous behavior, as well as of course…Iran.” “And in those two cases as well as others, an...

Previous research has shown that China's entry into the WTO in 2001 has had a profound impact on jobs and wages of low-skilled workers in the US in sectors exposed to Chinese imports. The same is not true for Germany. This column argues this is because the import-side trade adjustment to low-cost competition had already happened before the rise of China, because the rise of Eastern Europe offered new export opportunities for German firms, and because China’s love for product quality found a...

A study that analyzed large-scale genetic data from more than 200,000 people showed that the human genome is still evolving. Researchers form Columbia University found that a natural selection process weeds out mutations that shorten human life.… Don’t imagine, however, that it’s the kind of evolution you see in X-Men — sorry, no mutant powers just yet. However, it’s the type of evolution that could occur in one or two generations, and can prolong human life.... World Economic ForumThis...

The topic centres on an agreement between the US Federal Reserve System (the central bank federation in the US) and the US Treasury to peg the interest rate on government bonds in 1942. What the agreement demonstrated is that a central bank can always control yields on government bonds, which includes keeping them at zero (or even negative in the current case of Japan). What it demonstrates is that private bonds markets, no matter how much they might huff and puff about their own importance...

The sensible approach. But it's off the table. Sisci asks why.Asia TimesThe forbidden questions about the Korea crisisFrancesco Sisci

"Affordability"? No problem.ReutersSenate backs massive increase in military spendingThe Hill NewsSenate passes $700B defense bill Jordain Carney Also One of the most controversial proposals put forward by Sen. Bernie Sanders during the 2016 presidential campaign was a pledge to make tuition free at public colleges and universities. Critics from both parties howled that the pie-in-the-sky idea would bankrupt the country. Where, after all, would the money come from? Such concerns were...

Much more than the title suggests. Government is assserting its currrency sovereignty. Zero Hedge PBOC Researcher: China Should Start Its Own Sovereign Digital Currency "As Soon As Possible" Tyler Durden

In a democracy, no one should be comforted to hear that generals have imposed discipline on an elected head of state. That was never supposed to happen in the United States. Now it has.Among the most enduring political images of the 20th century was the military junta. It was a group of grim-faced officers — usually three — who rose to control a state. The junta would tolerate civilian institutions that agreed to remain subservient, but in the end enforced its own will. As recently as a few...