Recently, I published my blog Done with USA. Later, I realised that I’m getting more and more bored by hearing, listening and reading about that American narcissist with his German roots. Luckily, the upside of boredom is curiosity. “We often think boredom is a less productive state of mind, but a lot goes on when we are bored, including some...
Europe
Shein hikes US prices as much as 377% ahead of tariff increases (Bloomberg)
29 Apr, 2025
Intro LO: The Bloomberg article below gets a different impact once you exclude Shein's low-value items; see diagram below. High value items would probably become too expensive for (very) many people. Hence, US Treasury Secretary. Scott Bessent, views the China-USA status quo as unsustainable (eg, AP, Axios, Reuters). Business leaders have already expressed their...
USA: Europa moet kiezen tussen Amerika en China !?
18 Apr, 2025
Afgelopen dinsdag las ik een vreemd AD artikel: "Gelekt document onthult ultiem doel handelsoorlog Trump: ‘EU dwingen te kiezen tussen VS en China’. Ik heb moeite om dit te geloven omdat de vraag uit Europa vooral gaat om de levering van Amerikaanse (financiële) diensten, alsmede om Chinese goederen. De oorzaak is vrij simpel: kwaliteit versus kwantiteit. Amerika...
A European-Chinese Economic Alliance
16 Apr, 2025
Recently, I heard Trump (on TV) warning Europe and China about their (future) economic cooperation. That is quite ironic because he clearly prefers competition over cooperation. I suppose he also “forgot” about the ancient proverb: The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Nevertheless, recent European (and Chinese) communications do indeed suggest the possibility of...
The world’s hot new trade is “sell America” (Axios)
15 Apr, 2025
Intro LO: The world has long ignored that USA is semi bankrupt (eg, Debt to GDP ratio, annual budget deficits, trade imbalances). However, the World kept financing U.S. debt (eg, buying U.S. treasuries, US$). On 17 January 2025, the Congressional Budget Office issued a stark warning: “In 2035, the adjusted deficit equals 6.1 percent of GDP—significantly more than...
An American brain drain
8 Apr, 2025
A recent Politico article stated: “Europe seeks to capitalize on America’s Trump-driven brain drain [ ] The EU’s body for scientific research, as well as local, regional and national governments, are mobilizing to poach top U.S. scholars.” Actually, it's tempting to ridicule the possibility of an American brain drain to Europe. Also given this March 5 Dutch article:...
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