Commodities
Can the Russian invasion of Ukraine be avoided in the first place? Definitely, but the conflict was never about Ukraine to begin with. Russia was engaged in a bold brinkmanship game with the United States and NATO over their respective sphere of influence. And Ukrainian President Zelensky was foolish enough to believe that Russian Vladimir […]
... written on Mar 17 2022Forget US$100 crude oil. We have passed that. Crude oil has already hit US$130 a barrel. Chances are the commodity will stay above 100 bucks as long as the Russia-Ukraine war does not de-escalate. And it appears the worst is yet to come. When will the Western powers realize that sanctions will not work on […]
... written on Mar 08 2022China is arguably the biggest winner in the current Russia-Ukraine war. And if it’s true that senior Chinese officials told senior Russian officials in early February not to invade Ukraine before the end of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, as claimed by the New York Times (which has been rubbished by Beijing), it means Beijing […]
... written on Mar 04 2022Colgate-Palmolive CEO Noel Wallace has warned American consumers to get ready to pay 10 bucks for a tube of toothpaste. Consumer goods companies like Colgate has started increasing prices last year as a result of rising war material costs and labour shortages due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But the Russia-Ukraine war will certainly escalate the […]
... written on Mar 02 2022Putin might be a mad dictator to the Western countries, but he is not crazy, let alone stupid. On the contrary, he could be smarter than the U.S. and NATO, based on his political chess game so far. He tactically recognized the independence of two self-proclaimed and pro-Russian republics in eastern Ukraine, before sending troops […]
... written on Feb 25 2022Are you curious about gold investments? Many investors are, as this commodity is considered safe with an extensive track record of gains. When inflation spikes and the stock market seems unstable, individuals turn to gold. This asset has numerous attributes that make it even more attractive than stocks and bonds. It’s an inflation hedge and […]
... written on Feb 21 2022While Australia, the United States’ “deputy sheriff” in the Asia-Pacific region, has chosen to remain hostile with China, it’s a different story with its neighbour, New Zealand. The Kiwi has just officially upgraded its 2008 free-trade agreement (FTA) with China that will give exports greater access to the Chinese market. New Zealand was the first […]
... written on Feb 15 2022About 2 years since a trade deal between the United States and China – called “Phase One” – went into effect on 14 February 2020, the deal appears to be nothing but a promise meant to be broken. From the start, the deal was doomed to fail simply because it lacks sincerity, not to mention […]
... written on Feb 10 2022As Covid-19 pandemic enters its third year, people are increasingly getting pessimistic about what’s in store in the year 2022. In the first year of the outbreak (2020), most thought the Coronavirus would be a temporary hiccup. When vaccines were developed – and rushed to the market – people thought the worst would be over […]
... written on Jan 21 2022Most investors’ portfolios are paper-heavy since stocks, bonds, and other options in that class tend to produce tremendous gains in the fastest time frame. The problem is the correlation with the market increasing the volatility. When the economy spirals, something it tends to do often, paper assets join it, fluctuating holdings wildly, making a […]
... written on Jan 17 2022