Tariffs in the ongoing trade war are taxes, so it is unavoidable consumer prices will go up, says financial analyst Victor Shih, author of Factions and Finance in China: Elite Conflict and Inflation, at The Point. Some increases might be taken by the distributors, and consumers are not yet worried because the US economy is now doing very well, Shih says. But that could change in the months to come when the effects of the trade war kick in.Read More →

Devaluating the Chinese Yuan can be an attractive, but also dangerous way for China to deal with the effect of the ongoing trade war, says financial and political analyst Victor Shih, author of Factions and Finance in China: Elite Conflict and Inflation to Reuters. ” It is likely that corruption is returning, which will undermine Chinese capital control measures.”Read More →

For investors the prospects for North-Korea are similar to China in 1978, says superinvestor Jim Rogers, author of Street Smarts: Adventures on the Road and in the Markets,  according to the Korean medium Hankyoreh. “If North Korea introduces reforms and openness, it will achieve rapid economic growth in the double digits or higher.”Read More →

China has changed its income tax for the first time in seven years, beneficial for the lower income groups, and less for the high earner. Financial analyst Sara Hsu discusses the purpose: more spending might be a motive, but as aging and health care costs loom, many might opt for saving, she says at CGTN.Read More →

The focus has been on the Chinese government after US president Donald Trump announced new tariffs. But that might be wrong, says economist Arthur Kroeber, author of China’s Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know to CNN. What Trump wants is not getting China into negotiations, but forcing US companies to come back to the US.Read More →

The debate is taking off on whether China would allow gambling on Hainan Island. Financial analyst Sara Hsu explains gambling would diversify the tourism industry on the island, but would also hurt the economy in nearby Macau. Two earlier efforts on Hainan were already aborted for political reasons.Read More →

While the criminal case for sexual harassment against JD.com CEO Richard Liu is still unclear, to say the least, its shareholders are getting nervous, says financial analyst Shaun Rein, and author of The War for China’s Wallet: Profiting from the New World Order to the Nikkei Asian Review.  “Worries will grow over timeRead More →