So we have both the economies of Japan and Germany now in a recession and yet the DAX and Nikkei are trading at all time highs. And to think that the Nikkei last traded in this range back in 1989!!! China, on the otherhand, has watched its markets trade sideways for the past 10 years. Thing is, China is attempting to undergo a massive structural economic shift and with that has come pain. How all of this will ultimately play out will have real world ramifications. Through fits and starts, China actually understands the dangers of overleverage and the Keynesian model. Not entirely certain if the policy makers will be able, or ultimately willing, to go through to the end.

Well, I just realized that I've joined the "one year on Nostr" club. @jb55 thanks for all the effort and looking forward to many more years to come.

So I’m hearing a lot out there regarding #China’s imminent collapse. Not so sure after seeing this on the street earlier today.

Last working day of the lunar year here in #China. Very much looking forward to a break from all of the manic headlines. Still have to wait and see how the final day of trading goes. If you didn't know this already, after today China's stock market will be closed for more than a week and will only reopen on February 19th.

This guy is nothing but pure class.

Here is where I remain confounded when it comes to the state of America and China in today’s world. If the States were to refrain from the current path of pseudo- authoritarianism, essentially taking the path of China but less overt in its messaging (gaslighting?) and return to the country’s roots or individual freedoms and true meritocracy, then there would be no competition. The Chinese I speak with here like to joke that at least in China the average citizen knows and accepts their particular lot in life. All levers of power over the population reside with the government. Americans, on the other hand, believe deeply that they have agency, privacy and the like, but – to the chortling of the Chinese – in reality this is viewed as delusional thinking. Ironically, the average Chinese person sees more clearly than their American counterpart this reality and the path which has been taken for the past 30 years. On this comparison, there is no argument to be made. I suspect that all of us here don’t even view this as being a joke. And yet, when you strip out all of the noise, this is the reality of where the America vs. China debate resides at this very moment. For America to actually thrive globally all that is needed is for the government to allow aggressive openness of its society. No other nation-state, with the resources and tenacity of drive, could come close to competing and that is doubly so the case when it comes to China.

Why in God’s good name is Gavin Newsom literally touring China at this very moment.

I honestly need to prioritise getting on here more often. The laughable commentary on China is so far off base.

Here’s a perfect way to end the work week. Just had someone DM me saying that Xi Jinping is a CIA plant from the 1970s and his mission is to bring down the country as revenge for what Mao did to his father and family during the cultural revolution. And this person was as serious as a heart attack. Time for three fingers of whisky.