Category Archives: Commodities

China’s Push for 7% Growth Faces Big Challenges

China plans to return to a higher level of growth. Are its targets attainable?

The US Is Left Out in the Cold as China and Russia Develop Arctic

RAND proposes familiar blunders to deal with rival powers’ partnership — one that Washington helped instigate.

Access to PPE, a Critical Tool in Fighting Bird Flu, Is Mixed Across Dairy-Producing States, Records Show

States with confirmed dairy cattle bird flu cases have drastically different personal protective equipment responses, and most are failing.

EU Nears Finish Line on Trade Deal With South American Bloc in an Effort to Deal Blow to China

It’s unlikely to do much vis-à-vis China, but will be bad news for the environment and majority of Europeans already reeling from Ursula’s other strategic “victories.”

Paris and Washington Go Scorched Earth in the Sahel

What does it say about AFRICOM’s counterterrorism mission when nationalized mines increasingly come under attack and the US proxy state of Ukraine is training terrorists the US is supposed to be fighting?

Book Review: “Caps Lock” (Capitalism and Graphic Design)

Design serves capitalism by devising abstract forms.

In Amish Country, an Unlikely Partnership With Beef Giant JBS Roils Community

Big Ag comes for the Amish.

Industrial Policy: Lessons from China’s Shipbuilding

A study of China’s shipbuilding industrial policy finds big market share gains did not produce domestic welfare benefits.

The Cash Will Soon Flow

Robbing Africa’s riches to save the climate (and power AI).

BRICS and De-Dollarization: An Alternative or Potential Disaster?

A discussion of some proposals for the BRICS de-dollarization project, suggesting a lack of convergence of ideas among key players.

The West’s Blunders Help Fuel Russia’s Far East Development

A tip of the cap to the geniuses at the US State Department.

Putin Calls for Sanctions Revenge, Threatens to Cap Uranium Exports

Russia is considering restricting commodities exports such as uranium to what it has called “unfriendly” countries.

China’s Rare Earth Restrictions Shake Up Global Markets

The US ceding its once-dominant position in rare earths comes back to bite, as China uses rare earths to retaliate against US sanctions.

Why US Belligerence Towards Russia Is Likely to Continue No Matter Who Is President

Biden might be senile and Blinken stupid, but it’s the plutocrats and their think tanks that run the show in Washington.

Electric Vehicle Revolution Stalls, Leaving Metal Markets in Limbo

Another sober take on near and perhaps intermediate-term electric vehicle prospects.