Peak oil demand is coming

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Comments of the Day

19 February 2021

Video commentary for February 18th 2021

Eoin Treacy’s view

A link to today’s video is posted in the Subscriber’s Area. 

Some of the topics discussed include: Vietnam continues to rebound, South Korea pauses, Semiconductor demand remains firm, China eases and Renminbi weakens, copper extends rally, gold and silver remain stable but need a catalyst, bitcoin steady, ethereum breaks out, commodity currencies continue to rebound.

China blocked Jack Ma’s Ant IPO after investigation revealed

This article from the Times of India may be of interest to subscribers. Here is a section:

The main reason seemed to be “growing unease in Beijing over Ant’s complex ownership structure and the people who stood to gain most from it”. The Street Journal said in a report on Tuesday.

“Behind layers of opaque investment vehicles that own stakes in the firm are a coterie of well-connected Chinese power players, including some with links to political families that represent a potential challenge to President Xi and his inner circle” the report added.

One of Ant’s investors is Boyu Capital, a private equity firm founded in part by Jiang Zhicheng. Jiang Zhicheng is the grandson of former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin, Many of Jiang Zemin’s allies have been purged in Xi’s anticorruption campaign, though he remains a force behind the scenes the WSF said in its report.

Eoin Treacy’s view

Many people are familiar with the fact that Chairman Mao was a prodigious reader of history. Few comment on the kind of history he focused on. His primary interest was in courtroom politics. He understood that he was now the emperor and that the only way to hold onto power would be to ensure his supporters were rewarded for their efforts. At the same time, they had to compete with one another for favour which strengthened his position. That’s how every dynasty functioned up to that point and he reintroduced the system of palace politics.

Email of the day on debt

In the 1960s David Cameron’s father, Ian who was the head of the Gilts department, taught me when I was working. at Panmure Gordon, that states never repay their debts. They issue new bonds to refinance old ones when they come to maturity. Apart from President Andrew Jackson in 1835, there is no modern example of a state repaying the National Debt. It is about time that experts and journalists stop causing anxiety among older people who think that states are burdening their children and grandchildren with future debt repayments.

Eoin Treacy’s view

Thank you for this personal account. I agree governments never pay back their debts. They always issue more debt. However, the money for the bonds has to come from somewhere. If the yield is high enough it will siphon private savings from the economy to fund the government. If the yield is not attractive, the central bank will have to print the money and buy the bonds.

In the first case, the currency strengthen, growth has a harder time raising capital but value should do well. In the latter, they devalue the currency to fund government. All private savings are eroded. Those with savings pour them into financial assets to hedge against the falling purchasing power of the currency.

Peak oil demand is coming – but first brace for an almighty supply crunch

Thanks to a subscriber for this article by Ambrose Evans Pritchard in the Telegraph. Here is a section:

The world has turned its back on austerity. Keynesian reflation doctrines are triumphant. The Biden administration explicitly aims to…