Juggling Dynamite

As the global economy continues to decelerate, the US dollar is rising and key commodities (priced in dollars) are tumbling.  Iron ore, silver and lumber are all back to where they were before COVID-19 vaccines spurred reopening euphoria in November 2020.

As shown below in my partner Cory Venable’s chart, the commodity-centric Canadian dollar (FXC) is also swooning along for the ride, returning to the $77 area it broke out from in late 2020, with more weakness likely to come.

The following video clip explains the global impacts of a rising US dollar (with a very dramatic soundtrack!).

The US Dollar is the bedrock of the world’s financial system. The availability, cost, and level of the dollar can have an outsized impact on economies and investment opportunities. But, more important, is the rate of change in the level of the dollar. If the level of the dollar moves too quickly and particularly if it rises too fast, then problems start popping up all over the place. And that is why everyone should have a plan for a rapidly rising dollar.Here is a direct video link.

Turns out dairy from animals is hard on our health and the planet and many are suffering ill health effects without realizing the source.  Plant-based dairy made from waste barley grain is genius.

“The lightbulb moment came from the realization. That billions of pounds of golden barley are discarded each year during beer production. Brewers extract the sugars from the grain, and the nutrient-dense fiber, and protein that is leftover becomes what is called ‘spent grain.’ Up until now, spent barley grain has gone to feed livestock or ends up in landfills.”

…Take Two barley milk is not only sustainable, but also made with a special formula to resemble traditional cow’s milk. Chicory root, sunflower oil, coconut cream, and pea protein all add to this plant milk’s charm, giving it a rich and fatty consistency. Like cow’s milk, it is slightly sweet with protein and fat to fill you up.  Here is a direct video link.

Shares and bonds of China’s most indebted property developer China Evergrande Group have fallen 80%, while interest payments on its wealth manglement management products have failed to pay out, and deposits on presold unbuilt apartments are left in question.   Other Chinese development company securities are selling off on contagion fears.

Many of the investors are Evergrande workers after the company encouraged staff to purchase the products.  This tale-as-old-as-time offers a wake-up call on similar allocation mistakes made by savers in many countries today. Central banks can’t offset the weight of speculative unwinding destined to unfold globally.  As usual, the focus shifts to the return of principal in the end.  No free lunch.

…“When I bought the products, they told me it was very safe because this is a Global 500 company,” said Hu, who only gave his family name.

Evergrande has offered annualized interest rates of as much as about 13% on the products, higher than those typically sold at banks, and proceeds were to replenish working capital, according to the people. Some of the cash was invested in projects across China, they said, citing Du’s briefing.

Here is a direct video link.