• The Economist Whose Contrarian Streak Has Gotten Attention in Biden and

    From ltlee1@21:1/5 to All on Wed Oct 16 16:43:23 2024
    "Michael Pettis, a professor of finance at Peking University, has spent
    two decades in China observing its breakneck economic ascent and its
    impact around the world. Among his conclusions: He thinks former
    President Trump’s plan for across-the-board import tariffs isn’t a bad idea. He also says the U.S. should use capital controls to discourage
    China and other high-saving nations from snapping up treasuries, stocks
    and other American assets.

    Those views make the 66-year-old Pettis perhaps the world’s foremost punk-rock economist, embodying in his theories the same counterculture, do-it-yourself and antiestablishment ethos that he cultivated as a music
    club and record-label owner in New York and Beijing.

    His ideas are at odds with mainstream economists, who say such policies
    would push up inflation and interest rates and cripple the U.S. economy.
    He has a devoted following that includes some of the figures shaping
    recent U.S. economic policy, including people inside the Biden
    administration and advisers to Trump. "

    https://www.wsj.com/economy/trade/the-economist-whose-contrarian-streak-has-gotten-attention-in-biden-and-trump-camps-edc6af77

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  • From ltlee1@21:1/5 to All on Thu Oct 17 17:40:13 2024
    ”He also says the U.S. should use capital controls to discourage
    China and other high-saving nations from snapping up treasuries, stocks
    and other American assets.
    ..
    His ideas are at odds with mainstream economists, who say such policies
    would push up inflation and interest rates and cripple the U.S.
    economy.“

    Given that the US currently runs large fiscal and trade deficit, it
    needs foreign entities mainly China and other high-saving nations to
    snap up US treasuries and dollar denominated assets. Why do any foreign entities want to hold treasuries and other dollar assets?

    1. For international trade
    2. For low risk interest income such as US government and
    semi-government papers.
    3. For high risk speculative income/gain.

    Is it really better for the US as well as the world if China and other
    high saving nations do not buy US treasuries which is safe and
    concentrate on speculative assets?

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