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China's food prices fall at fastest rate for 15 years, despite Western media spin 'deflation' is good news for profits

china
© Andy Wong/APA giant dragon lantern greets tourists near the frozen Houhai lake in Beijing. China will usher in the year of the dragon for lunar new year on 10 February.
China's consumer prices fell at their fastest pace in 15 years in January, as the world's second-largest economy sank deeper into deflation amid weakening demand.

Data released on Thursday showed that China's consumer price index tumbled last month, falling by 0.8% compared with a year earlier. It marks the fourth consecutive month of declines, as well as the sharpest drop since September 2009, when the global economy was still grappling with aftershocks from the 2008 banking crisis.

Food prices were the biggest drag on the headline inflation figure, having fallen by 5.9% on an annual basis, due in part to a 17% slump in pork prices. Fresh vegetables fell by 12.7%, while fruit dropped by 9.1%.


Comment: It's obviously a complicated issue, made worse by Western media spin, but, for further insight into the implications into the deflationary issue, Asia Times reports:
So-called China deflation is good news for profits

To gauge price behavior, rather than the overall index number, economists look at so-called "core" consumer price inflation that excludes volatile food and energy prices - except when it comes to China.

"China sinks deeper into deflation as prices fall at fastest rate in 15 years" was CNN's headline this morning. But the 0.8% January drop in China's consumer price index reflected a 17% drop in pork prices. Core CPI rose by 0.4% in January. That's 4.7% core inflation at a compound annual rate - hardly consistent with deflation.

Besotted with the notion that China's economy is collapsing, the Western media interpret every economic report from China with that bias - even if it means turning common sense and causality inside out. A simple examination of China's recent price data tells a different story.

The Producer Price Index (PPI) — the cost of wholesale goods - continued to fall while core consumer prices rose. That's a problem for producers of nylon fiber (for example) whose prices have fallen by 12% year-on-year, but it isn't necessarily a problem for the overall Chinese economy.

The good news is that rising consumer prices and falling producer prices boost corporate profits. Industrial enterprises are charging higher prices to consumers - and paying lower prices to suppliers.

China's PPI isn't exactly a proxy for industrial input costs, and core CPI isn't exactly a proxy for final prices, but industrial profits have risen with a falling PPI and a rising core CPI during the past dozen years.

A linear regression equation (using breakpoint analysis) shows that year-on-year changes in core CPI and PPI explain about 76% of the variation in year-on-year industrial profits. The predictive variables are significant after correction for serial correlation.

Broad measures of price performance conceal opposing trends. Auto prices are falling in China due to rising productivity and ferocious competition among automakers, and that's a good thing.

Housing prices are falling, and that's a mixed thing: It's bad for older Chinese who have most of their savings in property and good for young families looking for a home.

But econometric analysis strongly supports the notion that falling producer prices and rising consumer prices are good for industrial profits.



Bizarro Earth

Five 'trans women' dominate female college volleyball game

trans women volleyball colleges
© Rebel News/YouTubeVolleyball players on Canadian women's teams 4
A video allegedly showing five trans players taking part in a Canadian women’s volleyball game has sparked outrage
Just when you thought transanity couldn't get any worse...

Last Wednesday, Rebel News was tipped off that the Centennial Colts were hosting the Seneca Sting in a female volleyball contest in Toronto. But not all the players were actually biological females...

Indeed, we were stunned to find out that no fewer than FIVE men were pretending to be women (three on Seneca; two on Centennial.)

At times it was hard to watch. The men were definitely the dominant players on the court - especially when it came to spiking the ball. Indeed, our volleyball insider told us that the situation is so dire that it is no longer safe for biological women to compete.

Comment:




Wolf

The $2M NYC Housing Authority bribery scandal hall of shame: 'Heroes' to zeroes

arrests  new york bribery housing authority
© Michael Nagle for NY PostDefendants charged in the widespread NYCHA extortion and bribery case are loaded onto a police bus on Tuesday.
The NYCHA workers charged in the largest single-day bribery takedown in Justice Department history include a father who boasted about lavish globetrotting vacations, an administrator named a "hero" by his local project, a superintendent selected to partake in a "leadership academy" — and even an employee once suspended for appearing naked in bed with a woman during a staff video call.

In total, 70 current and former employees of the nation's biggest public housing authority were charged Tuesday in a "classic pay-for-play" corruption scheme, which saw superintendents and administrators pocketing a collective $2 million in bribes over 10 years to secure work contracts at their properties.

The charges, brought by the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, represent the largest number of federal bribery raps brought in a single day in Department of Justice history.

Comment: Nice to see the SDNY do some actual work. Unfortunately, this folks are small fry. If you're rich and/or politically powerful, that's another story


Arrow Down

US military offering free castration to any soldier who wants it

Does that sound disturbing? Revealing? Unbelievable?
Castration
© allthatsinteresting.com/
Can you imagine any modern army instituting such a policy? What country's population would support it? How could the population fail to riot in the streets?

"Soldier, if you think you can serve the nation better by having your balls cut off, let us know. We'll help you."

Where, on the scale of ultimate insults (and self-destruction), would you rank THIS ARMY'S OFFER TO ITS OWN FIGHTING FORCE?

Do you think Biden's string pullers and the current leadership at the Department of Defense understand the real meaning of their offer? "We cut the balls off our own men."

I think they understand. Full well. And they're making the offer with that full understanding. With the aim of destroying the ability and morale of the Army in the most shocking and unthinkable and blunt way possible: physical castration.

Map

"This is not friendly" - Bret Weinstein shows Tucker Carlson how the UN are driving the invasion of America

Tucker Weinstein
"...I came away with the sense that it's probably literally both [a migration and an invasion]..."
Those are the chilling words that renowned biologist Bret Weinstein uses to describe what he found when he visited the Darien Gap in an attempt to understand just what is behind the sudden and overwhelming flood of migrants at the southern border of America.

The Darien Gap is a crucial yet perilous passage for migrants traveling from South America to North America that acts as a natural barrier (where, for 60 miles, the Pan-American highway ends and deadly jungle begins) that saw over half a million migrants traverse its challenging terrain last year alone.

"The jungle in the Darien Gap is some place that one does not go without careful preparation. It is quite dangerous... They're sleeping on the ground, and so they get hypothermia. It's extremely slippery."

In this chilling interview with Tucker Carlson - about a topic that apparently no actual reporter is willing to investigate and write about - Weinstein explains that his journey to the Darien Gap was spurred by his interest in the unexplained aspects of mass migration, and the findings of Michael Yon, a former Green Beret turned investigative journalist.

Comment: For more on this story listen to Michael Yon who accompanied Weinstein on the trip:




Eye 2

IDF troops filmed 'cheering Gaza destruction' - NYT

Gaza, rubble, destroyed buildings, Palestine
© AP / Tsafrir AbayovFILE: Rubble from buildings destroyed in Israel's ground operation in Gaza, February 1, 2024.
Hundreds of videos filmed and shared by Israeli soldiers in Gaza show troops bulldozing houses and mocking Palestinian victims, according to research by the New York Times. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has distanced itself from the content, some of which violates its code of conduct.

The NYT said it reviewed hundreds of videos, including more than 50 clips of Israeli engineering troops using bulldozers, excavators, and explosives to destroy homes, schools, and other civilian structures. Some footage reportedly shows soldiers "vandalizing local shops and school classrooms" and "making derogatory comments about Palestinians."

In one video posted to TikTok, a soldier is seen giving a thumbs-up while driving a bulldozer in northern Gaza. The caption accompanying the clip reportedly says "I stopped counting how many neighborhoods I've erased."

Comment: Psychopathic soldiers mimicking their psychopathic leaders.


USA

EU rules out Tucker Carlson sanctions - TASS

Tucker Carlson, Turning Point Action
© Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFPTucker Carlson speaks at the Turning Point Action conference on July 15, 2023 in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The EU has no plans to sanction American journalist Tucker Carlson over his interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin, TASS reports, citing sources. The much-anticipated face-to-face has been confirmed by the Kremlin and is expected to be aired at 6pm EST (11pm GMT) on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Newsweek magazine, citing several current and former EU lawmakers, reported that Brussels could ban the former Fox News host from visiting countries in the bloc. MEP Guy Verhofstadt, who once served as Belgian prime minister, suggested that the EU could look into Carlson's case, given that Brussels sanctions anyone who assists Russian President Vladimir Putin - who he called a "war criminal."

Carlson said he wanted to talk to Putin because it is his "duty to inform people," especially with regard to the Ukraine conflict, since the US provides support for Kiev. He added that many Western media outlets "lie to their readers and viewers" by promoting Kiev's position while downplaying Russia's.

Comment: We'll see how the EU Council reacts once the interview is released on February 8th at 6PM EST. More from RT:
Conservative American journalist Tucker Carlson has said on Instagram that his interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin will be aired at 6pm EST on Thursday.

Carlson, who launched his own network on X (formerly Twitter) in June 2023, traveled to Moscow for a sit-down with Putin. The Kremlin confirmed the meeting on Tuesday.

The Russian president rarely grants one-on-one interviews to foreign press. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that Putin has "no desire" to speak to Western media outlets that have "completely one-sided" opinions and "aren't even trying to be impartial."
See also: It's happening! Tucker Carlson reveals Putin interview plans


Arrow Down

Ukrainian refugees in Germany aren't working - Bild

Ukrainian refugees in Dusseldorf, Germany
© Getty Images / NurPhoto / ContributorUkrainian refugees in Dusseldorf, Germany
The German government's drive to get more Ukrainian refugees into the workforce has been failing in light of the substantial financial support provided to those seeking shelter in the country, the tabloid Bild reported on Monday.

According to the paper, only 25.2% of the refugees from Ukraine in Germany are currently employed, compared with 78% in Denmark and 66% in the Czech Republic. The share is also significantly higher in several other EU states, including Poland (65%), Sweden (56%), and the Netherlands (50%).

The report indicated that across the EU Ukrainian refugees receive temporary protection status without having to go through a complex asylum procedure, are integrated into health and social systems, and are allowed to work immediately. However, financial support programs for refugees vary. In Germany, single adults or single parents receive €563 ($604) per month, while children are provided between €357 and €471 depending on their age. In addition, housing and additional costs are covered. The Czech Republic provides €200 in emergency assistance, while the cost of living in a hostel is covered for a limited period of time. In Poland, Ukrainian refugees are authorized to receive a one-time payment of €66 and a child benefit of €110 per month.

The German government has been taking steps to speed up the integration of tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees into its labor market, calling on companies to loosen their German language requirements and offering extra training. Last year, Labor Minister Hubertus Heil announced the launch of the so-called 'job turbo' initiative with the aim of putting millions of refugees - especially Ukrainians - to work.

Comment: Yet another way that Germany's support for the Ukrainian cause is coming back to bite them.


NPC

British countryside is a "racist and colonial white space", National Trust, RSPCA and WWF tell MPs

woman with kids field
The British countryside is a "racist colonial" white space, a group of wildlife and countryside charities including the RSPCA, WWF and National Trust have claimed. The Telegraph has the story.
Wildlife and Countryside Link, a charity umbrella group whose members include the RSPCA, WWF and National Trust, made the claim in evidence provided to Parliament on racism and its influence on the natural world.

MPs in an all-party parliamentary group (APPG) were informed that the British countryside has been influenced by "racist colonial legacies" which have created an environment some fear is "dominated by white people".


Comment: White people in a predominately white area, the horror!


The country's green spaces are governed by "white British cultural values", the report argues, and the perception that the countryside is a "white space" prevents people from other ethnic backgrounds from enjoying the outdoors.

The Wildlife and Countryside Link report was submitted to MPs on the APPG for Race and Community, which had called for evidence on the links between "systemic racism" and climate change.


Comment: Ask stupid questions, get stupid answers.


Comment: Societal trust, the real glue that keeps a country together in tough times, is collapsing and that's in part due to buffoons like this prattling on about non-existent, non-issues.


NPC

UW-Oshkosh event 'focus' on everyone but heterosexual white males

college student
© Rich Vintage/Getty Images
The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh is hosting a leadership event this Saturday that is targeted at all students except straight white males.

The "focus" of the Catalyst "Leadership Development" event is "for students who self-identify as Multicultural (Asian/South Asian/Hmong, Black/African American, Indigenous/Native American, Latino/a/x/e/Hispanic), Womxn, and/or LGBTQIA2S+."

However, another part of the sign-up form says all UWO students are allowed to register. "This opportunity is open for all UWO students registered for the Spring 2024 semester."

Similar language about "all UWO students" is not found on the listing by the Women's Center, which is under the university's Campus Center for Equity and Diversity. The event is hosted by the Center for Student Success and Belonging.