mark holowesko

Labour participation rate in Japan is 80% versus the US at 67%. Wage growth in Japan is picking up as is the number of people in Japan hitting retirement age.

"Energy shocks are part of the explanation for around half of American and British recessions-and that has been true for nearly 300 years, from 1721 all the way to 2008". (N Ferguson)

The following exports from the Gulf are more than 10% of global trade: unwrought zinc, aluminum alloy wire, processed cheese, black tea, copper wire, reinforced bars, platinum, heavy water, gold powder, meat preparations, uncut diamonds.

Gulf suppliers account for 14% of global exports. In addition to hydrocarbons, Iran accounts for 41% of the world’s saffron, and 16% of its pistachios. The UAE is a leading exporter of aluminum alloys and Qatar a major source of gas, ethylene glycol and urea fertilizer. (KI)

Bitcoin support at 20,000. (MG)

A regime that was willing to kill tens of thousands of its own people a few weeks ago will probably be willing to absorb bombing of its country for longer than anticipated. (MG)

Russian army casualties in Ukraine surge giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/ac… via @financialtimes

Military spending by the US exceeds that of Iran by over 100x, but it can cost the US $13mn per successful deployment against $1-2 million dollar missiles and $20,000-50,000 Iranian drones. (MS)

The entire project has been shown to be politically not feasible, economically not viable, intellectually exhausted, and morally bankrupt. (I Akhtar)

The 1979 Iranian Revolution represented the last serious attempt to demonstrate that an Islamic political theology could successfully organize a modern state and project power across borders as an alternative to the Western international order. (IA)

After spending $30-40 billion over 4 decades in constructing the “Axis of Resistance” -Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, Shia Militias- this proxy network has been systematically dismantled.

Iranians spend $12 billion annually on alcohol despite the penalty of eighty lashes for a first offense.

The theocracy produced one of the most significant secularizing shifts in the modern Muslim world - not through reform but through coercion. Survey data show 75% of Iranians had ceased performing obligatory prayers by 2000, and approximately 73% favor the separation of religion and state.

“Given that Iran is the eighth country the Trump administration has bombed over the last year, perhaps we shouldn’t have been surprised that the hit to share prices was muted.” (CLSA)

In 2014, China used to get 42% of soybean imports from the US. Today it is 15%. Brazil has captured most of the change growing from 45% of China imports to 74%. (CL)

"The current Cocoa industry looks like a basket case; excessive government intervention, corruption and inefficiency". What was a shortage a year ago is now a surplus. Nothing fixes a shortage like high prices. Cocoa prices dropped 55% from a year ago. (CA)

In the last 40 years, 22 different people have served as Japan's prime minister. Takaichi may be the one you remember the most.

Europeans have become spectators in the New Cold War and will only become active participants by changing their military presence and reducing their obstacles to growth, rather than bloviating about their relevance. (MG)

Tech in the US is >42% of market cap but <15% of sales and the sector has a fcf/ev of 1%. (KCR)

Globalization has FAILED. Secretary Lutnick at the World Economic Forum: “The Trump Administration and I are here to make a very clear point—globalization has failed the West and the United States of America. It’s a failed policy… and it has left America behind.” America is done exporting jobs and offshoring its future. We will no longer give in to globalization.