Those Stubborn Facts: China Celebrates Earth Day

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China, climate change, coal, Earth Day, energy, fossil fuels, Those Stubborn Facts

Coal production capacity China says it will add this year:   300 million tons

Increase from China’s new coal production capacity last year: 36.36%

China share of global coal production & consumption: c. 50 percent

 

(Source: “With coal surge, China puts energy security and growth before climate,” by Christian Shepherd, The Washington Post, April 22, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/22/china-coal-climate-change-xi-energy/)

Those Stubborn Facts: Funny Definitions of Environmentally and Socially Responsible Investing

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China, Enviromental Social and Governance risks, ESG, Europe, European Union, finance, investing, sustainability, Those Stubborn Facts

Amount of China assets held by Europe-based investment funds

legally required “to avoid environmental, social and governance

[ESG]risks”: c.$130 billion

Amount of China assets held by Europe-based investment funds

“that have screened for ESG-related hazards”: $160 billion

 

(Source: “China Stirs Unease for ESG Managers Blindsided by Russia’s War,” by Natasha White and Saijel Kishan,” Bloomberg.com, March 27, 2022, China Stirs Unease for ESG Managers Blindsided by Russia’s War – Bloomberg)

Those Stubborn Facts: Intelligence Failures

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accountability, collusion, Deep State, disinformation, Donald Trump, election 2020, Hunter Biden, Hunter Biden emails, Hunter Biden laptop, intelligence community, misinformation, Never Trumper, The New York Post, Those Stubborn Facts, Trump-Russia

# of former U.S. intelligence/security officials who before Election

2020 insinuated that the Hunter Biden laptop emails reported by the

NY Posts stemmed from a “Russian information campaign” despite

lacking “evidence of Russian involvement”: 51

 

# of such officials who didn’t respond to request for apology: 39

# of such officials who declined to comment to this request: 4

# of such officials who stood by the charge: 5

# of such officials who couldn’t be reached: 2

# of such officials who apologized for the charge: 0

 

(Sources: “Public Statement on the Hunter Biden Emails,” October 19, 2020, https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000175-4393-d7aa-af77-579f9b330000 & “Spies who lie: 51 ‘intelligence’ experts refuse to apologize for discrediting true Hunter Biden story,” by Post Editorial Board, The New York Post, March 18, 2022, https://nypost.com/2022/03/18/intelligence-experts-refuse-to-apologize-for-smearing-hunter-biden-story/)

Those Stubborn Facts: A World Awash in Debt

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bubble, China, debt, economy, Those Stubborn Facts, United States

Number of countries (including the U.S. and China) whose total debt

was more than three times greater than the size of their economies,

mid-1990s: None

 

Number of countries (including the U.S. and China) whose total debt

is more than three times greater than the size of their economies,

now: 25

 

(Source: “Ten economic trends that could define 2022,” by Ruchir Sharma, Financial Times, January 3, 2022, https://www.ft.com/content/432d78ee-6163-402e-8950-d961b4b1312b)

Those Stubborn Facts: Europe’s Still Wide Open to Chinese Investment

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China, EU, European Union, FDI, foreign direct investment, national security, Those Stubborn Facts

Number of European Union countries with systems for screening

foreign direct investment to protect national security & other key

interests: 18 of 27

 

Number of proposed investments examined: 265

 

Number of proposed investments blocked: 8

 

Share of examined investments that came from China: 8 percent

 

(Source: “Europe’s antitrust policy shouldn’t ignore China,” by Carisa Nietsche, Tech Crunch, December 28, 2021, Europe’s antitrust policy shouldn’t ignore China  | TechCrunch)

Those Stubborn Facts: American Public’s CCP Virus Panic Waning?

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cancer, CCP Virus, coronavirus, COVID 19, heart disease, public health, Those Stubborn Facts, Wuhan virus

Share of Americans “very” or “somewhat” worried about

developing cancer: 50%

 

Share of Americans “very” or “somewhat” worried about

developing heart disease: 44%

 

Share of Americans “very” or “somewhat” worried about

developing Covid: 41%

 

Source: “Cancer, Heart Disease Worries Eclipse COVID-19”. By Megan Brenan, Gallup.com, December, 16, 2021, Cancer, Heart Disease Worries Eclipse COVID-19 (gallup.com) )

 

Those Stubborn Facts: How to Keep Inflating a China Bubble

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bubbles, China, Evergrande, finance, investment, investors, property, real estate, Those Stubborn Facts, Wall Street

Share of global finance industry recommendations on China

investment that were “buys” at the start of this year, before its giant

real estate firms started going broke: 86 percent

 

Share of global finance industry recommendations on China

investment that are “buys” today, when its giant real estate firms

have started going broke: 87 percent

 

(Source: “Down Is Still Up for Foreign Investors Piling Into China,” by Nikos Chrysoloras and Abhishek Vishnoi, Bloomberg.com, October 16, 2021, China Stock Market: Down Is Still Up for Foreign Investors – Bloomberg)

 

Those Stubborn Facts: Haitian Migrants Not Present or Accounted For

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Biden adminisration, Biden border crisis, border security, catch and release, Del Rio, Haiti, Haitians, Immigration, migrants, Open Borders, Texas, Those Stubborn Facts

Biden administration count of number of Haitian migrants living

under Del Rio, Texas bridge at peak: 14,000

Biden administration count of Haitian migrants at Del Rio as of

yesterday: 4,000

Biden administration count of Haitian migrants from Del Rio

returned to Haiti as of yesterday: 1,400

Number of Haitian migrants from Del Rio released into the United

States despite Biden administration claim that “our borders are not

open”: 8,600?

 

(Sources: “Biden administration defends handling of Haitians amid uproar,” by Morgan Chalfant and Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, September, 23, 2021, Biden administration defends handling of Haitians amid uproar | TheHill and “Secretary Mayorkas Delivers Remarks in Del Rio, TX,” U.S. Department of Homeland Security, September 20, 2021, Secretary Mayorkas Delivers Remarks in Del Rio, TX | Homeland Security (dhs.gov) )

Those Stubborn Facts: More Public Health Costs of Covid Tunnel Vision

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CCP Virus, coronavirus, COVID 19, mental health, public health, Those Stubborn Facts, Wuhan virus

Number of Americans who recently received mental health

counseling or therapy, late July, 2021: 22.3 million

Increase from late August, last year: 22.42 percent

Number of Americans saying they need mental health assistance but

aren’t getting it, July, 2021: 23.6 million

Increase from last summer: c. 33 percent

Number of Americans now taking prescription drugs to help with

emotional or mental health: 46.4 million

Increase from last summer: 24.06 percent

 

(Source: “U.S. Mental Health Under Growing Strain in Covid’s Second Summer,” by Alexandre Tanzi, Bloomberg.com, August 12, 2021, U.S. Mental Health Under Growing Strain in Covid’s Second Summer – Bloomberg)

Those Stubborn Facts: How the U.S. Lost the Global Semiconductor Manufacturing Tech Lead

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capex, capital spending, China, infotech, innovation, Intel, investment, manufacturing, microchips, national security, Samsung, semiconductors, South Korea, Taiwan, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, tech, Those Stubborn Facts

“North America-” (i.e., U.S.-) Owned Firms’ Share of Global Semiconductor Capital Spending, 1990: 31 percent

“North America-” (i.e., U.S.-) Owned Firms’ Share of Global Semiconductor Capital Spending, 2019: 28 percent

“Asia-Pac/Others*- Owned Firms’ Share of Global Semiconductor Capital Spending, 1990: 10 percent

“Asia-Pac/Others*-Owned Firms’ Share of Global Semiconductor Capital Spending, 2019: 63 percent

*Excludes Japan. Includes Taiwan, South Korea, and China

(Source: “A Path to Success for the EU Semiconductor Industry,” by Michael Alexander and Thomas Kirschstein, Roland Berger, February 12, 2021, https://www.rolandberger.com/en/Insights/Publications/A-path-to-success-for-the-EU-semiconductor-industry.html)