Displaying items by tag: cold war

(Beijing)

If one thing has been clear over the last couple of years, it is that US-China relations are getting worse. It started earlier in Trump’s term and has escalated in a tit-for-tat battle over the last couple years. Some refer to it as a great “uncoupling” while others say it is a new cold war. Whatever you call it, there are a handful of sectors that will do well as the situation unfolds. One such sector is automation and robotics companies. These companies are likely to do very well as US businesses are forced to re-shore manufacturing from China and seek out automation to make the return more economical.

FINSUM: A major decoupling will be a very ugly event. US companies do $500 bn of sales in China each year. The automation play makes sense. Check out the Robotics ETF (ROBO).

(Washington)

We don’t run a whole lot of news on the geopolitical and military fronts, but we think we found a story today that everyone needs to be wary of. Bloomberg reports, along with confirmations from the US military, that US troops engaged and killed around 100 Russian soldiers, injuring 200 to 300 hundred. The soldiers were reportedly mercenaries fighting for the Assad regime in Syria who attacked a US held refinery/base. Russia says it had nothing to do with the attack and that it would not engage US forces.

FINSUM: This seems like it could spark a very tense geopolitical situation, but luckily it looks like Russia distanced itself very quickly and is not seeking any confrontation.