U.S. Doubling Down on Weaponization of the Dollar

World’s top rare earth magnet maker gives Xi leverage over US
Baotou, an industrial city near the Gobi Desert, is the Silicon Valley of rare earths. Off Rare Earth Street, research institutes sit alongside a museum devoted to the minerals. Nearby, JL Mag Rare Earth Co., the world’s top maker of high-performance magnets, is building its largest plant yet — an expansion that offers a glimpse of how China plans to defend its commanding position in the supply chain. Read on »

U.S. Doubling Down on Weaponization of the Dollar
The U.S. government continues to ratchet up its use of the dollar as a foreign policy tool, even as the weaponization of the dollar has accelerated de-dollarization. On Monday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced plans to effectively ground Iran’s commercial airlines, saying that on Wednesday, Sept. 23, “All the Iranian airlines will be shut down around the world.” Read on »

Warsh's Policy Error
Eager to prove his bona fides and establish his gravitas, new Fed chair Kevin Warsh hiked the fed funds rate last week. In doing so, he revealed to the investment world that he is nothing more than the direct descendant of Bernanke and Yellen. Not a new leader with new priorities for a changing world but, instead, just another devotee to the Phillips Curve and Keynesianism. Read on »