Chinese bishop ‘missing’ despite historic deal between Beijing and Vatican

A bishop in eastern China belonging to the Vatican-aligned unofficial church has gone missing, sources told Agence France-Presse on Thursday, despite a historic accord reached between Beijing and the Holy See barely two months ago.

The September deal paved the way for a rapprochement between the Vatican and the communist country. The pair broke off diplomatic ties in 1951.

There are an estimated 10 million Catholics in China, divided between a government-run association whose clergy are chosen by the Communist Party and the unofficial church which swears allegiance to the Vatican.

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/2173466/chinese-bishop-missing-despite-historic-deal-between-beijing-and

Weak stock market an ‘embarrassment’ for China, says Beijing adviser

China’s stock market, whose indices are among Asia’s biggest losers for the past four quarters, is an embarrassment to the country, the chairman of the country’s biggest commerce guild and a senior government adviser said on Tuesday.

“China’s stock market has diverged completely from the country’s economic fundamentals,” said Huang Mengfu, chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and a former vice-chairman of the China People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), during Caijing’s annual conference in Beijing. “It is so embarrassing that the total [value of the] stock market of China” is equivalent to the market capitalisation of seven Apple Incs, he told an audience of bankers and business executives.

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/2173037/weak-stock-market-embarrassment-china-says-beijing-adviser

Federal Reserve’s former chair Janet Yellen expects three to four US rate increases over the next year

The US Federal Reserve will continue the current pace of normalising its monetary policy because the American economy is doing “exceptionally well,” though this will create a tougher economic environment for emerging markets including China, its former chair said on Tuesday.

“Normalisation of both short rates and the balance sheet are proceeding smoothly and, with the economy performing so well, Chair Powell and the [Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)] are continuing the process of removing monetary accommodation to return the federal funds rate to a neutral stance,” Janet Yellen said via video during Caijing magazine’s annual conference in Beijing, adding that she expected rates to rise by three to four times over the next year. “I expect that to continue over the next year unless there are significant economic surprises.”

The US Fed is scheduled to next meet on December 20, so Yellen’s comment implies a rate increase then, followed by up to three increases in 2019.

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/2172949/federal-reserves-former-chair-yellen-expects-three-four-us

Wall Street’s dream of prying open China’s US$45 trillion market is inching toward reality

UBS, JPMorgan and Nomura have applied for majority stakes in their Chinese ventures, while Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse are expected to apply

Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Bank of America haven’t applied

Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a speech last week that the country was “steadily widening the opening up” of its financial industry.

For China watchers, steadily was the key word. Almost exactly a year after the country announced historic plans to ease local ownership rules and entry barriers to what’s now a US$45 trillion industry, the pace of change has been closer to a crawl than a sprint. While Xi signalled that China’s opening remains on track despite the country’s trade war with America, he also made it clear that policymakers will move deliberately.

The world’s biggest financial firms have adopted much the same stance. Even as they applaud China’s opening, many are taking a cautious approach as they weigh the country’s enormous long-term potential against its growing number of short-term challenges - everything from the trade war to sinking stock prices and rising defaults.

https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2172779/wall-streets-dream-prying-open-chinas-us45-trillion-market

>>3912216

East Indies – A Story of Spices, Gunpowder and Opium

In 1497 Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope, his small Portuguese fleet reached India and they became the first Europeans to sail the Eastern Seas. Over the next 100 years the Portuguese spread their trading network in search of spices, sandalwood, silks, gold, silver, porcelains and other oriental goods. This trading network extended from Goa in India as far east as the Moluccas and Timor in Indonesia, and as far north as China and Japan.

https://spiceislandsblog.com/2017/07/18/east-indies-a-story-of-spices-gunpowder-and-opium/

Donald Trump’s troops at US-Mexico border wonder what the mission is

US Defence Secretary James Mattis visits troops posted at the border in Texas amid criticism their deployment was a political stunt

Migrants in a caravan of Central Americans arrived in Tijuana by the hundreds Wednesday

When a young soldier in Texas asked US Defence Secretary James Mattis whether his unit would soon be ordered to remove the razor wire and vehicle barriers they had installed at Mexico border crossings, Mattis couldn’t answer.

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2173323/optics-real-mission-thousands-troops-donald-trump

Sri Lanka MPs brawl in parliament as new PM contests result of no-confidence vote

A fight broke out among rival MPs in Sri Lanka's parliament on Thursday, one day after it passed a vote of no-confidence in the new prime minister controversially installed by Sri Lanka's president.

The speaker, Karu Jayasuriya, said the country had no government after Wednesday's vote, and no prime minister - neither the newly appointed Mahinda Rajapaksa nor his rival and predecessor Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was ousted by the president, Maithripala Sirisena, last month.

Moments later, MPs came to blows next to the speaker's chair in undignified scenes captured on video within the chamber. More than 50 MPs were involved in the fight and some who fell on the floor were kicked by rivals.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/sri-lanka-crisis-parliament-mps-brawl-fight-video-latest-rajapaksa-wickremesinghe-a8634431.html

British Prime Minister Theresa May’s cabinet in chaos as ministers resign over terms of EU divorce deal

Resignations come as terms of draft withdrawal agreement set to be presented to the House of Commons

European Council President Donald Tusk announced he will host a summit to sign the accord in Brussels on November 25

British leader Theresa May suffered a huge blow on Thursday when a series of ministers including her Brexit secretary quit as she tried to sell her proposed EU withdrawal agreement to a divided parliament.

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/2173402/britains-prime-minister-theresa-may-takes-brexit-deal-rebellious

>>3912367

I spent a weekend or two as a guest of Milwaukee's finest, don't give a Fk if the NSA or anybody knows that