A HOAX THAT NEVER WAS
The challenge before US and the west is to respond to the potential economic advantage that China and other eastern and South Asian countries are snatching away.
While the USA and the European Union is struggling to crank its idle economy to a sputtering start, China is already firing ahead on all cylinders. There is no doubt that China's COVID-19 numbers should be doubted. China hid the virus severity and hid data.
As leaders across the world has accused China of hoarding medical supplies and preparing itself while the unsuspecting world went about their daily lives unaware of the deadly pandemic coming their way. Trump famously labelled COVID-19 as a hoax, and was slow to aggressively respond and rise to the occasion. USA is now paying for it.
CAPITALISM FINAL STAND IN THE FINAL FRONTIER
USA is the playground of naked and unrestrained capitalism. It is here where its roots are deep and wide. More than anywhere in the world, it is in the USA where a quiet idealistic idea or an invention or an idle discovery quickly and seamlessly blend and roar into a profit churning monolith. It is right here, where few are rewarded while the rest toil relentlessly.
The official unemployment rate in USA is hovering close to 15%. However, the actual unemployment is expected to be much higher. Aghast by the standstill economy, where everything has grounded to a halt, the will of a capitalist nation is wavering.
The painful yet extraordinarily diverting daily spectacle of a president getting into verbal spats with journalists asking probing questions notwithstanding, the strain of being unable to contain the virus is showing.
The proposed USD $Three Trillion-dollar relief package by the Senate pushes the fiscal debt to unprecedented levels in USA. USA, is where capitalism takes its final stand. Yet, it needs leaders who can calibrate their response. The simplistic sledgehammer approach of simply opening the markets and easing of restrictions, lulling people into believing that all is under control, is nothing short of knowingly sending the most vulnerable to their certain death.
MOST THUMBED AND BOOKMARKED - CHAPTER ELEVEN
Chapter eleven might be the most thumbed and bookmarked chapter in the coming days. Experts fear a wave of bankruptcies to hit the markets soon. The Mom and Pop stores are already sinking, if not sunk yet. It is the bigwigs that are now perched precariously on the edge and hanging by the wire.
This might lead to a domino's effect across the Western world, and as countries close off their borders to better conserve their resources, the weak supply chain will snap off, leaving a trail of economic destruction and income disruptions.
CHAPTER ELEVEN MIGHT BE THE MOST THUMBED AND BOOKMARKED CHAPTER IN THE COMING DAYS. EXPERTS FEAR A WAVE OF BANKRUPTCIES TO HIT THE MARKETS SOON.
In China, on the other hand, it seems like business as usual. It is scouring the world to acquire deeply discounted manufacturing units and reputed brands facing gloomy future. Within China, the non essential manufacturing units are also functioning, as opposed to USA and other European nations, that are scrambling and competing with each other to secure medical and supplies.
Manufacturing units in North America are switching to masks, PPEs and looking for a future in medical supplies. While companies Chinese and Japanese companies are strengthening their hold in other areas of manufacturing.
DR FAUCI IS THE CLOSEST WE HAVE AS A KNOW-ALL - END ALL AS FAR AS COVID-19 RELATED INFORMATION CREDIBILITY IS CONCERNED.
Dr Fauci's in his testimony before the Senate and Chairman Powell's speech to the Peterson Institute for International Economics basically said that the US government really have no clue how much worse Covid-19 pandemic would get, neither the Feds are any wiser on the depth and breadth of the debilitating damage it might cause to the economy.
THE STOCKS CURVE DOWN WHILE VIRUS CURVES UP
The storm is still brewing. yet governments across the world are rushing to open the economies, while being extremely careful in giving an illusion of being circumspect.
President Trump has threatened companies to move their manufacturing jobs back to USA.
CREDIT ECONOMY
Governments are bailing out large corporations and shoring up financial institutions and banks from collapsing. This is sure to have an impact when the crisis nears its end, in an year or two.
China steps in to fill the leadership vacuum
Countries whose economy solely relied on the inflow of tourists are staring at empty arcades. Declaring themselves to be open, doesn't enthuse the travelers anymore the way it should. Safety and preservation above all are the slogan on everybody's mind.
China, while facing the heat, it is driving home its advantage while USA is floundering in its response. The COVID-19 cases in USA are rising. In China, it is not, critics argue, not being reported.
The string of island nations in the South China sea are getting restless by the way USA has yielded its position to China, which is increasing its military presence in the area.,
China took upon itself to cement its leadership in the geo-political arena, by sending aid to countries around the world. As Donald Trump is hastening to yield the soft power that US once commanded globally, China is more than happy to step in.
V-Patrika staff
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