EP 154: Hunter Biden still has stake in China firm, India’s exports jump to $30.21B, deficit 15.24B

Sree Iyer:  Namaskar, welcome to episode number 154 of Daily Global Insights with Sri and Sree. In US News, the Fallout from Biden address to both Houses continues. Eric Greitens says Joe Biden is out of touch with core American values. You have thought, sir.

Sridhar Chityala: Well, my thoughts are Eric Greitens is a classic example, is an Ex-Democrat. Then subsequently became a Republican former governor of Missouri. He spells out, I picked out among several people from Lindsey Graham and so on and so forth, who has talked about Biden’s lack of touch with the core American values in his comments and address. But Eric a very categorically very clearly spells out that somehow Mr Biden has forgotten, what America is, what American values are for him to stand up and, you know, make such profuse comments, and especially endorsing  Nancy Pelosi in terms of the rationale as to why she pushed certain programs through. I think that stands out and it puts the whole thing in a bad light then he goes back and you know he’s always there is a flip-flop goes in and subsequently he said, I never meant Americans to be racist, I never meant them to be discriminatory and all these kinds of stuff but by then the damage is done.

Sree Iyer: The White House defence spending ideas that dwarf 2009 bailout. Biden Tax hike would devastate small businesses and Biden quietly, preparing for food stamp increases without the approval of Congress, something as momentous as that, why would he want to do an end-run around Congress sir? After all, I don’t want any fellow American to go hungry, but at the same time, if you have unmitigated access to illegals to enter, I don’t care what they want to think. I think of them as illegal. Someone who enters the country illegally is illegal. So that’s my take sir. What are your thoughts?

Sridhar Chityala: Biden has spent 39 years in the Senate. I talked about his state of health right now is but it’s very clear that there is he’s in no position to discuss, debate with Congress or with the senate in terms of getting his policies done. So he’s using the simple technique. He is using Two techniques. One, he is using the technique of executive orders, so, everything is an executive order, he doesn’t need to explain.  You just touched on immigration, in immigration alone, he has passed 74 executive orders. The second he has thrown to wind the fiscal discipline, and that is why we’re going to have in a very narrow span of time six trillion dollars of infusion within 3 to 4 months. We had 1.9 trillion dollars getting in. We have a two trillion dollars infrastructure plan, that’s getting discussed and then we have a 1.8 trillion dollars the American child act that is pending approval, which is all welfare programs 1 trillion dollars by way of the child credit and then the expanded 800 billion dollars for child care and so on. So, this basically says to you, that he has no fiscal and is working towards progressive agenda. This is what Eric Greitens means by saying he has forgotten the core values, which make up the United States. And worse as you rightly said, we can feed what we have here, we have issues to address and we have neighbourhoods to address. We are defunding the police, but we want illegal migrants to come into the country violating the covid and violating, the basic security norms. Only Biden and the progressives understand this mad rationale behind these policies.

Sree Iyer: And in the corruption news, Hunter Biden continues to hold a stake in Equity Firm co-owned by China’s Central Bank, when asked the White House spokesperson said that Hunter has not had time to unwind his positions. Doesn’t sound like a very convincing explanation? He was supposed to have wound it down within the first month or something like that. Sir, what is going on in your opinion?

Sridhar Chityala: What is going on is that memory is short; his computer has been found so they have stopped that investigation. Skaneateles LLC where he is the sole owner as a 10% stake in the other China-owned Private Equity Fund. He continued the whole stake in the entity. And on top of that, you have aggressive policy being pursued by Mr Biden against China, it would be foolhardy to think that it would have no consequences in terms of Hunter Biden’s position in the interest that he holds in Bank of China own fund. It’s appalling, that there is no accountability, you know, within the remit of the president of the United States, nor anybody holding up President Biden for this.

Sree Iyer: FBI spied on Trump and Giuliani iCloud Chats during impeachment hearings that’s shocking. He was still the president at that time, wasn’t he?

Sridhar Chityala:  I think it probably FBI and CIA play a different tune. If you recall December 18th, John Radcliffe, was the DNI at that point in time. He was supposed to table a report which states that was there election interference in the conduct of the elections by any foreign power. If that is the case, then you can set it aside.  Some of the intelligent agency members opposed that report. He was gracious enough to mention but it would be renegade or foolish to think that it was not some members of the FBI and CIA who were part of that committee. So there’s no surprise here.  Recall going back leading up to the election that President Obama and even Susan Rice who is holding a very important position was a member of the National Security Council at that point of time, were supposed to be eavesdropping on the Trump campaign. Plus, also, some of the members of the Trump committee with regard to the election strategy. So there is something fundamentally not adding up that trend seems to have continued. There is one more incident that occurred over the weekend, which is called made with the gun constitution, which is namely raided in New York into the house of Mr Giuliani to investigate whether he has any Russian or Ukrainian connections.

Sree Iyer: Neighbors allege Cops avoid responding to calls near George Floyd Square. Is this the place in Minneapolis sir?

Sridhar Chityala: It is. The area where he was where the incident occurred so, it’s called Floyd Square, given the volatile and given the provocative statements that come out. So there was an incident which is a slashing incident that was going on. Let’s record it, maybe, You know, we can also put that video up whether YouTube will put it up, we don’t know, given the community guidelines. People were calling  911 and the cops basically saying look you know, this is a no-entry Zone by the cops. So if you come one block the lady saying, I’m getting beaten up and you’re asking me to step out one block of, I don’t know, I’m ready in a position to move, but you asked me to come out one block, so I can be rescued. This is another incident of the many of these incidents that we are seeing around the country where there is a rapid spot in time.

Sree Iyer: And Senate, Republicans criticized 1619 divisive nonsense in a letter Education, secretary. James Clyburn, Democrat from South Carolina, says that schools will produce ignorant people if they listen to McConnell push against the 1619 project. Senate Republicans question White House political interference in census numbers. Now 1619 has become another one of those lightning rods, isn’t it?

Sridhar Chityala: 1619 has become part of the broad racial theory or racial equality theory or racial theory which is effectively preparing the gov, one to educate the people that you all have committed some crimes and sins are historical; there is a crime and incorrect message. There is a whole paragraph on this. What constitutes this whole 1619? It came out as a series, we have now covered what it is and it banned subsequently but, these people have taken it up.

So, now James Clyburn to stand up and say, you know, this is going to become part of the education that this is going to become part of the school education. So, this is what the Republicans are objecting to, to which Clyburn says that if this is not written into the educational system, then people will grow to be very ignorant and adjacent to the same thing that the census, this was you remember that there was a set of laws and Trump contested, which is some of the illegal aliens, some of the other people should not be counted in the census data and again Mr Biden passed an executive order, reversing the decision. So there’s going to be a whole swag of people who are going to be included. And so, all these things point to the fact that there is a concerted effort to change the composition of the communities that we live in.

Sree Iyer: And in other news, vice president Kamala Devi Harris will lead the National Space Council. Space the final frontier.

Sridhar Chityala:  Yes. You know, now, she’s a wizard on Boundary; she’s a wizard on climate change. Now she is going to preside our space Council. As she said, when we think of conquest of the Moon we will be there and we will hoist a flag. So, therefore now, she would be leading and directing the space Council programs with oversight and you know, good wishes and best luck to the new vice president.

Sree Iyer: The spaces Czar. And in Indian News, GST collection, of April touches, an all-time high of Rs 1.4 Lakh Crores.  The output of 8 core industry surged at a 32-month high of 6.8% in March. And some of the core Industries are coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel cement and electricity. And government targets to build highways worth 15 lakh crores in the next two years. And exports jumped to USD 30 billion in April, trade deficit now, stands at $15.24 billion, sir. All this excellent data coming out of India, but maybe they will be a bit of a hiccup after this.

Sridhar Chityala:  There is an expectation of a hiccup in the month, April data is out there is the May data now, if we take a look at some of these sectors, they are probably many of these factories are not in urban areas. They are probably in rural areas or semi-urban areas. They’re not right in your city centres so most of the covid impact has been in the urban, it is only in the recent times it’s beginning to spread. So the fact that these sectors have grown is a good indication that the manufacturing is working just to contrast the same sectors, contracted 2.5% in February. But it has grown 6.8% in March which showed that the economy was trying to get its way back into momentum before this pandemic took its toll.  So, we’ll take a look at May data. Now the other thing is that the GST continues, the latest news breaking out is that there is some kind of a moratorium or some compassionate consideration is being given. So we see again, seem May numbers to be slightly different obviously if you’re manufacturing and exports have increased manufacturing has increased then, definitely, there has to be a proportionate increasing the GST. That’s what those numbers reflect. The most important message here is to take the infrastructure plan of the United States and take the infrastructure plan of India by way of allocation of capital to specific projects. So whenever I mention these people sometimes, don’t understand. When you say, you are putting one trillion dollars against then, you have to define one trillion dollars towards what specific projects and what outcomes you can begin to see you can calculate plus or minus.  India has done an exceptional job in terms of its infrastructure build-up. So it’s a very positive thing that is coming out, the next two years the Modi government is allocated, a huge amount of capital as it probably comes out of his term and moves for the elections. You know he has something to talk about.

Sree Iyer: In global news, Iran, Biden, or inching towards a nuclear deal with sanctions and Biden denies $7 Billion Prisoner deal claims. The US bases in Afghanistan hit by rocket fire, as Troops comments withdrawal. All these are happening in and around Iran. Sir, what is this 7 billion dollar deal?

Sridhar Chityala: There is a prisoner, you know, set of prisoners who are held up in Iran, the American Iranian and American. So there is a side deal that is being cut, it is believed, there is a saying in journalism there is no smoke without fire. So this some cash transaction involved. So people have raised a hue and cry and say, Hey, you know, is the 7 billion dollars payout to Iran is the prisoner swap out? So, that’s the first question that is being posed. Second, I think we discussed it again last week that they have continued to make concessions to secure the Iran deal at any cost. So, Europeans are gun go and mad about cutting a deal with Iran. Notwithstanding the fact that the enrichment of the Uranium has crossed threshold levels. It’s almost like saying Obama was right, every policy of Obama, I’m going to make sure because I have all his members of the team. I myself was a member of the team, whether it’s good or bad, I’m just going to make sure that I put it right. So when you take that type of approach, there are going to be several casualties and one of the big casualties is going to be not only the Iran deal but also the Afghan deal that you alluded to which is, the US is going to quit. You’re beginning to see the impact of that.

Sree Iyer: North Korea warns us of a very grave situation over Biden’s speech. What’s the relationship here? How is North Korea affected?

Sridhar Chityala: Along with China, North Korea was the other country that was mentioned in his speech in which he said that ‘North Korea is a rogue regime. Its nuclear program and ambitions have to be stopped and stalled at any cost. We are prepared to take as appropriate actions as we believe we need to make sure that North Korea is contained.’ Hence North Korea is saying, ‘better be careful as to what you’re attempting to do, you will it will be faced with a set of consequences.’ So I think that is the context of this comment from the North Korean leader. He was quiet, he even stopped firing his little toy missiles. He was firing missiles at Japan. He was trying to fire missiles at Hawaii. He was trying to fire missiles into the Pacific, he was doing all kinds of things leading up to Trump and then they had that meeting at The Summit in Singapore. I don’t know what happened. But Mike Pompeo went on record and said that his one regret is not to have signed a deal with North Korea when the skirmishes started to break out.

Sree Iyer: The ‘Bade Miyaan’ of backchannel talks Henry Kissinger warns of a US-China Armageddon. Sridharji, your thoughts.

Sridhar Chityala: This is Obama’s Elder Statesman, this is the man who cut the WTO deal. So somehow he has to figure out and say, Hey, cut a deal with the Chinese. What’s the deal to cut? I mean, they’re pretty much running the riot around the world not just in the United States. One of the biggest disasters of Henry Kissinger’s foreign policy accomplishments or failures one has to say. So he thinks that he keeps on ratcheting up his anti ‘if you don’t cut a deal, don’t respect China, you can expect a big Boomerang.’

Sree Iyer: Viewers, those of you who don’t understand Hindi, ‘Bade Miyaan’ is Big Man. The big man of backchannel talks – Henry Kissinger.

The Philippines vows to continue maritime patrols in the South China Sea. China says its carrier group concluded exercises in the South China Sea. Japan courts Central, and Eastern Europe, with an eye on the EU Indo-Pacific strategy. Is this something new, Sridharji?

Sridhar Chityala: I don’t know whether Japan has been sent on a mission to be the new czar. So there is no QUAD. There is probably a new Global Indo-Pacific strategy emerging. So to send the Japanese foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi on a mission to Bosnia, Slovenia and the central European countries and to meet with the EU to basically say that they all should become part of the Indo-Pacific security apparatus, and also trade deal because 54% or 56% of the GDP is in that region. 76% of the resources flow through the South China Sea. It is of strategic importance. You all have to be part of the jamboree rather than the four specific countries which we had tasked to manage this.

Sree Iyer: Spain has charged alleged Jihadis over online threats to French citizens. If I understand this correctly, Sridharji, it appears that these people are sitting in Spain and threatening French citizens.

Sridhar Chityala: They were Spanish. Spain has had its problems either from Morocco or from Tunisia and mostly from Morocco and that side of the continent. As we all know, France has been moratorium and going after some of the specific segments of the community and not being in compliance. We also reported an incident of a Polish woman being stabbed by a knife and the police people being arrested. So EU as a whole and Spain in specific is very cognizant and watching the social media sites. The point that we are trying to make is that there is a growing tension even in Europe.

Sree Iyer: In covid-19 news, the United States covid claims will accelerate calls that the vaccination program has been successful. India and Japan deal with dual mutant variants and as a number across the countries, the US, Brazil, and the World at large, everywhere we’re seeing that there is some control except, of course, India where I think the light is beginning to come from the end of the tunnel. Things are now more logistics based like being able to get the vaccines in private places, oxygen to the ones who’re needing it, quarantine, do selective lockdowns. So, sir overall, what are your thoughts on how last week was under covid?

Sridhar Chityala: Overall, United States has made very good progress. United States, India, Brazil, Mexico, France, Turkey and Russia, so these are the top seven countries which make up the covid list. I would say, Europeans are beginning to have better control.  Asia, still the numbers are smaller but they are relatively growing. But Japan seems to be at the top of that list and they try to manage it quite adequately. The problem with Japan is that there’s a lot of tourist flow because of the Olympics and all other kinds of trade and business activities. So many of the provinces in the country have shut down there is still arise. Some of these countries also suffer from the inadequacy of the supply of vaccines. There’s a global shortage of vaccines, there’s a theory which says that the well-developed nations such as Britain, Germany, more specifically, United States are holding vaccines and depriving many nations that are in dire circumstances, and then of course you heard president Biden say America comes first, only when we are done, we can give it to the rest of the world in response to the criticism. So the general trend is that there seems to be a semblance of normalcy returning.

As far as India is concerned, it’s like a dichotomy. There is a positive trend in terms of the number of people recovering relative to the number of cases that are getting added every day. The net addition of new cases is around 350,000+ mark, which in the last day has come down to around, 292,000. India also crossed the highest recovery is any given day, which was the day before yesterday which was 300,000+. It is the highest on any given day. But when you talk to a lot of people there still issues located around specific cities and which is around the oxygen supply, availability of hospital beds and ICU so on. My observation is many of these people don’t need to panic and they can delineate between those who need attention such as those whose oxygen levels have come down relative to the other people who can be treated from home with medication. I’m not talking out of context, both I and my wife suffered covid, and my wife managed from home whereas due to my complexities I myself was hospitalized and treated. So one has made a delineation and I think that is missing very badly. As you rightly said, logistic seems to be falling into place, the entire world is coming, the corporates have raised their hands and extended support. Mahindra is making mobile oxygen and then delivering it, Adani has converted his school into a 100 – 150 thousand bed facility, which is permanent care. Ambani has gone to Jamnagar to personally supervise the oxygen manufacturing. All these points out to, there is a concerted attempt to solve the problem. But still one of the other challenges that India faces is this political bickering at a human cost. If you happen to be non-BJP, then, this is the time to settle scores. So you begin to complain rather than saying how do I solve this human problem in my own constituency within my state? The general belief is that by mid-May India will begin to turn the corner. That’s to some extent, the US is endorsing by saying that it is very positive momentum behind the recovery process around covid. But having said that many believe that this looks like more of biowarfare, whether it will cease or whether there’s something that’s going to pop up time will tell.

Sree Iyer: Markets news. Major averages stumbled on Friday, capping a busy week of tech earnings. S&P fell 0.7%, DJIA dropped more than 185 points. NASDAQ fell by 0.8%, the S&P and DJIA are up almost 11% for the year and NASDAQ is about 8%. Unemployment will be the focus in the week ahead. Sir, now this year has been impressive for stocks. The main reason is that money has nowhere else to go?

Sridhar Chityala: Of course, once your consumption needs are met, basically, you have to put the money as an investment. If you recall, in the personal expenditure survey, people said that they would be putting close to 50% of the covid relief money that they were getting by way of checks into savings rather than into a retail spend. So, it’s free money. You don’t need to work for it. Somebody else is paying for it and you are beginning to see the flow of that money into what we call pandemic companies. There is a new definition, pandemic companies and mainstream economy companies. The mainstream economy companies are what you see in, Dow Jones or DJIA, and S&P. Then you have the pandemic related, disruptive transformation or transformative companies which are the tech companies. They are in the NASDAQ. So you begin to see that NASDAQ made a significant wave in the last two years during the period of the pandemic. So that’s the scenario.

My last point is, we shouldn’t forget Bitcoin which added $4,000. It said, 56,709. So this is our very famous crypto that keeps growing. People keep throwing stones at it. Even In the mainstream market monger said ‘Bitcoin? Bitcoin is what? But keeps going up in an astronomical manner.

Sree Iyer: Well, someone in investing circle must have heard what we said for Bitcoin. It makes sense for the Bitcoin to actually go up then down, maybe that is the hope here, we don’t know. We certainly are here to just give you the information. We’re not telling you, buy anything or lose anything. So take it with that pinch of salt.

Viewers, please don’t forget to subscribe to our Channel. We are completely dependent on you and your support to not only watch it yourself but to refer our program to your friends and family. You can also join our membership and it will give us more flexibility to give you an even better quality professional program. We are also lining up a new slate of specials and they would all be glad to address 150,000  200,000, quarter-million subscribers at which point it becomes a wide audience. Sridahrji, thanks as always. I’m sure, now you’ve got your strength back fully we shall strike even harder to try and bring state-of-the-art news. Remember we tell you what is going to happen. Not just tomorrow. But the day after, and the day after, and the day after. Namaskar.

Sridhar Chityala: Namaskar and have a good Monday. We are here for bringing about some exciting news as the week advances.