We are continuing to watch stocks higher here.
That's not the case in China this morning.
A major selloff there overnight
as the major cities bring back harsh lockdown measures
to try and combat a COVID outbreak.
Eunice Yoon joins us live from Beijing.
And, Eunice, this is a situation where the cases are about as high
as we've seen since the original lockdown in March of 2020.
Yeah, that's right.
So far, this year, there were 9,000 cases.
So China reported more this year than they have for the entire year of 2021.
Now, the Hong Kong market actually closed at its lowest point in six years.
As China struggles with another pandemic outbreak,
their zero infection policy has dire implications on the global supply chain.
As many countries are trying to live with the virus,
China's intolerant approach is hurting them in more ways than one.
CNN reports that FedEx and many global investors are considering pulling out of China
unless they lighten up on their policies.
Just last year,
China exported over $506 billion worth of goods to the States.
This year,
Chinese officials set an economic growth target for 5.5%,
their lowest in decades.
The city of Shenzhen is in partial lockdown.
70 and a half million people are now being tested for the third time.
The city also had ordered all non-essential businesses to suspend operations for a week.
Public transportation has been cut and travel restricted.
Now, Apple suppliers Foxconn and Unimicron has said that they have activated backup plans
in order to try to mitigate some of the potential disruption to their production.
Unimicron is also a supplier for Intel.
China is fighting what's now becoming its biggest outbreak of COVID-19 since the pandemic.
Shenzhen, a tech hub that borders Hong Kong, is known as China's Silicon Valley.
Foxconn, a major tech company that manufactures products such as Xboxes, PlayStations and iPhones,
has had their shares fall almost 10% in response to the recent outbreak.
Just because Foxconn has plans to mitigate the sudden drop in production
doesn't mean that they're in the clear.
Last year, the ports in Shenzhen were forced to shut down for a week because of an outbreak.
It took them months to recover, and the shipping rates went through the roof.
Since it's one of the biggest container ports in the entire world,
any small hiccups there literally affect the entire world.
Not to toot my own horn here,
but logistical problems like this in the future
will be much easier to solve once the system runs on
the blockchain.
Once that adoption happens,
the supply chain wouldn't take as big of a blow.
Consequently, tech stock shares wouldn't fall as much as they did today.
In a long-term mindset,
this is bullish for logistics blockchains, such as VeChain, OriginTrail and BiTA,
considering that they will be able to optimize supply chain issues like this in the future.
The pandemic has proved to us that China is a global power
because they produce manufactured goods at a higher rate than anyone else in the world.
America has a choice.
We can keep relying on other countries forever,
or we can bite the bullet,
stop outsourcing from sweatshops,
build more factories,
make our own goods,
and eventually become self-sustainable.
In a podcast with Joe Rogan,
Elon Musk famously said,
"If you don't make stuff, there is no stuff."
Recently, Elon Musk tweeted on Twitter,
best place to tweet,
about the importance of owning physical things or stuff to hedge against inflation.
CNBC reports that his comments were in response to the consumer price index for February
as it rose 7.9% from a year ago,
highest levels in over 40 years.
His tweet reads,
"As a general principle, for those looking for advice from this thread,
it is generally better to own physical things,
like a home or stock in companies you think make good products,
than dollars when inflation is high.
I still own and won't sell Bitcoin, Ethereum or DOGE, for what it's worth."
In the past,
I've had a bone to pick with Mr. Tesla,
but I do agree with him on this.
They can print more dollars,
but they can't print more land.
Unfortunately, money as we know it has been broken since we left the gold standard.
At this point, it's just a number that its value has been meticulously manipulated for decades.
Michael Saylor responded to Musk saying that currency after currency will collapse
and there will be a capital flight from those currencies into scarce assets.
It goes without saying that he thinks Bitcoin will lead the way when that happens.
Is proof-of-work going to be banned in Europe?
Looks like the Markets in Crypto Assets or MiCA legislation
is moving forward in the European Union parliament.
And while the specific language banning proof-of-work mining
was removed from the latest version of the bill,
it looks like enough of the language made it back into the bill
that would set the stage for a stealth ban not just on Bitcoin mining
but trading any currency that didn't meet "environmental" sustainability standards
with respect to their consensus mechanism.
This was pointed out by Patrick Hansen at Unstoppable DeFi earlier today.
The EU is still under the influence of short-sighted environmentalists
who refuse to understand the value that Bitcoin is bringing to the world
and how many green energy jobs can be created through Bitcoin mining.
Electric cars good?
But electric money bad?
How does that make any sense?
Well, it doesn't.
But it's up to you and me to educate people about crypto,
why it's not just good for finances but for the environment as well.
The bill still has a way to go before it's voted on by the EU membership,
so the crypto industry still has time to make changes.
But it's going to take a concerted effort to overcome the environmental FUD
that's constantly surrounding Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Comment below with your top three cryptos that are good inflation hedges.
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That's all I've got.
Be blessed.
BitBoy out.