For equity investors focused on what truly drives stock valuations—China Inc.'s ability to expand margins—the current spread between core CPI and PPI is flashing a familiar signal. It's now back at its widest since April 2023, a time when equity valuations were strikingly similar to today. In other words, margin tailwinds are forming again… if corporate China can catch the breeze.

In a nutshell, China’s inflation just barely blinked positive, but with factory-gate prices in freefall and demand still limping, it’s less a comeback and more a cry for stimulus—yet margin tailwinds may quietly be building for brave equity investors.

While the world’s getting tariffied again, Uncle Sam tried to slip $58 billion in 3-year notes past the radar—and even the short end of the curve winced.

The yield came in at 3.891%, down from last month’s 3.972%, but still tailed the expected 3.887%—just like in June. That makes it 4 tails in 5 auctions. Not exactly a fan club forming.

The bid-to-cover didn’t shine either—coming in at a lackluster 2.51, just below last month’s 2.52 and the weakest showing since April. Also well under the six-auction average of 2.61. Let’s just say demand wasn’t exactly lining up around the block.

But the real plot twist? The internals. Indirects walked away with just 54.1%—their lowest grab since December 2023. Dealers held their usual line at 16.5%, but it was the Directs who came to the rescue, scooping up a record-breaking 29.4%.

Translation: foreign buyers ghosted, and it was up to the locals to patch up the mess.

Overall, this was an ugly, tailing 3-year auction—no surprise to anyone with half a clue that the “Big Beautiful Bill” means not just more bond supply, but much higher long-end yields in a world that’s once again getting tarrified.

The once self-anointed ‘Antivax In Chief,’ who weaponized #MAHA to fuel #MAGA and crawl his way into the heart of the Washington plutocracy, now plays a new role in this unholy theater—bankrolling fresh potions for Marburg and Sudan Ebola, as if conjuring more vials could cleanse the original sin.

From the infernal ranks of the Filovirus family—Marburg, Ebola, and Sudan—come plagues with up to 90% fatality, each outbreak a bloody offering to chaos. The 2014 West African scourge left over 11,000 dead, and now the devil knocks again: Sudan virus in 2022, Marburg in 2024. No licensed salvation exists for either. So, the dark lords of biowarfare now rush to conjure new vials, not out of mercy—but to fortify the homeland before the next wave claims its tithe.

https://aboutblaw.com/biOt

After weaponizing the USD like it was a Marvel superpower since 2022, the ‘Manipulator In Chief’—who’s been “tarrifying” the globe since Liberation Day—is now eyeing his next victim: #Copper. Because why stop at trade wars when you can start a full-blown metal meltdown?

The ‘Disruptor In Chief’ casually dropped, “We’re thinking 50% on copper,” and just like that, copper futures in New York exploded 17%—their biggest jump since records began in 1988. Who knew one sentence could turn metal into magic?

The Donald Copperfield sitting in the oval office invoked Section 232 to investigate foreign copper imports—because nothing says “national security” like plumbing and Priuses. With U.S. stockpiles rising and Chinese ones shrinking, this tariff tease feels more like political theater than policy. And don’t hold your breath for more American copper—mines take years, even if there's plenty in the ground. As always in D.C., it’s less strategy, more stagecraft.

Zomia is a vast highland region stretching across parts of Southeast Asia—including northern #Myanmar, #Thailand, #Laos, #Vietnam, Yunnan (#China), and Northeast 3India—defined not by political borders but by its elevation and resistance to state control. Popularized by historian Willem van Schendel and anthropologist James C. Scott, Zomia represents a zone where diverse ethnic groups historically fled to avoid taxation, conscription, and domination by lowland states.

Far from being left behind, its inhabitants deliberately adopted stateless, egalitarian, and decentralized ways of life—using shifting agriculture, oral traditions, and dispersed social structures as tools of state evasion.
#Zomia challenges conventional views of history and development, offering a compelling example of autonomy beyond the reach of empires.

"The Art of Not Being Governed" flips the script on traditional history by telling the story of people who chose to live beyond the reach of the state. In this bold and provocative book, James C. Scott explores how the highland peoples of Southeast Asia—Zomia—intentionally resisted incorporation into empires and nations by embracing mobility, oral cultures, and statelessness.

This isn’t a tale of the forgotten margins—it’s a celebration of freedom, autonomy, and the radical art of saying no to being ruled.

https://politicalscience.yale.edu/publications/art-not-being-governed-anarchist-history-upland-southeast-asia

While ‘Donald Copper-Field’ lines up his next sleight of hand, the US Treasury quietly pulled off its own disappearing act—selling $39 billion in 10Y notes without a hitch. The auction priced smoothly at 4.362%, a touch below last month’s yield, and even stopped through the WI by 0.3bps. That makes five tails in a row, but hey—who’s counting when the magic trick works? Apparently, nothing calms nerves like a little bond-market hocus pocus.

The bid-to-cover came in at 2.61—up from June’s 2.52 and the highest since April—because nothing says “confidence” like piling into 10-year debt while ‘Copper-Field’ plays tariff roulette. It also beat the six-auction average of 2.56, proving once again that when in doubt, Wall Street will still show up for the magic show... especially if it pays 4.36%.

The internals weren’t quite as magical. Indirect bidders took 65.4%—a noticeable drop from 70.6% last month and the lowest since January, suggesting some foreign friends might be losing interest. Meanwhile, Directs staged a dramatic comeback, snagging 23.7%—their highest share since March 2014, after nearly vanishing in April’s market meltdown. Dealers were left holding just 10.9%, barely more than last month’s 9.0%, and still scraping near record lows. In short, plenty of buyers showed up… just not the usual suspects.

Overall, it was a solid auction—because when the ‘Magician In Chief’ waves his fiscal wand, Wall Street’s banksters and their ever-enthusiastic pundits can’t help but stare, hypnotized, as if deficits and debt ceilings were just smoke and mirrors.

The latest #FOMC Minutes read like a script from Eyes Wide Shut: Central Bank Edition—a foggy mix of confusion and cautious optimism.

The FED’s not quite sure how tariffs will shake out, but one thing they do agree on is this: growth’s going to hit the brakes. As for the balance sheet?

Apparently, shrinking it is going great... if you ignore that it’s still hovering near pandemic-era highs and $6.2 trillion in size. Most of the runoff has quietly drained from the Reverse Repo facility—because why upset reserves when you can slowly bleed the plumbing instead? Survey respondents now expect the runoff game to end in February 2025, conveniently after the election circus wraps. Until then, the #Fed continues its magic trick: pretending $2.9 trillion in reserves and a still-bloated balance sheet mean "mission accomplished."

In a nutshell, the Fed may not agree on tariffs, but they all see a slowdown coming—while quietly juggling a $6.2 trillion balance sheet like it's business as usual.