Yesterday we noted how subtle (and not so subtle) messages have been coming out from Beijing China admitting how the party of Chairman Xi underestimated the cunning fortitude of U.S. President Donald Trump.   Today, a stunning visual is broadcast from inside North Korea which follows the same general outlook.
Remember, nuance and subtle optics are very significant in Eastern projections of political brand messaging.  When they present a nationally broadcast message every grain of sand on the optical beach has been thought out, considered, staged and carefully placed by hand with great forethought toward the intended audience. The optics are everything. [That’s also the reason why POTUS Trump used a video presentation (specifically for Kim) at the end of the Singapore summit.]
In an unprecedented international broadcast, North Korea’s Kim Jong-un delivers a message not just to his people, but more specifically to the international community.  The backdrop, the venue for the message as broadcast, reflects a stunning shift for the country of North Korea.  Notice the background message is ‘economic‘: Business attire; business office etc.  The guiding hand of Chairman Xi is visible, and the transmission is full of messages highlighting the influence of the Trump Doctrine.

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It is critical to remember that Chairman Xi (Beijing China), is still the leading influence agent over Chairman Kim (DPRK). That nuanced/subtle (hostage/captive) influence message is also inherent in the background of this broadcast. As the U.S. -vs- China confrontation continues, this video message provides additional support that Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping is no longer underestimating the cunning of POTUS Trump.
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A good discussion between Charles Payne and Gordon Chang on Fox Business over the U.S. -vs- China trade confrontation.  Mr. Chang makes a good point about 2018 being the year where Beijing realized they underestimated the cunning of President Trump.

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He caught them off guard – There is no doubt in my mind that President Trump has a very well thought out long-term strategy regarding China. President Trump considered strategic messaging toward the people of china very important. President Trump has, very publicly, complimented the friendship he feels toward President Xi Jinping; and praises Chairman Xi for his character, strength and purposeful leadership.
2018 is the year China discovered that President Trump knows how to play their panda/dragon games.
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China’s Communist Chairman Xi Jinping delivered a prepared speech to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference on Saturday and stayed far away from mentioning the challenge of a U.S. -vs- China trade reset.

Those who follow China’s historic patterns will note careful and intentional inferences within Chairman Xi’s remarks as shared by SCMP media:

[…] While the Belt and Road Initiative has faced an increasing international pushback amid fears it is saddling poorer countries with unsustainable debts, Xi’s speech steered clear of this and other sensitive topics.

Instead he praised the initiative for helping to improve international ties, adding: “Our circle of friends is expanding.”

“Circle of friends” defined as those political suckers (selfish and corrupt political parasites willing to sell out their countries’ best interest) who accept the smiling panda face and completely ignore the cunning dragon behind the mask maneuvering to enslave the locals.
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Incoming House Minority Whip Steve Scalise appears on Fox News to discuss the current status of the appropriations impasse and the non-essential government (non)shutdown.

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South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham holds a press conference following lunch with President Donald Trump.  Beyond the border security shutdown issues, notably Senator Graham shares:

…” We had a great lunch.  We talked about Syria; and he told me some things I didn’t know that make me feel a lot better about where we’re headed in Syria”.. [@03:35]

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This is a little on the economic wonky side of things; but well worth watching if you are a trade follower.  The Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) attempts to construct a pro-TPP narrative by discussing possible 2019 benefits to Canada.  However, if you listen closely, each time the question of  Canadian consumer benefit it raised you’ll note there aren’t any.

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Corporate globalism, via international trade agreements, is a scam. By design it is intended to exfiltrate the wealth of a targeted (host) nation, and allow corporations full control over the domestic pricing of commodity goods.  There are parts of that interview when the lobbyist/punditry accidentally admits the scheme.
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The investment instruments created by Wall Street billionaire hedgefund managers and institutional multinational banking interests; operated by robotic algorithmic data networks, while programmed to twitch and flitter with coded signals only decipherable by the hired engineers; are wildly swinging amid their detachment from Main Street.
This fluctuating Wall Street process is likely to continue; actually, it’s going to get a hell of a lot worse; because the invisible data driving the activity behind the swings is based on investment bets, derivatives that are entirely disconnected from actual Main Street financial results.  Chairman Hassett discusses:

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Full Spectrum: “The Main Street-Wall Street demarcation has been fortuitously blurred, all to Wall Street’s benefit. Recall the mass migration over the last few decades from defined pension plans to self-directed IRAs and 401ks. This was Wall Street impregnating Main Street with Wall Street’s sweatless ethics. Main Street is very much ‘in the market’. Trumponomics desperately needs a tutorial to the American people explaining the rockiness of the transition and all that’s at stake.”…

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Here’s a weird question.  I’ve been looking at this all day.  Something sketchy is afoot.  I waited specifically for CBS to report so that I could share an exact comparison.

In 2017 total holiday sales were reported as follows:

2017 CBS – […] They had a lot of company across the country. Total retail sales this holiday season added up to a record $598 billion dollars — up $33 billion from last year. (link)

In 2018 total holiday sales were reported as follows:

2018 WSJ and CBS – […]  Overall, U.S. consumers spent over $850 billion this holiday season, according to Mastercard. The figures suggest a stock-market swoon and partial government shutdown haven’t curbed consumer confidence and spending. (link)

See the issue?..
In all 2017 financial media reports $598 billion was the holiday spending total.  And in all of 2018 financial media reports $850 billion was the total holiday spending.
That’s a difference of $252 billion more spent in 2018.  An increase of 42%.

A forty-two percent increase !!

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According to a report in Bloomberg News the U.S. is sending a trade negotiation team to Beijing on January 7th, 2019.  If accurate this would be the first face-to-face delegation since President Trump and Chairman Xi outlined the structure for strategic trade discussions during the G20 meeting in Buenos Aires.

(Via Bloomberg) A U.S. government delegation will travel to Beijing in the week of Jan. 7 to hold trade talks with Chinese officials, two people familiar with the matter said.
Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish will lead the Trump administration’s team, which will also include Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs David Malpass, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Neither the USTR nor Treasury responded to requests for comment. (more)

When President Trump outlined the preliminary terms for negotiations between the U.S. and China, U.S Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer was assigned the lead position for the contacts.   Abassador Lighthizer has been very firm in pointing out the 90-day window for discussions, prior to enhanced tariff action, was not going to change.  The deadline is March 1st, 2019, for a principle agreement, or the next phase of tariffs is triggered.
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Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Kevin Hassett appears on Fox Business news to discuss the impact of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes on the Main Street economy and the state of the Wall Street stocks.
The key metric is to accept what’s happening around us.  Fed rate hikes are hurting Wall Street (investment class).  However, Fed activity is not yet impacting Main Street.  This is because the two economic engines (Wall St. -vs- Main St.) are so far apart.

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Part Two of this interview (and expanded review) is below:
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