At an essential moment in the BRICS alliance, Russia and China have ditched the U.S. dollar (USD) for trade.
Inputs that matter: Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has recently stated that the economic bilateral relations between the two countries have undergone near-complete de-dollarization.
- Today, more than 90% of the nation's bilateral trade dealings are settled in the yuan or ruble.
- Meanwhile, in Venezuela, Tether, a cryptocurrency pegged to the USD, is being used for oil export transactions to avoid having revenues frozen in foreign bank accounts.
The opportunity: The six-month temporary easing of sanctions, which expired on April 15, allowed Venezuela to increase exports to around 900,000 barrels per day in March, a four-year high, according to Reuters.
- The reimposition of sanctions occurred amid new talks between Venezuela and Chevron to expand a joint venture with state-run PDVSA in the Orinoco Belt.
- Russian oil exceeds the G7 price cap designed to deprive Moscow of revenue, with the country's flagship Urals grade trading close to $75 a barrel.
- Despite sanctions, crude oil exports from Iran hit the highest level in six years, with almost all 1.56 million barrels going to China, earning Tehran $35 billion.
- While Washington denies China AI chip technology, the Chinese battery and renewable energy companies freely trade with American car manufacturers.
Zoom in: Gotion Inc., the California-based subsidiary of Chinese battery manufacturer Gotion High-Tech Co. (Gotion High-Tech), is planning to build massive electric vehicle battery plants in Michigan and Illinois, both of which stand to benefit from taxpayer funding.
- A director of an American firm building battery manufacturing plants in the U.S. has been pictured attending multiple Chinese Communist Party (CCP) meetings.
- "If they're attending Party committee meetings, they are, in all likelihood, a Party member," explains John Dotson, deputy director of Global Taiwan Institute.
Between the lines: U.S. animation studios may have unknowingly had work on their projects outsourced to illustrators and graphic designers in North Korea.
- Drawings for an upcoming season of Invincible, an Amazon Prime Video show, and other work that appears to be for the forthcoming Max series Iyanu: Child of Wonder were found in a trove of documents found by American researchers on a computer server located in North Korea, according to CNN.
- A source told CNN that Lion Forge Entertainment, which produces Iyanu, had contracted with a South Korean animation studio.
Follow the money: As globalization and digitization escalate, it becomes harder to enforce sanctions.
- The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) is an ETF representing Western energy stocks from the S&P 500 index. It is currently peaking near its all-time high of $100.39 in 2014.
- Chevron Corp (NYSE: CVX) is trading near its 12-month high.
- Shell PLC (NYSE: CHEL) is also near a 12-month high.
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Read More
- https://watcher.guru/news/brics-russia-and-china-completely-ditch-us-dollar-for-trade
- https://www.thedailybeast.com/us-studios-may-have-unwittingly-used-north-korean-animators-report
- https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Venezuela-Looks-to-Crypto-for-Oil-Sales-As-Sanctions-Return.html
- https://dailycaller.com/2024/04/05/exclusive-exec-at-us-battery-manufacturer-pictured-at-chinese-communist-party-meetings/
- https://banananomics.co/russian_oil_profits_capped
- https://banananomics.co/oil_still_moving_up
- https://banananomics.co/more_oil_on_the_way
- https://banananomics.co/oil_keeps_rising
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