The federal deficit according to Andrew Coyne | National Post

Andrew Coyne: This is why we shouldn’t just chill out over the federal deficit. Some economists are suggesting that we let go of our irrational deficit-phobia.Getty Images

James Andrew Coyne is a Canadian columnist with the National Post and a member of the At Issue panel on CBC’s The National. Previously, I’ve been a national editor for Maclean’s and a columnist with The Globe and Mail.

Coyne in one of his most recent articles for the National Post has given his point of view regarding the federal deficit. In fact, he has titled his article as “That’s why we should not simply relax about the federal deficit.”

He also said, “If it is too easy to compare the deficits of current tamers with those of the past, it is also too easy to forget how quickly these past deficits went out of control.”

James Alexander Michie: Apparently, Canada was rejected as part of the high-level NAFTA | National Post

Author: James Alexander Michie

Canada was rejected as part of the high-level NAFTA talks between the United States and Mexico, which is said to be due to the discontent that Lighthizer shows towards Freeland, since according to sources it has decided not to allow Canada to return to the process until his part is carried out a substantial concession, it is suggested that US officials have rejected the candidacy of Canada to be part of the high-level talks of NAFTA between the nations of Mexico and the United States. It is also stated that Chancellor Chrystia Freeland's attempts to find a place in Washington on Thursday were unsuccessful since they were either rejected or ignored.

According to other sources, the request to be part of the said meeting was carried out in a discreet manner to avoid the occurrence of a diplomatic incident and a withdrawal from diplomatic silence was followed.

Meanwhile, it is expected that Lighthizer, who is the United States Trade Representative (USTR), will participate in a meeting with the Minister of Economy of Mexico, Ildefonso Guajardo, followed by bilateral meetings where significant changes were achieved. Apparently, the measure of rejecting Canada is intended to reach an agreement with Mexico separately to use this as a measure of pressure so that Canada will later be similarly compromised.

Fears arise for food security and protectionist subsidies

Author: James Alexander Michie

Economic deficiency causes the implementation of commercial tactics of the era of depression in different sectors. Currently, everything points to states implementing commercial tactics once seen in the era of depression which was a global economic crisis, positioned as the longest in time, of greater depth and that affected more countries in the century XX.

Countries like Canada in the fight for home and own love clearly protects through their own national industries measures of the effects of foreign protectionism, leaving as a consequence that citizens are affected by paying much more for food that would easily be cheaper if they were acquired from world markets, forging ever more concern about food security. This is a self-destructive behavior in terms of economy, according to some economists specialized in international trade.

James Alexander Michie | The Spellman Report: The Inflation Divide

The economy is on a tear. There are many “next new things” coming to the marketplace, generating private investment to produce new goods that are in high demand. Firms that invest are seeing gains in after-tax corporate profit, thanks to expansionary fiscal policy from tax cuts and accelerated depreciation on new capital goods. There is also increased spending on military. And don’t forget deregulation, which is enabling businesses — especially small businesses — to thrive.

But the economic expansion has many observers spooked by the fear that booms will inevitably turn into busts, “just as they have in the past.” So today there is a growing chorus of observers expressing nervousness about the implications for economic and financial market performance. They do have a case to argue, as there is an endogenous mechanism that can turn an economic and financial boom into a bust. So how likely is that?

Here is the script — you decide whether to extrapolate it.

Read the full story here:
http://jamesalexandermichie.com/james-alexander-michie-spellman-report-inflation-divide/

James Alexander Michie | Vancouver Sun: Douglas Todd: Author of Crazy Rich Asians knows what's fuelling Vancouver

“Eddie was a member of the Chinese Athletic Association, the Hong Kong Golf Club, the China Club, the Hong Kong Club, the Cricket Club, the Dynasty Club, the American Club, the Jockey Club, the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club and too many private dining clubs to recount. Like most upper-crust Hong Kongers, Eddie also possessed what was perhaps the ultimate membership card — Canadian permanent resident cards for his entire family.”
— Kevin Kwan, Crazy Rich Asians

The author of the best-selling debut novel, Crazy Rich Asians, which is coming out as a movie in August, knows Metro Vancouver well.

Kevin Kwan, whose trio of books satirize Asia’s most privileged people, not only knows Metro because the city is a major magnet for ethnic Chinese capital and people. He also understands the city because his parents were among the first trans-national migrants to buy one of its luxury properties.

Read the full story here:
http://jamesalexandermichie.com/james-alexander-michie-vancouver-sun-douglas-todd-author-crazy-rich-asians-knows-whats-fuelling-vancouver/

James Alexander Michie | CNN: Donald Trump is pretty sure he's nailing this whole 'President' thing

(CNN) - On Wednesday night, speaking to a packed house in North Dakota, President Donald Trump seemed to suggest that this whole being President thing wasn't so tough.

"The Heritage Foundation came out with a report, and this was as of two months ago, we've already implemented 64% of our top agenda items," Trump told the cheering crowd. "And that's at a much faster pace than even Ronald Reagan. That's pretty good, right?"

That bravado was apparent, too, in Trump's barrage of early morning tweets on Thursday. Breaking with his past refusal to impugn special counsel Robert Mueller personally, Trump tweeted, "When is Bob Mueller going to list his Conflicts of Interest? Why has it taken so long? Will they be listed at the top of his $22,000,000 Report...And what about the 13 Angry Democrats, will they list their conflicts with Crooked H? How many people will be sent to jail and persecuted on old and/or totally unrelated charges (there was no collusion and there was no obstruction of the no collusion)...And what is going on in the FBI & DOJ with Crooked Hillary, the DNC and all of the lies? A disgraceful situation!"

The reason for all that confidence? Donald Trump is, to borrow a favorite Trump word, winning -- at least as he sees it.

Read the full story here:
http://jamesalexandermichie.com/james-alexander-michie-cnn-donald-trump-pretty-sure-hes-nailing-whole-president-thing/

James Alexander Michie | CBC News: As yield curves threaten to invert, market watchers sit up and pay attention

When the yield curve inverts, it's usually a sign the U.S. is headed for recession

A red figurine sits atop a trader's desk at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange last year. As short-term interest rates rise and long-term ones stay low, many economists are starting to worry about inverted yield curves and their knack for predicting recessions. (Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg)

It may not have escalated to the level of water cooler talk, but an obscure and obtuse-sounding economic indicator is a hot topic of conversation among the investment community of late.

The yield curve on government debt — the gap between how much long-term bonds pay out versus short-term ones — is at its lowest level in more than a decade, and opinion is somewhat divided on how bad a sign it is for the economy.

Under normal circumstances, the yield on long-term bonds should be much higher than the yield on short-term ones to properly reward investors for the risk of waiting longer to get paid, particularly since inflation can eat away at value over time.

Read the full story here:
http://jamesalexandermichie.com/james-alexander-michie-cbc-news-yield-curves-threaten-invert-market-watchers-sit-pay-attention/

James Alexander Michie | THE STAR: Trudeau to Facebook: Fix your fake news problem or face stricter regulations

OTTAWA—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has warned social networking giant Facebook it needs to fix its “fake news” problems or face stronger regulation from Ottawa.

Trudeau told Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg in November he was concerned the company wasn’t doing enough to stop the spread of misleading information on their platform, a source with direct knowledge of the conversation told the Star.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau chats with Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook chief operating officer during a bilateral meeting in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 20, 2016. The pair met again in November 2017 and Trudeau warned the Facebook COO that the company could face stronger regulation in Canada. (ANDREW VAUGHAN / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Facebook has been under intense international scrutiny for allowing so-called “fake news” — false and often outlandish information presented as legitimate journalism — to propagate on its network.

Sometimes the “articles” are simply hoaxes, designed to profit from Facebook users’ clicks.

But as seen during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the tactic can also mislead or manipulate citizens to further political ends – whether by partisan actors domestically, or hostile nations internationally. Facebook has also faced criticism about a lack of transparency around who is buying ads on its platform.

Read the full story here:
http://jamesalexandermichie.com/james-alexander-michie-star-trudeau-facebook-fix-fake-news-problem-face-stricter-regulations/

James Alexander Michie | CBC News: Canadians head into fight that may be 'unwinnable' in Mali

'No clear good guys,' even among those welcoming foreign troops

Canadian soldiers move towards a Chinook transport helicopter in a training exercise. Before their deployment to Mali, they practised the rapid removal of injured troops. (David Common/CBC)

Canada's military has already learned the lesson that your supposed friends may actually be working against you. That those professing a willingness for peace have never put down their guns and that they are connected to narco-trafficking and need the chaos to continue so they can profit from it.

It happened in Afghanistan and it's happening now in Canada's newest mission: Mali.

"One of the biggest problems isn't that we have really tough rivals but that we have really bad allies," says Aisha Ahmad, a terrorism researcher at the University of Toronto who regularly travels to Mali. "Those groups are implicated in cocaine trafficking and illicit business and have become financially incentivized to maintain the status quo."

Read the full story here:
http://jamesalexandermichie.com/james-alexander-michie-cbc-news-canadians-mali/

James Alexander Michie | Bloomberg: Crypto Collapse Spreads With Hundreds of Coins Plunging in Value

How Much Is Bitcoin Really Worth?

The meltdown in Bitcoin is weighing on more than the biggest cryptocurrency.

Over 80 percent of 1,586 digital coins Finder.com tracks in a weekly survey decreased in price in the past seven days. The tokens fell 19 percent on average, Finder.com found in the week ended June 25.

Read the full story here:
http://jamesalexandermichie.com/james-alexander-michie-bloomberg-cryptocurrencies/

James Alexander Michie | CBC News: China has unused weapons in escalating trade war: Don Pittis

China plays a careful strategic game in the face of conflicting U.S. statements on trade

China has opened the door to new lending to help small and large companies survive the adjustment to U.S. tariffs. (Reuters)

With only days to go before China and the United States trigger punishing tariff penalties on one another's exports, it seems impossible to imagine either country backing down.

As both sides talk tough, once again global markets, including in Shanghai, New York and Toronto, declined sharply.

On Sunday, China had announced its latest weapon in its economic battle with the U.S., namely 700 billion yuan ($142 billion Cdn) in new stimulus for domestic industries.

Read the full story here:
http://jamesalexandermichie.com/james-alexander-michie-cbc-news-china-don-pittis/

James Alexander Michie | Vancouver Sun: Rob Shaw: NDP dig in for long and painful fight on speculation tax

VICTORIA — B.C.’s New Democrat government ended the spring session of the legislature thinking the worst was over when it came to the painful launch and scrambled retooling of its speculation tax.

But a new flare-up of anger has opened up battles on several fronts that will test the political mettle of Premier John Horgan’s government, and could even threaten its very survival.

West Kelowna continues its persistent fight to be exempted from the speculation tax, Green leader Andrew Weaver is contemplating ways to defeat the tax’s enabling legislation this fall and the future of the NDP’s minority government could hang in the balance of a byelection in Nanaimo — where MLAs have been getting an earful from unhappy constituents in a city that also wants out of the tax.

Continue reading...

Michie Slams Another David Baines Article for Misrepresentation

James Alexander Michie has found another article where's he misrepresented. The author of the misleading piece? None other than David Baines. This is the same David Baines who misreported about Michie previously.

Clearing the Air on the Vancouver Sun's Misleading Reporting About James Alexander Michie

In 2013, the Vancouver Sun newspaper published an article by David Baines that was not only misleading but also filled with fallacies about James Alexander Michie, in particular his association with Erwin Speckert.

Read the full story on the Twisted Truth.

A View From Above [Photos]

Flying has become less and less enjoyable. However, it does offer incredible views that you can capture. With smart phones and smaller SLR cameras we're able to capture some remarkable landscape shots.