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How Much Should a Tsinghua Graduate Be Making?

How Much Should a Tsinghua Graduate Be Making?

Bloomberg6 days ago
It's post-graduation season in China. Tiger Moms are naturally comparing notes on the salaries of fresh alumni from top universities. What kind of return might they expect, after spending years — and sometimes a fortune — demanding academic excellence from their offspring?
A doctor friend told me recently that her son got a job at Huawei Technologies Co., considered one of the most prestigious employers in China. The young man studied computer science at Tsinghua University and then Brown University in the US. Huawei is starting him at 400,000 yuan ($55,689) a year, the parent beamed.
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Analysis: Both targets of Trump's tariffs, the EU and China still can't get along
Analysis: Both targets of Trump's tariffs, the EU and China still can't get along

CNN

time28 minutes ago

  • CNN

Analysis: Both targets of Trump's tariffs, the EU and China still can't get along

As the two biggest economic targets in Donald Trump's trade war, some analysts thought the European Union and China could move closer together and stake out common ground. But a summit between the two sides in Beijing on Thursday is instead expected to showcase the deep-seated frictions and mistrust that are widening a rift between the two heavyweights. European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are set to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping and hold summit talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing. The meeting comes as both countries have faced heightened tariffs on their exports to the US – with uncertainties in US trade relations driving Beijing to look to tighten ties with the EU and other major economies. But a list of grievances between the two sides are setting that goal out of reach. The EU was far from shy about its concerns in the lead up to the summit. Officials in recent weeks have reiterated their long-standing concerns over what they say are inexpensive Chinese goods 'flooding' European markets, raised alarms about Beijing's move to squeeze the rare earths supply chain, and decried its ongoing backing for Russia as it wages war in Ukraine. Beijing has lashed out against those concerns, including the 27-member bloc's move last year to raise tariffs on its electric vehicles, launching a range of its own trade probes in apparent retaliation. After the EU last month announced it was barring Chinese companies from participating in public tenders for medical devices over a certain value, Beijing hit back with its own curbs on government purchases of Europe-made devices. On Monday, China's Ministry of Commerce slammed the EU decision to include two Chinese banks and a handful of other firms in its latest sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. It claimed the move would have a 'severely negative impact on China-EU economic and trade relations.' All this sets the stage for a contentious summit, ostensibly meant to celebrate 50 years of relations, that's already been whittled from a planned two days to a single-day event. 'We should expect a very difficult moment and not a deal making moment,' said Abigaël Vasselier, head of the Foreign Relations team at MERICS think tank in Germany, during a media briefing this week. And in some ways that mirrors frictions between the China and the US, she added: 'China has created leverage over Europe, has gone into a tit-for-tat escalation with Europe, and has linked all issues. You could almost say this looks like a Trump playbook used by China on Europe.' Trump's trade war – and his negotiations with both major economies – is also casting a long shadow over the summit. There were signs earlier this year that Beijing hoped shared adversity in the face of tariff threats from the US could push China and Europe together. And earlier this month, Beijing granted a reprieve for Europe's major cognac makers following an anti-dumping probe widely seen as retaliation for the bloc's imposition of up to 45% tariffs on its electric vehicles last year. But in separate addresses to G7 leaders and European lawmakers in recent weeks, von der Leyen made clear the bloc's deep concerns about Beijing had been unresolved. 'China is using this quasi-monopoly (on rare earths) not only as a bargaining chip, but also weaponizing it to undermine competitors in key industries,' she said to G7 leaders meeting in Canada in June. Beijing has extensive control over supply chains for these critical minerals key in everything from EV batteries and cell phones to fighter jets and roiled global manufacturing after placing export controls on some such minerals amid its trade spat with the US. China agreed during a truce with the US in June to ease these controls. Von der Leyen also called for unified G7 action to pressure Beijing as it 'floods global markets with subsidized overcapacity that its own market cannot absorb.' While von der Leyen has long been hawkish on Beijing, voices in China have seen her as pandering to the US to ease trade frictions – and are watching closely for signs that a potential US-EU trade deal could target their economy. But China's leaders are also joining this week's summit in what they see as a relatively strong position relative to the EU when it comes the US talks. Beijing sees its decision to play hardball with the US, by raising tit-for-tat levies and then showing the power of its rare earths leverage, as paying off – bringing the US to the negotiating table twice and resulting with an agreement for a trade framework. Even as frictions remain - including China's purchases of Russian oil and Washington's elevated tariffs on Chinese goods - Beijing has already chalked wins, like the announced resumption of sales of Nvidia's H20 AI chips to China, in a reversal of an April US export ban. The EU, meanwhile, is scrambling ahead of an August 1 deadline to cut a deal with the US to avert heavy tariffs – and may see more at stake than their Chinese counterparts. 'The worst-case scenario would be for Europe to find itself in a two-front trade war with the US and China at a time when Trump is pressing for some sort of Faustian bargain with Beijing,' said Noah Barkin, a Berlin-based visiting senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States think tank. With this backdrop, chances for any concrete outcomes appear low to observers on both sides, who instead stress that dialogue can be a form of progress in itself. Europe has been clear that it doesn't want to cut ties with China, but rather 'rebalance' its economic relationship, which saw a more than 300 billion Euro deficit last year. It also aims to 'derisk' its supply chains, and work together with China on shared global issues like climate change – a potential area of agreement this week. But experts say a key hold-up for Europe has been a sense that Beijing is unmoved by Brussels' core concerns. 'We haven't had an EU-China summit that produced real deliverables for many years and this one won't be any different. That is a reflection of Beijing's refusal to address the EU's two biggest concerns: an increasingly imbalanced economic relationship that poses a growing threat to European industry and China's ongoing support for Russia,' said Barkin. China has rejected Europe's concerns about industrial overcapacity leading to a flood of exports as baseless, with one state media outlet recently saying that instead of 'rebalancing trade,' Europe to 'needs to recalibrate its mentality.' Instead, Beijing is expected to continue to push for setting minimum prices of Chinese-made EVs in Europe instead of tariffs, as well as unfettered access to European technology and markets. And even as Russia ramps up its assault on Kyiv, Beijing is unlikely to give any sign of a shift in that position on Moscow, its close partner. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reportedly told the European Union's top diplomat earlier this month that Beijing can't accept Russia losing its war against Ukraine as this could allow the United States to turn its full attention to China. China has long claimed neutrality in the war and defended its 'normal trade' with Russia, while ramping up purchases of its oil and shipping goods Western leaders say power Russia's defense industry. But observers in China still feel there's room for collaboration as the two sides sit down on Thursday. 'To solve challenges from climate change to AI and global conflicts, the European Union needs China, and China needs the European Union,' according to Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University in Beijing. Alluding to the view that the EU can be a counterweight for China against US frictions and a partner in promoting globalization, he added: 'If China and the European Union seek win-win cooperation, the so-called new Cold War cannot prevail.'

Analysis: Both targets of Trump's tariffs, the EU and China still can't get along
Analysis: Both targets of Trump's tariffs, the EU and China still can't get along

CNN

time29 minutes ago

  • CNN

Analysis: Both targets of Trump's tariffs, the EU and China still can't get along

As the two biggest economic targets in Donald Trump's trade war, some analysts thought the European Union and China could move closer together and stake out common ground. But a summit between the two sides in Beijing on Thursday is instead expected to showcase the deep-seated frictions and mistrust that are widening a rift between the two heavyweights. European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are set to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping and hold summit talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing. The meeting comes as both countries have faced heightened tariffs on their exports to the US – with uncertainties in US trade relations driving Beijing to look to tighten ties with the EU and other major economies. But a list of grievances between the two sides are setting that goal out of reach. The EU was far from shy about its concerns in the lead up to the summit. Officials in recent weeks have reiterated their long-standing concerns over what they say are inexpensive Chinese goods 'flooding' European markets, raised alarms about Beijing's move to squeeze the rare earths supply chain, and decried its ongoing backing for Russia as it wages war in Ukraine. Beijing has lashed out against those concerns, including the 27-member bloc's move last year to raise tariffs on its electric vehicles, launching a range of its own trade probes in apparent retaliation. After the EU last month announced it was barring Chinese companies from participating in public tenders for medical devices over a certain value, Beijing hit back with its own curbs on government purchases of Europe-made devices. On Monday, China's Ministry of Commerce slammed the EU decision to include two Chinese banks and a handful of other firms in its latest sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. It claimed the move would have a 'severely negative impact on China-EU economic and trade relations.' All this sets the stage for a contentious summit, ostensibly meant to celebrate 50 years of relations, that's already been whittled from a planned two days to a single-day event. 'We should expect a very difficult moment and not a deal making moment,' said Abigaël Vasselier, head of the Foreign Relations team at MERICS think tank in Germany, during a media briefing this week. And in some ways that mirrors frictions between the China and the US, she added: 'China has created leverage over Europe, has gone into a tit-for-tat escalation with Europe, and has linked all issues. You could almost say this looks like a Trump playbook used by China on Europe.' Trump's trade war – and his negotiations with both major economies – is also casting a long shadow over the summit. There were signs earlier this year that Beijing hoped shared adversity in the face of tariff threats from the US could push China and Europe together. And earlier this month, Beijing granted a reprieve for Europe's major cognac makers following an anti-dumping probe widely seen as retaliation for the bloc's imposition of up to 45% tariffs on its electric vehicles last year. But in separate addresses to G7 leaders and European lawmakers in recent weeks, von der Leyen made clear the bloc's deep concerns about Beijing had been unresolved. 'China is using this quasi-monopoly (on rare earths) not only as a bargaining chip, but also weaponizing it to undermine competitors in key industries,' she said to G7 leaders meeting in Canada in June. Beijing has extensive control over supply chains for these critical minerals key in everything from EV batteries and cell phones to fighter jets and roiled global manufacturing after placing export controls on some such minerals amid its trade spat with the US. China agreed during a truce with the US in June to ease these controls. Von der Leyen also called for unified G7 action to pressure Beijing as it 'floods global markets with subsidized overcapacity that its own market cannot absorb.' While von der Leyen has long been hawkish on Beijing, voices in China have seen her as pandering to the US to ease trade frictions – and are watching closely for signs that a potential US-EU trade deal could target their economy. But China's leaders are also joining this week's summit in what they see as a relatively strong position relative to the EU when it comes the US talks. Beijing sees its decision to play hardball with the US, by raising tit-for-tat levies and then showing the power of its rare earths leverage, as paying off – bringing the US to the negotiating table twice and resulting with an agreement for a trade framework. Even as frictions remain - including China's purchases of Russian oil and Washington's elevated tariffs on Chinese goods - Beijing has already chalked wins, like the announced resumption of sales of Nvidia's H20 AI chips to China, in a reversal of an April US export ban. The EU, meanwhile, is scrambling ahead of an August 1 deadline to cut a deal with the US to avert heavy tariffs – and may see more at stake than their Chinese counterparts. 'The worst-case scenario would be for Europe to find itself in a two-front trade war with the US and China at a time when Trump is pressing for some sort of Faustian bargain with Beijing,' said Noah Barkin, a Berlin-based visiting senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States think tank. With this backdrop, chances for any concrete outcomes appear low to observers on both sides, who instead stress that dialogue can be a form of progress in itself. Europe has been clear that it doesn't want to cut ties with China, but rather 'rebalance' its economic relationship, which saw a more than 300 billion Euro deficit last year. It also aims to 'derisk' its supply chains, and work together with China on shared global issues like climate change – a potential area of agreement this week. But experts say a key hold-up for Europe has been a sense that Beijing is unmoved by Brussels' core concerns. 'We haven't had an EU-China summit that produced real deliverables for many years and this one won't be any different. That is a reflection of Beijing's refusal to address the EU's two biggest concerns: an increasingly imbalanced economic relationship that poses a growing threat to European industry and China's ongoing support for Russia,' said Barkin. China has rejected Europe's concerns about industrial overcapacity leading to a flood of exports as baseless, with one state media outlet recently saying that instead of 'rebalancing trade,' Europe to 'needs to recalibrate its mentality.' Instead, Beijing is expected to continue to push for setting minimum prices of Chinese-made EVs in Europe instead of tariffs, as well as unfettered access to European technology and markets. And even as Russia ramps up its assault on Kyiv, Beijing is unlikely to give any sign of a shift in that position on Moscow, its close partner. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reportedly told the European Union's top diplomat earlier this month that Beijing can't accept Russia losing its war against Ukraine as this could allow the United States to turn its full attention to China. China has long claimed neutrality in the war and defended its 'normal trade' with Russia, while ramping up purchases of its oil and shipping goods Western leaders say power Russia's defense industry. But observers in China still feel there's room for collaboration as the two sides sit down on Thursday. 'To solve challenges from climate change to AI and global conflicts, the European Union needs China, and China needs the European Union,' according to Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University in Beijing. Alluding to the view that the EU can be a counterweight for China against US frictions and a partner in promoting globalization, he added: 'If China and the European Union seek win-win cooperation, the so-called new Cold War cannot prevail.'

Meme Stocks Are Back And Retail Is About To Get Burned Again
Meme Stocks Are Back And Retail Is About To Get Burned Again

Forbes

timean hour ago

  • Forbes

Meme Stocks Are Back And Retail Is About To Get Burned Again

CHINA - 2023/08/31: In this photo illustration, the Reddit logo is displayed in the Apple App Store ... More on an iPhone. (Photo Illustration by Sheldon Cooper/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) They're back. It's not the businesses making a comeback; it's the same reckless behavior wrapped in new tickers. Meme stocks are ripping on no news, no turnaround, just vibes, and short interest déjà vu from 2021. Kohl's surged nearly 40%, not because of earnings, not because of strategy, but because some folks online decided it should. That's all it takes now. Retail's lit again. But scroll the forums, and it's all heat, no floor, no fundamentals. If this feels familiar, it should. GameStop. AMC. Bed Bath & Beyond. We've seen how this plays out. The move looks smart, until it isn't. And the fall is usually as sharp as the rise. But this isn't about Kohl's. It's not even about stocks. It's about memory. Or lack of it. The meme resurgence tells us less about opportunity and more about the refusal to learn. Investors aren't just repeating a trade; they're repeating a mistake. This isn't a rerun of a trade. It's a rerun of a train wreck and if you know where to look, the signs are everywhere. What Meme Stocks Did To Retail Last Time We don't need to guess how this plays out. We've already lived it. Back in August 2023, I laid it bare in Why You're Almost Guaranteed to Lose Money Trading GameStop, AMC & Other Meme Stocks. The pattern was clear: online hype caught fire, retail flooded in late, and institutional money used the wave to cash out. Social chatter turned into FOMO flows. Stocks surged. Then came the rug pull. Most retail traders weren't early; they were ammunition. They bought the highs and sold the pain. Meanwhile, professionals, armed with liquidity and exit plans, let the frenzy work for them. GameStop soared above $480 at its peak. Today, it trades under $30. AMC touched $72. It now limps below $5. That's not 'hold the line' loyalty. That's capital destruction. And yet, with the same names trending again, the crowd looks ready to walk into the fire a second time. The Real Lessons From The Meme Stock Bubble The meme stock bubble wasn't just a wild moment—it was a classroom. And in my January 2024 piece, What We Learned From The Stock Market Meme Bubble, the takeaways were clear. First: narrative is not strategy. A good story might move price in the short term, but it doesn't anchor value. Second: short interest, while flashy, is not a catalyst. It's a setup, not a reason to buy. Third, and maybe most crucial: community isn't capital. Online unity might create a movement, but it doesn't replace liquidity or discipline. And finally, behavioral traps ruled the day, confirmation bias, herd mentality, and the illusion of control all played leading roles. As I wrote then: 'Retail got a taste of power—and then a dose of reality.' The lessons were there in plain sight. Anyone willing to step back from the noise could see the cracks forming. But in every mania, reason is the first casualty. And now, as the same trades cycle back into fashion, we're finding out just how few people were paying attention. AMC What's Happening Now We're seeing the signs again. This time it's Kohl's. The stock jumped nearly 40% in a single session on absolutely nothing. No earnings release. No new strategic plan. No operational inflection. Just movement. And in 2024, that's all it takes to light up Reddit threads and X timelines with déjà vu-level energy: 'Squeeze coming.' 'Institutions are scared.' 'This is the next GameStop.' According to Barron's, it's meme traders driving the action, again using short interest as a battle cry, not a risk signal. And that's the issue. The crowd sees a high short float and mistakes it for an opportunity, not a warning. The irony? The very setup they're piling into is the one institution are often waiting to sell into. What's changed since 2021? Not much, except now there's no stimulus check liquidity, no novelty in zero commissions, and far less of a surprise factor. What's left? Noise with no fuel. Urgency built on fumes. As I warned in my May 2024 piece, The Risk Of Losing Big On GameStop And Other Meme Stocks: 'Retail investors often confuse movement with meaning. Just because a stock moves doesn't mean it's moving for you.' This time may look familiar, but the backdrop is very different. And when the music stops, it won't be the short sellers left standing without a chair. The Psychology Driving Meme Stock FOMO This latest meme stock wave isn't driven by analysis; it's driven by psychology. Recency bias leads traders to believe that because a squeeze happened once, it will happen again. Survivorship bias keeps them focused on the few who struck it rich last time, not the thousands who got burned. Add in community bias where being part of the crowd feels like validation and you've got a cocktail for poor decision-making. What's really fueling this is social reinforcement. TikTok clips showing fake P&L gains. X posts hyping charts with no context. The illusion of credibility from anonymous accounts shouting conviction. It's all theater. And with every like, share, and comment, that group think spreads. What's missing? Due diligence. Valuation. Anything resembling a thesis beyond 'shorts will cover.' This isn't investing. It's a TikTok trend with margin calls. The danger isn't just that these trades unravel. It's that the behavior behind them keeps getting rewarded by attention, not outcome. And when the feedback loop breaks, the fallout is real. The Structural Problem Even when meme stocks spike, most traders don't win. The reason isn't just timing; it's structure. Liquidity vanishes at the top. Platforms freeze. Bid-ask spreads widen. Right when you should sell, conviction freezes. Hesitation takes over. Emotion takes over. No plan, no discipline, just the hope it'll go higher. Nail the entry? Great. Now try getting out before the bid vanishes. These trades sell the illusion of repeatability. But the structure doesn't support the outcome. Most retail investors are playing a game where the rules shift mid-trade. The system isn't built for fast exits or disciplined decision-making at scale. And that's the catch: meme stocks promise outsized gains but offer little in terms of practical execution. By the time you hear the alarm, the exits are already jammed. That's the meme stock playbook. It's hard to win when the game isn't designed for you to leave with chips. What's Next For Meme Stocks: A Familiar Trap We've seen this script before and it doesn't end well. Here's what's likely next. One or two meme names pop, and Kohl's is already on that path. Maybe Bed Bath & Beyond will return from the dead via some illiquid microcaps. Social media does the rest. Reddit threads light up. TikTok gets flooded with charts and rocket emojis. 'The squeeze is on.' Retail starts piling in. FOMO kicks in hard. Flows accelerate. Then the air starts thinning. Liquidity evaporates. The same volatility that attracted traders begins to repel them. Without fundamentals or fresh capital, prices collapse under their own weight. Retail holds the bag, again. The difference this time? The players who won last time weren't even on the field. Institutions aren't surprised. Market makers are prepared. There's no novelty here, just a rerun. But it's a rerun with worse odds. No stimulus tailwind. No surprise factor. No second wave of liquidity. This isn't momentum. It's old muscle twitching in a dead trade. And those hoping for a different ending are ignoring the script. The Meme Stock Sequel Will End the Same Way Meme stocks aren't back because the fundamentals changed. They're back because memory faded and the crowd got bored. That's not opportunity; it's risk in disguise. In any greater fool game, the last one is the one who loses most. So, take this as a warning, not a headline to chase. Just because stocks are moving doesn't mean they're moving toward profit. Ask anyone who is still holding AMC. You've seen this movie before, and the ending didn't change. And like every sequel, this one's got the same ending, just fewer people left to cheer.

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