137 The Real Game of Missing Money Story #9: Trade Wars and the Rise of the Asian Consumer China is building its consumer markets, financing the Silk Road, and downsizing its Treasury po- sitions. It is also moving fast in the military, space, and tech arenas. This represents direct compe- tition with the U.S. on every front—on-planet and off-planet. In addition, Asia and Europe both have larger consumer markets than the U.S., and they are in cahoots, leaving the U.S. as “odd man out.” However, the Chinese Communist system is doing a poor job of inspiring trust and solving its culture problem—and Chinese leaders appear to know it. Ultimately, culture might be a decid- ing factor in whether China succeeds or fails at promoting the yuan as an alternative global reserve currency. · China cuts tariffs on more than 700 goods amid open-trade drive · Trump Administration may push big changes to H-1B lottery system · Nearly 160 million people want to move to the U.S. · Tijuana Mayor calls for arrest of caravan organizers – “It’s a Federal crime” (VIDEO) · U.S. pledges billions in aid to develop Central America, curb migration · Surge at U.S. border pushes some evangelicals to help asylum seekers · Watch Trump’s heated meeting over border security with Democratic leaders · Pakistan, China, Afghanistan trilateral talks underway in Kabul · Huawei’s CFO arrested at U.S. request, sparking outrage in China · Averting world conflict with China · Panda plays: China lowers auto trade tariffs – the dance continues…. · US will hold off on raising China tariffs to 25% as Trump and Xi agree to a 90-day trade truce · G20 summit: World leaders reluctantly bow to Trump on trade amid showdown between US and China over tariffs · The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, will replace the current NAFTA agreement that governs trade in North America · G20 draft communique avoids explicit anti-protectionist pledge · 2nd Quarter 2018 Wrap Up: The Rise of the Asian Consumer Story #10: Brexit: The Endless Agony We are witnessing a messy Brexit process. If Theresa May were to address it as a fait accompli and execute a hard Brexit, it would likely leave her in a position of strength. In fact, a hard Brexit might be the only thing that can save her government at this point, but May does not appear to have the stomach for it. Her inability to make progress is jeopardizing the benefits of Brexit—offering the worst of both worlds. In the end, perhaps the crown will exercise executive power. The Queen wanted Brexit—likely for reasons of culture and also to protect offshore havens and Common- wealth secrecy—and she could be the one to go down in history as having engineered the Brexit. · Power vacuum points to no-deal Brexit · Financial Times subscription: What 2018 told us about Brexit · Theresa May clings on as Prime Minister after winning vote of no confidence · Watch again: British PM Theresa May delays parliament vote on Brexit · Theresa May’s Brexit deal in peril as ministers found in contempt of Parliament for first time · EU, UK approve Brexit divorce deal; now comes the hard part · Emergency briefing defence and security: David Ellis