Sunday Uncertain Veblen Goods

By Paul Sankey Published on April 27, 2025 at 8:17 PM

Greetings, We can keep it shorter today, as yesterday we sent you a Greg Bordelon thematic special on China energy tariffs, not to mention he beat me this evening and released his Model Portfolio note just now. The China note yesterday I most enjoyed reading & editing, and adding fun asides, from the Delta lounge at LAX on Friday night before I took the red-eye back here to Brooklyn. No wonder I never normally take …

Love Letter to Ethane (from the Frontline of the US-China Trade War)

By Paul Sankey Published on April 26, 2025 at 4:55 PM

He said, Xi said (nothing). We all suffer lunacy in tracking the often-antagonistic, sometimes-capitulative iterations of this “nonsensical” trade war. Headlines this week have drifted towards hyperbole, portents of the death of US-China energy trade – especially oil and LNG. In this note we tit-tat US-China energy. Key points: US energy trade with China is one worldscale trade where we, the USA, are in major trade surplus, globally the dominant supply player, and effectively control …