Our charts for you today explore:
This week the United States' top diplomat, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, strongly rejected the idea that the US and China were entering a "cold war" in an interview with the Financial Times — despite tensions between the two countries remaining elevated.
China marches on
Whether Blinken is right or not, China's economy is marching on, and is likely to become the world's largest in the next 8-10 years, surpassing the US. That economic progress all but guarantees China's role as a global superpower for likely much of the rest of the 21st Century, and it means the US-China relationship is arguably the most important of any two countries in the world.
For Biden, and future US Presidents, walking the tightrope between showing strength on important issues such as human rights, trade and cyber security and engaging amiably has become more difficult, as US public opinion has shifted. Data from YouGov reveals that in 2017 roughly 10% of respondents polled would identify China as an "enemy" of the US. Today that number is closer to 35% — seemingly a result of the trade war that started in 2018 and also the COVID-19 pandemic.
No, this isn't the price of some hot tech stock, or frothy cryptocurrency (that one comes next) — no, this is a chart of the price of wood, which has soared more than 115% so far this year.
Lumbering up
The rise in lumber prices this year continues the trend from last year, and means that lumber prices are now up almost 500% since April 2020 as shortages of lumber have coincided with rising demand for new homes. Last year, expecting a housing slump, many sawmills shutdown. However, the housing slump never arrived and demand for houses has remained strong, leading to shortages for lumber across the country.
According to an analysis by the National Association of Home Builders, the soaring lumber price has pushed up the cost of an average new single-family home by more than $35,000. The price rise is so extreme that builders are even reporting lumber and other raw materials as being stolen from sites. For economists who fear rising inflation, lumber prices are just another signal flashing red on their dashboard.
And so we come to this. Dogecoin. A few months ago we incredulously observed that the total theoretical value of all Dogecoin — a joke cryptocurrency based on an internet meme of a dog — had passed $12bn, making it more valuable than The Gap.
Today, as Dogecoin-mania continues, that comparison is no longer enough. At the latest count Dogecoin's market cap stands at a little over $75bn — more than the iconic Ford Motor Company and almost as valuable as Uber.
Bloomberg writer Matt Levine summed it up as good as anyone can: Dogecoin is up because it’s funny. Just when you thought markets couldn't get any weirder.
1) Epic Games, the maker of popular game Fortnite, has revealed (thanks to its lawsuit with Apple) that it made more than $9bn from Fortnite in its first two years.
2) Peloton has officially recalled its treadmill products — marking a major reversal of the tech company's previous stance after 1 death and more than 70 injuries involving the treadmills have been reported.
3) Some clickbait for your Friday: British royal marines testing jet packs that can fly at up to 80 mph.
4) New estimates from Rhodium Group suggest that China's greenhouse gas emissions now exceed those of the rest of the developed world combined, with China responsible for roughly 27% of all emissions in 2019. China's per capita emissions still remain substantially lower.
5) We think visual learning is always better and it's why we think you will love Brilliant. See math and science in a completely new way with one-of-a-kind interactive visualizations from Brilliant — for ages 10 to 110.**
6) IBM has built a 2nm chip, marking the latest breakthrough in transistor technology for computing. That makes the smallest component smaller than a strand of DNA.
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