Atlas Horizon - Market Insights

Russia and China trading new copper disguised as scrap metal to circumvent taxes and sanctions According to sources cited by Reuters, the process involves mincing copper rod in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region at a middleman's facility to make it indistinguishable from scrap. This allows exporters and importers to profit from the tariff differential. The import of new copper rod in China is taxed at a rate of 4%, while there is no duty on the import of scrap from Russia. Since December, sales of new metal as scrap have been reflected in discrepancies between Chinese and Russian statistics, which are provided by commercial data suppliers since state providers refuse to do so. Since December, the reported imports of scrap in Chinese statistics have significantly increased. Copper scrap consists of a mix of wires and pipes that have been previously used. They are cut into grain-sized pieces or rolled into coils and pressed for transportation. This process goes unnoticed as the Xinjiang Uygur Region is closed to free visitation. Legally, there are no obstacles to purchasing metal from Russian firms under sanctions. However, some buyers are wary of paying any money that would go to Russians. Reuters sources indicated that some Chinese companies have created new departments to handle business with Russia.

Fast food prices in the U.S. have seen significant increases from 2014 to 2024, outpacing overall inflation for the same period (31%): Average menu prices across various chains have risen by 39% - 100%. McDonald's has experienced the steepest price increase among the analyzed chains, with prices doubling (100% increase). Popeyes' prices followed with an 86% increase, and Taco Bell ranked third with an 81% increase. Subway and Starbucks had the smallest price rises among the chains studied, with a 39% increase since 2014. Notably, the price of a McChicken has nearly tripled over the past decade, rising from $1 to $2.99.

BlackRock launches Bitcoin ETF advertising campaign on Bloomberg's homepage🔥🔥