How China is using automation to reshape its economy | CNBC Reports

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106872485-16191105747557-DoubleVerify-Photo-210422-PRESS-6-jpg.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-404708" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106872485-16191105747557-DoubleVerify-Photo-210422-PRESS-6-jpg.jpg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106872485-16191105747557-DoubleVerify-Photo-210422-PRESS-6-jpg-300x169.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Source: NYSE</figcaption></figure>



U.S. stock index futures traded higher early Monday after the S&amp;P 500 posted its second negative week in a row the previous week.



Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average implied an opening gain of about 145 points. S&amp;P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were also trading in positive territory.



The previous week saw the Dow post its fourth negative week in five, while the S&amp;P registered two straight weeks of losses for the first time since February. The Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, gained 0.31% last week, snapping a four-week losing streak.



Despite the tech-heavy index’s weekly gain, however, the Nasdaq Composite finished Friday’s session in the red as bitcoin prices once again moved lower, putting pressure on the broader technology sector.



The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/23/bitcoin-resumes-selloff-over-weekend-briefly-falls-below-33000.html">cryptocurrency’s sell-off continued on Sunday</a>, with bitcoin dropping around 16% to under $32,000, according to data from Coin Metrics. On Wednesday, bitcoin prices tumbled to just above $30,000, dropping to the lowest level since late January.



“The rapid rise in digital currency values hit a major speedbump this week as cryptocurrencies of all stripes saw sharp declines in their prices,” strategists at CIBC wrote in a note to clients. “The asset class continues to be highly volatile, with the potential of significant price movements resulting from a single tweet or public comment.”



The decline came as Chinese regulators called for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/21/bitcoin-falls-after-china-calls-for-crackdown-on-bitcoin-mining-and-trading-behavior.html">stricter laws</a>&nbsp;around mining and trading the cryptocurrency.



“Despite this week’s collapse in crypto markets and rather hawkish FOMC minutes, another equity dip was bought by investors,” JPMorgan wrote in a note to clients. “This ‘buy the dip’ mentality has been remarkably strong this year and has provided a support preventing any small correction in equities and risk markets from becoming more extended,” the firm added.



The Federal Reserve hinted at its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/19/fed-officials-said-rapid-progress-in-economy-could-lead-to-lowerng-asset-purchases.html">April meeting</a>&nbsp;that easy monetary policies could be reconsidered if the economy continues to show signs of rapid improvement, according to minutes from the meeting released last week.



Looking ahead, there are a number of retail companies set to report quarterly earnings in the coming week, including Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, Gap and Ulta. Several technology companies will also release quarterly updates, including Nvidia, Snowflake, Workday and Salesforce. On the economic data front, consumer confidence and new home sales data will be released on Tuesday.



Heading into the last full trading week of the month, the Dow is on track to post a gain for May, while the S&amp;P is on track to snap a three-month winning streak. The Nasdaq Composite, which is down more than 3% for the month, is on track to snap its longest monthly winning streak since Jan. 2018, with its first negative month in seven.



After outperforming year-to-date, small caps have faced recent weakness, and the Russell 2000 is on track to snap a seven-month winning streak.



“We think the choppy/sideways trend will continue for a bit longer, and the market will experience sell-off scares along the way,” noted Adam Crisafulli, founder of Vital Knowledge. “While stocks are absorbing a lot of changes well so far, all the inflection points still have longer to play out.”

106872485-16191105747557-DoubleVerify-Photo-210422-PRESS-6-jpg

Stock futures rise after Dow, S&P 500 post losing week

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106870692-1618903216209-gettyimages-1064216696-775261257JM00004_Bitcoin_Va.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-404690" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106870692-1618903216209-gettyimages-1064216696-775261257JM00004_Bitcoin_Va.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106870692-1618903216209-gettyimages-1064216696-775261257JM00004_Bitcoin_Va-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>A visual representation of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin on November 20, 2018 in London, England. Jordan Mansfield | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/BTC.CM=">bitcoin</a>&nbsp;sell-off continued Sunday following a roller-coaster week of trading, as authorities in China and the U.S. move to tighten regulation and tax compliance on cryptocurrencies.



Bitcoin fell roughly 16% to $31,772.43 by 12:27 p.m. ET, according to Coin Metrics data.



The world’s largest cryptocurrency on Friday afternoon traded at $35,891.20.



Bitcoin’s recent sell-off is a major reversal for the cryptocurrency, which appeared to be gaining traction among major Wall Street banks and publicly traded companies. This month, however, bitcoin has been hit by a series of negative headlines from major influencers and regulators.



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/TSLA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tesla</a> CEO Elon Musk, who helped fuel bullish sentiment when his company <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/08/tesla-buys-1point5-billion-in-bitcoin.html">bought $1.5 billion of bitcoin</a>, delivered a blow earlier this month when he announced that the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/12/elon-musk-says-tesla-will-stop-accepting-bitcoin-for-car-purchases.html">automaker had suspended vehicle purchases using the cryptocurrency</a> over environmental concerns.



Musk subsequently sent mixed messages about his position on bitcoin, implying in a tweet that Tesla may have sold its holdings,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/16/elon-musk-suggests-tesla-is-dumping-bitcoin.html">only to clarify later that it had not done so.</a>



“The asset class continues to be highly volatile, with the potential of significant price movements resulting from a single tweet or public comment,” CIBC analyst Stephanie Price said in a note Thursday.



A JPMorgan report showed large institutional investors&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/19/big-institutional-investors-are-dumping-bitcoin-and-going-back-into-gold-jpmorgan-says.html">were dumping bitcoin in favor of gold</a>. The news raised questions about institutional support for the cryptocurrency.



Cryptocurrencies continued to slide as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/21/bitcoin-falls-after-china-calls-for-crackdown-on-bitcoin-mining-and-trading-behavior.html">Chinese authorities</a>&nbsp;called for tighter regulation on crypto mining and trading, and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/20/us-treasury-calls-for-stricter-cryptocurrency-compliance-with-irs.html">U.S. Treasury</a>&nbsp;announced that it would require stricter crypto compliance with the IRS.



Bitcoin on Wednesday plunged&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/21/bitcoin-falls-after-china-calls-for-crackdown-on-bitcoin-mining-and-trading-behavior.html">more than 30% at one point to nearly $30,000</a>, its lowest price since late January, according to Coin Metrics. The cryptocurrency peaked in April near $65,000.



“Even with this week’s selloff cryptocurrencies have had an incredible run over the last year,” Price said.



Bitcoin is up 268% in the past year, according to Coinbase. Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency, grew more than 840%.

106870692-1618903216209-gettyimages-1064216696-775261257JM00004_Bitcoin_Va

Bitcoin resumes sell-off over weekend, falls below $32,000

How Income Inequality Became A Big Issue Among Asian Americans

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106880024-1620410764637-gettyimages-1316826680-5y5a2767_20210507125913108.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-404574" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106880024-1620410764637-gettyimages-1316826680-5y5a2767_20210507125913108.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106880024-1620410764637-gettyimages-1316826680-5y5a2767_20210507125913108-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen speaks during a daily news briefing at the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House May 7, in Washington, DC. U.S. economy added 266,000 jobs in April, far less than the 1 million jobs that was expected. Alex Wong | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Corporations around the world should pay at least a 15% tax on their earnings, the Treasury Department said Thursday as part of its push for a global minimum for businesses.



The final rate could go even higher than that, according to a Treasury release that said the 15% minimum is a “floor and that discussions should continue to be ambitious and push that rate higher.”



U.S-based companies currently pay a 21% rate, a level that was slashed during the Trump administration. Previously,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/how-did-tax-cuts-and-jobs-act-change-business-taxes#:~:text=The%20Tax%20Cut%20and%20Jobs%20Act%20(TCJA)%20reduced%20the%20top,rate%20schedule%20(table%201)." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the top rate had been 35%</a>.



Under a proposal from President&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/joe-biden/">Joe Biden</a>, the tax rate would be lifted to 28%, part of a plan to raise levies on both companies and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/29/how-biden-tax-plan-would-hit-the-wealthy.html">the highest earners</a>.



But the White House wants to take its tax plans outside the border.



Treasury Secretary&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/janet-yellen/">Janet Yellen</a>&nbsp;has been touting&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/05/yellen-to-push-for-global-minimum-tax-on-corporations.html">the benefits of a global corporate minimum tax rate</a>&nbsp;that she said would discourage companies from relocating domiciles to other countries to cut their tax burdens even though most of their operations are in the U.S.



Yellen’s Treasury believes “that the international tax architecture must be stabilized, that the global playing field must be fair, and that we must create an environment in which countries work together to maintain our tax bases and ensure the global tax system is equitable and equipped to meet the needs of for the 21st century global economy,” the department said in a news release.



Yellen has bemoaned&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/04/yellen-us-pushing-to-end-race-to-the-bottom-on-corporate-taxes.html">a global “race to the bottom”</a>&nbsp;among countries cutting their rates to try to lure foreign companies.



Establishing the global minimum would help reduce that incentive, though it is unclear how many countries are willing to participate.



“Treasury made clear that a global corporate minimum tax rate would ensure the global economy thrives based on a more level playing field in the taxation of multinational corporations, and would spur innovation, growth, and prosperity while improving fairness for middle class and working people,” the release said.



The news came following meetings with a steering group within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that the Treasury said featured “earnest” talks of a global tax.

106880024-1620410764637-gettyimages-1316826680-5y5a2767_20210507125913108

U.S. proposes global minimum corporate tax rate of 15%, with an eye on something even higher

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The cryptocurrency&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/ETH=">ether</a>&nbsp;“has a better shot” at becoming a commodity than&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/BTC.BS=-USS">bitcoin</a>, argues New York University’s Aswath Damodaran.



“If the future lies in blockchain transactions — and ether is going to be a better lubricant of those blockchain transactions — you could actually argue that ether has a stronger upside story than bitcoin does,” Damodaran, a professor of finance at NYU’s Stern School of Business, told CNBC’s “<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/street-signs-asia/">Street Signs Asia</a>” on Thursday.



Ether is the cryptocurrency that runs on the Ethereum blockchain. It currently sits in second place behind bitcoin in terms of market cap, according to Coinmarketcap. Noted proponents of Ethereum include billionaire investor Mark Cuban, who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/05/mark-cuban-ways-ethereum-dwarfs-bitcoin.html">told CNBC previously that it “dwarfs” bitcoin</a>.



Damodaran, a longtime skeptic of the cryptocurrency, said bitcoin lacks an “endgame” and called it a “purely speculative game.”



“All that bitcoin bulls seem to talk about, their biggest sales pitch for bitcoin is: ‘Look at how much money I’ve made on bitcoin.’ That’s it, that’s the end of the sales pitch,” he said. “That’s not a sales pitch. That tells me nothing about the substance here.”



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="433" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106885333-1621440317537-20210519-qsj6u-cryptocurrency-returns.png" alt="" class="wp-image-404467" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106885333-1621440317537-20210519-qsj6u-cryptocurrency-returns.png 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106885333-1621440317537-20210519-qsj6u-cryptocurrency-returns-300x176.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></figure>



“I wouldn’t be surprised if bitcoin is up 20% tomorrow, down 25% the day after. This has become a purely speculative game,” said Damodaran, who is also known as Wall Street’s “dean of valuation.”



The professor’s comments came after a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/19/the-crypto-collapse-heres-whats-behind-bitcoins-sudden-drop.html">collapse in cryptocurrency prices Wednesday</a>&nbsp;stateside.



Bitcoin&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/19/bitcoin-btc-price-plunges-but-bottom-could-be-near-.html">plummeted 30% to about $30,000 at one point</a>, but has since recovered partially and was trading at $40,110.38 as of 3:51 a.m. ET Thursday, according to Coin Metrics. Ether was not spared in the fallout, briefly falling below $2,000 before later making a partial recovery. It last traded at $2,724.61.



That wild ride was likely triggered by a slew of negative headlines and catalysts, such as tweets by Tesla CEO Elon Musk as well as <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/18/china-bans-financial-payment-institutions-from-cryptocurrency-business.html">regulation by the Chinese government</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-diverse-cryptocurrency-space">Diverse cryptocurrency space</h2>



Damodaran also argued there is a need for a separation in how each cryptocurrency is treated, given that their intended purposes vary.



“I think we need to start to separate the crypto space into: those cryptos that are trying to be currencies, those cryptos that are trying to be collectibles — millennial gold — and those cryptos that are actually commodities,” Damodaran said. “Right now &#8230; we bundle them altogether in this once space.”



The cryptocurrency sector today spans a wide gamut, from bitcoin which is often pitched as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/18/cryptocurrencies-are-close-to-reaching-a-big-milestone-versus-gold-by-one-wall-street-firms-count.html">a potential competitor to gold</a>&nbsp;as a store of value, to others such as Dogecoin —&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/29/dogecoin-cryptocurrency-rises-over-400percent-after-reddit-group-talks-it-up.html">originally started as a joke</a>. Both cryptocurrencies have seen wild swings in their price so far this year due in part to their association with Elon Musk.



Meanwhile,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/03/what-are-nfts-all-you-need-to-know-about-crypto-collectibles.html">crypto collectibles known as NFTs</a>&nbsp;also grabbed headlines earlier this year after people started paying millions for them.

106885738-1621490902783-gettyimages-1317812942-dsc01436

NYU’s ‘dean of valuation’ argues ether has a better chance of becoming a commodity than bitcoin

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106885733-1621486814193-gettyimages-1232552093-omarques_26042021_financekrk_6.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-404426" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106885733-1621486814193-gettyimages-1232552093-omarques_26042021_financekrk_6.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106885733-1621486814193-gettyimages-1232552093-omarques_26042021_financekrk_6-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>A Bitcoin logo seen displayed on a smartphone with stock market percentages in the background in this illustration taken April 26, 2021. Omar Marques | SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



So you want to play in crypto and become a millionaire overnight? Brace yourself for more days like Wednesday.



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/BTC.BS=-USS">Bitcoin</a>&nbsp;plunged&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/19/bitcoin-btc-price-plunges-but-bottom-could-be-near-.html">as much as 30%</a>&nbsp;to about $30,000, according to Coin Metrics.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/ETH=">Ether</a>&nbsp;dropped more than 40% in less than 24 hours,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/19/the-crypto-collapse-heres-whats-behind-bitcoins-sudden-drop.html">breaking below $2,000</a>&nbsp;at one point. Both gained back substantial ground by the end of the day.



But this is par for the course in the world of trading cryptocurrencies. Huge run-ups and equally drastic falls. Over and over.



“Massive retracements are always scary, but seasoned investors tend to see them as buying opportunities,” said Mati Greenspan, portfolio manager and founder of Quantum Economics.



Both crypto and market experts tell CNBC that this is the new normal of investing, and traders should just get used to it.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-value-and-volatility">Value and volatility</h2>



Bitcoin’s volatility has to do with a lot of things.



On Wednesday, for example, news of China cracking down on banks completing crypto transactions, plus the tailwinds of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/TSLA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tesla</a>’s decision to no longer accept bitcoin as a form of payment, certainly helped drive the carnage among digital currencies. The overall crypto market was also probably due for a correction after weeks of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/14/dogecoin-rallies-on-elon-musk-tweet-anticipated-coinbase-listing.html">tweet-inspired record climbs</a>, courtesy of Elon Musk.



But volatility is also the price that bitcoin investors pay for its limited supply and its lack of a central bank to control that supply — precisely the features proponents say give it value.



Part of what makes bitcoin valuable is the fact that it is scarce. There are&nbsp;<a href="https://messari.io/asset/bitcoin/metrics" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">18.7 million</a>&nbsp;bitcoin in circulation, which is nearing its maximum threshold of 21 million.



New bitcoin are created as a reward for miners, who contribute their computing power to verifying transactions across the decentralized network. Over time, the size of these rewards decreases, so each new completed block earns miners less than it used to.



As a result, the supply of bitcoin is perfectly inelastic. “A rise in demand cannot result in the increase in supply of bitcoin or increase the speed at which bitcoin is issued,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fidelitydigitalassets.com/articles/addressing-bitcoin-criticisms" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wrote Ria Bhutoria</a>, former director of research for Fidelity Digital Assets.



Bitcoin’s value is also derived from its decentralized network. There is no central authority which has the power to intervene in the bitcoin market.



“No central bank or government can step in to support or prop up markets and artificially subdue volatility,” continued Bhutoria. “Bitcoin’s volatility is a trade-off for a distortion-free market.”



Plus, bitcoin is still very new.



″[It’s] only 13 years old and thus doesn’t have much of a trading history,” explained Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Advisory Group. “While a company that went public yesterday in an IPO doesn’t have any history, a company can at least be evaluated on its business prospects, earnings and cash flow.”



Because bitcoin is still a nascent asset class, it remains in the price discovery phase. ”[It’s] the most volatile of any asset’s life cycle,” said Mike Bucella, Blocktower Capital general partner.



“Bitcoin has clearly established itself as a new form of value, but the terminal value is still undefined,” continued Bucella. “That information gap lends itself towards a momentum, or technically driven market, absent new information.”



The path to true price discovery is often fraught with seismic price swings, but Bhutoria points out that the alternative is artificial stability, which can result in distorted markets that may break down without intervention.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="493" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106885239-1621440217691-eZ7vJ-price-of-bitcoin-ytd-_1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-404427" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106885239-1621440217691-eZ7vJ-price-of-bitcoin-ytd-_1.png 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106885239-1621440217691-eZ7vJ-price-of-bitcoin-ytd-_1-300x200.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Get used to it</h2>



Bucella thinks that today’s trading volatility will be repeated.



“There will be many periods like we’ve seen today, where a negative news cycle has taken out technical levels (and momentum) in the price of BTC – and those are all the more exacerbated when the market participants start taking on leverage,” continued Bucella.



What happened today is pretty typical: Spot selling breaks a key level and leverage gets liquidated, creating a more dramatic sell-off than the market would otherwise indicate. Bucella says it has been the same pattern, time and again, over the last decade, and he thinks it will remain in place until we achieve a mature level of adoption.&nbsp;



Ultimately, “high-risk, high-reward” does tend to be the rule of investing, and it is especially true of bitcoin.



“All investments carry risk, and just like stocks, crypto is subject to price swings,” said Noah Perlman, Gemini’s chief operating officer. “Bitcoin is still a young asset class, but it’s one of the best performing of the last decade.”



Playing the long game is crucial. “As with any market, crypto investors with a longer timeframe and diversified portfolio will see more consistent results,” explained Greenspan.



Bitcoin’s volatility also has a sort of “halo effect” over companies with exposure to the cryptocurrency.



Tesla, which has a $1.5 billion stake in bitcoin, fell roughly 2.5% Wednesday.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/MSTR" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Microstrategy</a>, another company that holds a large amount of bitcoin for its corporate treasury, ended the day 6.6% lower, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/COIN" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Coinbase</a>, the newly public crypto exchange which specifically warned in its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1679788/000162828021003168/coinbaseglobalincs-1.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">S-1</a>&nbsp;that it was vulnerable to volatile moves in the price of cryptocurrencies, dropped 6%.



But to Bucella, this type of volatility is a gift that most fund managers in traditional markets would salivate over. “As a fund manager, with proper risk management, infrastructure and tooling, this level of volatility presents enormous opportunity,” said Bucella.



Whatever your risk tolerance, experts say the volatility won’t always be this bad.



Bitcoin trading is no longer dominated by retail buyers. Professional money managers and corporate America have flooded the market in the last year, and they’re still getting started. As more institutional investors adopt bitcoin, it lends newfound legitimacy to the cryptocurrency, helping to erase its reputational risk. It also creates more stability overall.



“With greater adoption of bitcoin and the development of derivatives and investment products, bitcoin’s volatility may continue to decrease, as it has historically,” noted Bhutoria.



And as longtime value investor Bill Miller pointed out in a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/kellycnbc/status/1347605051443978244?lang=en&amp;amp;__source=newsletter%7Ctheexchange" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CNBC interview</a>&nbsp;earlier this year, “One of the interesting things about bitcoin is that it gets less risky the higher it goes.”

A Bitcoin logo seen displayed on a smartphone with stock market percentages in the background in this illustration taken April 26, 2021. Omar Marques | SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images

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Emerging markets investing guru Mark Mobius said he likes Indian stocks even though Covid-19 cases in the country have surged, as “this is going to pass.”



India’s stock benchmark&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/.NSEI">Nifty 50</a>&nbsp;has risen around 8.1% this year as of Tuesday’s close. The index has climbed despite the country reporting&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/18/india-covid-crisis-shows-public-health-neglect-problems-underinvestment.html">a resurgence in Covid infections</a>&nbsp;over the past month.



The South Asian country was among Mobius’ favorite markets even before the pandemic. The investor, who is founding partner of Mobius Capital Partners, said it’s “quite amazing” that India’s Covid crisis has not affected the stock market much.



“But generally speaking, we know that this is going to pass, that people will get vaccinated and the (Covid case) numbers will come down,” Mobius told CNBC’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/capital-connection/">“Capital Connection”</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday.



“And given that, it’s probably a good opportunity to buy,” he added.



Within India’s stock market, Mobius said he likes software companies, health-care stocks, as well as firms providing equipment and materials to infrastructure projects.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-commodities-and-cryptos">Commodities and cryptos</h2>



In the commodities space, Mobius said he continues to like gold. He added that he prefers holding physical gold to buying mining companies, many of which are “not that profitable.”



But the veteran investor said he’s “not that excited” about the oil sector. That’s because oil prices have had an “incredible run” as they recover from the pandemic crash and may not rise much more, he said.



“I think we’re probably where we should be, $60-$70 a barrel so we’re not going to see an incredible boom in oil companies,” said Mobius, adding that some firms could still be interesting, though he did not specify which ones.



Another investment that Mobius doesn’t like is cryptocurrency, which he called a “very risky area.”



The price of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/BTC.CB=">bitcoin</a>&nbsp;has surged from below $30,000 at the end of 2020 to more than $43,000 on Wednesday.



Mobius said it’s difficult to predict the direction of cryptocurrency prices and questioned how easy it is to convert bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies into “real money” that people can spend. He also disagreed with <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/18/cryptocurrencies-are-close-to-reaching-a-big-milestone-versus-gold-by-one-wall-street-firms-count.html">suggestions that bitcoin could replace gold</a> as a hedge against inflation.



“I can’t have a crypto ring whereas I can have a gold ring —that’s the real difference,” said Mobius.



“It’s a completely different situation and I don’t know understand why people say that bitcoin can be like gold, it’s completely different. Gold is gold and it’s something physical, whereas bitcoin is not.” &nbsp;

105799379-1552910849465markmobius

Veteran investor Mark Mobius likes India stocks despite the country’s COVID crisis

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106839898-1613138338892-gettyimages-1301210502-_e6w4385_2021020931151011.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-404292" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106839898-1613138338892-gettyimages-1301210502-_e6w4385_2021020931151011.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106839898-1613138338892-gettyimages-1301210502-_e6w4385_2021020931151011-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>In this photo illustration, a visual representation of the digital Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin is on display in front of the Bitcoin course’s graph on February 09, 2021 in Paris, France. Chesnot | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/BTC.BS=-USS">Bitcoin</a>&nbsp;fell sharply on Tuesday continuing a major sell-off that began a week ago.



The digital currency fell over 13% to hit an intraday low of $38,585.86 at around 12:54 a.m. ET, according to CoinDesk data. It was the lowest level since Feb. 9, the last time it dropped below $40,000.



Negative news over the past week has dampened sentiment for bitcoin.



On May 12,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/TSLA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tesla</a>&nbsp;CEO&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/elon-musk/">Elon Musk</a>&nbsp;said the electric carmaker had&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/13/bitcoin-btc-price-falls-after-tesla-stops-car-purchases-with-crypto.html">suspended vehicle purchases using bitcoin</a>, citing environmental concerns over the so-called computational “mining” process. This is where high-powered computers are used to solve complex mathematical puzzles to enable transactions using bitcoin.



Musk’s comments caused <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/13/bitcoin-btc-price-falls-after-tesla-stops-car-purchases-with-crypto.html">over $300 billion to be wiped off the entire cryptocurrency market that day</a>.



The announcement to suspend bitcoin payment came just three months after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/08/tesla-buys-1point5-billion-in-bitcoin.html">Tesla revealed that it bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin</a>, and would start accepting bitcoin in exchange for its products.



Early this week, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/TSLA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tesla</a>&nbsp;CEO&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/16/elon-musk-suggests-tesla-is-dumping-bitcoin.html">clarified that the company has “not sold any Bitcoin.”</a>



Then on Tuesday, three Chinese banking and payment industry bodies&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/18/china-bans-financial-payment-institutions-from-cryptocurrency-business.html">issued a statement warning</a>&nbsp;financial institutions not to conduct virtual currency related business, including trading or exchanging fiat currency for cryptocurrency.



China’s hard line on digital currencies is not new. In 2017, authorities&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/11/bitcoin-price-falls-on-reports-that-china-is-closing-local-exchanges.html">shut down local cryptocurrency exchanges</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/04/chinese-icos-china-bans-fundraising-through-initial-coin-offerings-report-says.html">banned so-called initial coin offerings (ICOs)</a>, a way for companies in the space to raise money through issuing new digital tokens.



Traders in China once accounted for a huge share of the bitcoin market but after the crackdown, their influence was reduced significantly. Chinese cryptocurrency operations have moved abroad.



Bitcoin is still up over 40% year-to-date and 320% in the last 12 months.



Other cryptocurrencies also plunged. Ether, the digital currency that powers the Ethereum blockchain, was down nearly 15% at $3,001.70 at 1:15 a.m. ET. Dogecoin,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/07/what-is-dogecoin.html">a cryptocurrency that started as a joke</a>&nbsp;and has been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/14/dogecoin-rallies-on-elon-musk-tweet-anticipated-coinbase-listing.html">talked up by Musk</a>, fell over 18% to $0.4076, according to Coinmarketcap.com.



Around $279.65 billion had been wiped off the entire value of the cryptocurrency market in 24 hours as of 1:18 a.m. ET.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-close-to-a-bottom-for-bitcoin">Close to a bottom for bitcoin?</h2>



Bitcoin is off by about 39% from its all-time high of $64,829.14 which was hit in mid-April.



Vijay Ayyar, head of business development at cryptocurrency exchange Luno, said that a 30% to 40% pullback is “normal” during bitcoin bull markets.



“So this is very much expected after we topped out at 64K ($64,000),” he said.



Ayyar pointed to a roughly 35% correction in January as well as similar falls&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/06/bitcoin-tops-13000-surging-1000-in-less-than-24-hours.html">during the huge run-up in bitcoin’s price in 2017</a>.



“We are definitely close to a bottom” around $38,000 to $40,000, he said.



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/18/crypto-bull-mike-novogratz-says-he-would-buy-bitcoin-around-40000.html">Bitcoin bull Mike Novogratz told CNBC on Tuesday</a>&nbsp;that he sees $40,000 as a buying level for the digital currency. The investor, who runs cryptocurrency financial services and investment management Galaxy Digital, said he expects bitcoin to consolidate in a trading range between $40,000 to $55,000.



“Then we’ll have another leg up. And I say that not just by guessing. We see institutions moving in, and it takes them a while,”&nbsp;Novogratz said.

106839898-1613138338892-gettyimages-1301210502-_e6w4385_2021020931151011

$280 billion wiped off crypto market as bitcoin falls below $40,000 for first time in 14 weeks

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106884025-1621269741194-gettyimages-1232949268-20090101210517-99-634065.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-404183" width="748" height="421" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106884025-1621269741194-gettyimages-1232949268-20090101210517-99-634065.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106884025-1621269741194-gettyimages-1232949268-20090101210517-99-634065-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 748px) 100vw, 748px" /><figcaption>Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla. Christophe Gateau/picture alliance via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Elon Musk impersonators have stolen at least $2 million from investors in cryptocurrency scams over the past six months, according to the Federal Trade Commission.



The theft is part of a so-called giveaway scam, whereby con artists pose as celebrities or known figures in the crypto world. They promise to “multiply” the cryptocurrency that investors send — but pocket it instead.



Crypto scams have surged since October, hitting their highest level on record in the first quarter of 2021, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/data-spotlight/2021/05/cryptocurrency-buzz-drives-record-investment-scam-losses" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">data</a>&nbsp;published Monday by the FTC.



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That timing tracks with a run-up in the price of bitcoin and other popular digital currencies.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/BTC.CM=">Bitcoin</a>&nbsp;was trading at more than $59,000 on March 31 — a return of 450% relative to its $10,710 close on Sept. 30.



Musk, CEO of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/TSLA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tesla</a>, has been a big supporter of cryptocurrencies. In an SEC filing in February, Tesla revealed that it bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin. In March, Musk said Tesla would&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/24/elon-musk-says-people-can-now-buy-a-tesla-with-bitcoin.html">accept bitcoin for vehicle purchases</a>. (He’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/16/elon-musk-suggests-tesla-is-dumping-bitcoin.html">since backtracked</a>&nbsp;on that position due to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/12/elon-musk-says-tesla-will-stop-accepting-bitcoin-for-car-purchases.html">environmental concerns</a>.)



Musk’s company SpaceX also recently said it would will accept dogecoin as full payment for a flight to the moon in the first quarter of next year. He has also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/elon-musk-dubs-himself-the-dogefather-in-snl-promo-tweet-prompting-real-people-to-invest-actual-money-in-joke-crypto-11619633399" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">referred</a>&nbsp;to himself as the “dogefather.”



Bitcoin’s rise may have attracted new investors eager to profit — playing into scammers’ hands, especially since crypto is unknown territory for many investors, according to the FTC.



Nearly 7,000 people reported bogus crypto investments from October through March and lost more than $80 million total, according to the FTC.



That’s about 12 times the number of reports and almost 1,000% more in reported losses than the same period a year earlier, the agency said.



The true figures may be much higher since the data only reflects scams reported by consumers.



The typical person reported a loss of $1,900. Young investors (those ages 20 to 49) were over five times more likely to report losing money on cryptocurrency investment scams, according to the FTC.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-types-of-crypto-scams">Types of crypto scams</h2>



School teacher Julie Bushnell&nbsp;<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/bitcoin-scam-elon-musk-fake-b1847709.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told The Independent</a>&nbsp;she was a victim of the Musk “giveaway scam.” Bushnell navigated to a website that appeared to be a BBC News article, which claimed that Tesla was planning to give away half of its $1.5 billion stake in bitcoin. Bushnell sent $12,720 in bitcoin, before realizing she had directly transferred her crypto to a scammer’s wallet.



This isn’t the first time that Musk’s name has been exploited by scammers.



In 2020, crypto scammers targeted&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/TWTR" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a>&nbsp;and took over high-profile accounts on the social networking site, including that of Musk. As CNBC previously reported, the scammers made at least $121,000 in bitcoin from their hacking efforts



Crypto scammers aren’t only impersonating Musk to defraud unsuspecting victims. They also often impersonate a government authority or a well-known business.



Many have reported loading cash into bitcoin ATM machines to pay imposters claiming to be from the Social Security Administration, according to the FTC. Others have lost money to fraudsters posing as Coinbase, a well-known cryptocurrency exchange.



Investors have also been lured to bogus websites that look like opportunities for investing in or mining cryptocurrencies, according to the FTC.



They typically offer several investment tiers, promising bigger returns the more money put in. Such sites generally use fake testimonials and cryptocurrency jargon to appear credible. They may also make it seem like an investor is getting making a profit, but end up getting nothing back when they try to withdraw funds.



Many have also fallen victim to a crypto-themed version of a “romance scam.” Such investors are involved in long-distance relationships when their new “love” starts talking about a hot cryptocurrency opportunity, which they act on, according to the FTC.



— CNBC’s MacKenzie Sigalos contributed to this report.

106884025-1621269741194-gettyimages-1232949268-20090101210517-99-634065

Elon Musk impersonators stole more than $2 million in crypto scams, regulator says

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106353757-1579874477247gettyimages-1195640829.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-404177" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106353757-1579874477247gettyimages-1195640829.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106353757-1579874477247gettyimages-1195640829-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>A panel session on the closing day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Friday, Jan. 24, 2020. Bloomberg</figcaption></figure>



The World Economic Forum said Monday that it has canceled a summer version of its annual meeting that was due to take place in Singapore.



“Regretfully, the tragic circumstances unfolding across geographies, an uncertain travel outlook, differing speeds of vaccination rollout and the uncertainty around new variants combine to make it impossible to realise a global meeting with business, government and civil society leaders from all over the world at the scale which was planned,” the organization said in a statement.



The event, which brings together politicians and business leaders from around the world,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/07/world-economic-forum-to-be-held-in-singapore-in-may.html">had already been rescheduled twice</a>&nbsp;and had been moved to Singapore from its usual location of Davos, Switzerland. The summer event had been planned for the middle of August.



WEF said that the meeting will instead take place in the first half of 2022, with a final location and date to be determined later this year. Klaus Schwab, the founder and executive chairman of WEF called it a difficult decision.



“Ultimately the health and safety of everyone concerned is our highest priority,” he said in the statement.



Covid-19 cases in Singapore have climbed in the past few days.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.moh.gov.sg/news-highlights/details/21-new-cases-of-locally-transmitted-covid-19-infection-17May" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">In a preliminary update on Monday</a>, Singapore’s health ministry said it confirmed an additional 21 locally transmitted infections, 11 of which were not linked to previous cases. That takes Singapore’s cumulative Covid cases to more than 61,600 and 31 deaths, data by the health ministry showed.



More broadly, concerns have grown across the world over a new variant of the virus first discovered in India. Countries like the U.K., despite having a successful vaccination program, are carefully monitoring the data to see how transmissible the new strain is, and whether it will derail plans to fully reopen the economy.



—CNBC’s Yen Nee Lee contributed to this article.

106353757-1579874477247gettyimages-1195640829

World Economic Forum cancels 2021 meeting planned for Singapore

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106830514-1611717358443-gettyimages-1230721001-ccdsx_071.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-404173" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106830514-1611717358443-gettyimages-1230721001-ccdsx_071.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106830514-1611717358443-gettyimages-1230721001-ccdsx_071-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>People wearing face masks offer prayers at Sugamo Shrine in Tokyo. James Matsumoto| SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



A top medical organization has thrown its weight behind calls to cancel the Tokyo Olympics saying hospitals are already overwhelmed as the country battles a spike in coronavirus infections less than three months from the start of the Games.



The Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association representing about 6,000 primary care doctors said hospitals in the Games host city “have their hands full and have almost no spare capacity” amid a surge in infections.



“We strongly request that the authorities convince the IOC (International Olympic Committee) that holding the Olympics is difficult and obtain its decision to cancel the Games,” the association said in a May 14 open letter to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga which was posted to its website on Monday.



A jump in infections has stoked alarm amid&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/03/tokyo-games-wants-more-nurses-but-japans-medical-workers-are-stretched.html">a shortage of medical staff</a>&nbsp;and hospital beds in some areas of the Japanese capital, promoting the government to extend a third state of emergency in Tokyo and several other prefectures until May 31.



“The medical institutions dealing with Covid-19 have their hands full and have almost no spare capacity,” the medical association said in its letter.



Doctors would soon face the added difficulty of dealing with heat exhaustion patients during the summer months and if the Olympics contributed to a rise in deaths “Japan will bear the maximum responsibility,” it added.



Other health experts and medical groups have voiced their concerns about the Olympics, while an online petition calling for the Games to be cancelled was signed by hundreds of thousands of people.



Overall, Japan has avoided an explosive spread of the virus experienced by other nations, but the government has come under sharp criticism for its sluggish vaccination rollout.



Only about 3.5% of its population of about 126 million has been vaccinated, according to a Reuters tracker.



Underscoring the challenges with the vaccinations, booking systems for mass inoculation sites being launched in Tokyo and Osaka — which started accepting bookings on Monday — were marred by technical glitches.



But Suga says Japan can host “a safe and secure Olympics” while following appropriate Covid-19 containment measures.



Preparations for the July 23-Aug. 8 Games are progressing under tight Covid-19 protocols, such as an athletics test event featuring 420 athletes in early May.



The Games have already been postponed once due to the pandemic.



With cases surging across much of Asia, the World Economic Forum on Monday cancelled its annual meeting of the global elite due to be held in Singapore in August.



Under the state of emergency in parts of Japan, bars, restaurants, karaoke parlours and other places serving alcohol will remain closed, although large commercial facilities can reopen under shorter hours. Hard-hit Tokyo and Osaka will continue to keep these larger facilities closed.



The number of cases nationwide dropped to 3,680 on Monday, the lowest level since April 26, according to public broadcaster NHK, but the number of heavy infections hit a record high of 1,235, the health ministry said on Tuesday.

106830514-1611717358443-gettyimages-1230721001-ccdsx_071

Tokyo medical association calls for cancellation of Tokyo Olympics due to spike in Covid cases

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106096088-1566778497612gettyimages-1058471374.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-404169" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106096088-1566778497612gettyimages-1058471374.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/106096088-1566778497612gettyimages-1058471374-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>A Chinese and U.S. flag at a booth during the first China International Import Expo in Shanghai, November 6, 2018. Johannes Eisele | AFP | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



American businesses are bearing most of the cost burden from the elevated tariffs imposed at the height of the U.S.-China trade war, said Moody’s Investors Service.



The ratings agency said in a Monday report that U.S. importers absorbed more than 90% of additional costs resulting from the 20% U.S. tariff on Chinese goods.



That means U.S. importers pay around 18.5% more in price for a Chinese product subject to that 20% tariff rate, while Chinese exporters receive 1.5% less for the same product, according to the report.



“A majority of the cost of tariffs have been passed on to US importers,” Moody’s said in the report.



“If the tariffs remain in place, pressure on US retailers will likely rise, leading to a greater pass-through to consumer prices,” the agency added.



Higher trade tariffs came into force during former U.S. President&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/donald-trump/">Donald Trump’s</a>&nbsp;term. Most of those tariffs have remained in place and affect over half of all trade flows between the U.S. and China, said Moody’s.



U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods stood at an average of 19.3% on a trade-weighted basis in early 2021, while Chinese tariffs on American products were about 20.7%, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.piie.com/research/piie-charts/us-china-trade-war-tariffs-date-chart" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">data compiled by think tank Peterson Institute for International Economics</a>.



Before the U.S.-China trade war in early 2018, U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods were on average 3.1% while China’s tariffs on American goods were at 8%, the data showed.



U.S. importers are not the only one bearing the brunt of the elevated tariffs.



Moody’s said in the report that U.S. exporters also absorbed most of the costs from tariffs imposed by China. That’s partly because the U.S. exports targeted by those retaliatory tariffs are products that may be sourced from other places, such as agricultural goods.



Economists and businesses had argued that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/03/us-china-trade-war-who-pays-for-donald-trumps-tariffs.html">Trump’s tariffs on China harm the U.S. economy</a>, while failing to force China to reverse its unfair trade practices.



President&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/joe-biden/">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;previously said he disagreed with Trump’s approach to China, but is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/02/biden-tells-nyt-columnist-he-wont-immediately-remove-trumps-tariffs-on-china.html">not in a hurry to reverse</a>&nbsp;his predecessor’s policies. His administration had suggested that it’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/02/biden-administration-releases-report-on-trade-agenda-china-challenge.html">open to using tariffs to fight China’s</a>&nbsp;unfair trade practices.



Some observers said the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/25/trump-tariffs-could-give-biden-leverage-over-china-ex-us-trade-official.html">tariffs could give the U.S. leverage over China</a>.

106096088-1566778497612gettyimages-1058471374

U.S. companies are bearing the brunt of Trump’s China tariffs, says Moody’s

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