Hahaha! The scythe is no longer sharp—interest rates aren’t rising, and the U.S. is caught in a dilemma.

【Answer 1】 Regardless of how you look at it, finance’s essence is service. Huang Qifan cut straight to the heart of finance in just a few words: managing wealth for the wealthy, financing for those short of capital, and serving the real economy. Yet the U.S. has clearly inverted this principle—putting the cart before the horse. The essence of U.S. finance is to make the rich richer and the cash-strapped even poorer—squeezing the real economies of the entire world dry. Why is U.S. finance so advanced? Because money flows in too fast—essentially operating as an automated, integrated weed-harvesting machine. This is the fundamental reason behind the hollowing-out of America’s real economy: real-sector enterprises take too long to generate profits, carry excessive risk, and yield razor-thin margins. By quietly rewriting the rules of the game, U.S. financial institutions harvested $30 billion overnight from Bank of China’s crude oil futures product (‘Oil Treasure’). Why would capitalists ever bother with real-sector production? Compared to finance, even arms dealing, narcotics trafficking, and smuggling are low-margin businesses. By engineering financial storms, the U.S. can effortlessly reap trillions of dollars from across the globe. If direct harvesting yields such rapid returns, why bother with the real economy? Thus, since the 1980s, the U.S. economy has undergone financialization—leveraging the internet and globalization to stir up turbulence worldwide. In the 1980s, the U.S. harvested Latin America. In the early 1990s, it harvested Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union; by the late 1990s, it harvested Asia. Wave after wave of such harvesting enabled the U.S. to emerge from crises and march toward prosperity. Yet since the 2008 financial crisis, America’s ‘scythe’ seems to have dulled. First, the U.S. nearly collapsed during that very crisis. Second, although it painstakingly engineered the European debt crisis, the one who showed up to harvest was the ‘Rabbit’ (a colloquial term for China). During those years, CNPC, Sinopec, and CNOOC went on a global land-grabbing spree, acquiring oilfields overseas. In 2012, CNOOC acquired Canada’s Nexen Inc. In December 2009, BAIC acquired Saab’s technology assets; in March 2010, Geely acquired Volvo Cars. Haier acquired Sanyo; TCL merged with France’s Thomson; Midea acquired KUKA—the German robotics giant. The ‘Rabbit’ even began shearing wool off the ‘Eagle’ (a colloquial term for the U.S.): Haier acquired GE Appliances, and Shuanghui bought Smithfield Foods—the largest U.S. pork producer. Where’s the justice in that? In the latest round of harvesting since 2022, the U.S. has reaped some gains—but not much. Sri Lanka’s economy collapsed entirely, but immediately afterward, the ‘Rabbit’ stepped in with timely assistance—debt restructuring. America’s old playbook—manufacturing crises first, then posing as the benevolent rescuer—no longer works. Because another country consistently intervenes *before* the U.S., offering sincere, friendly, and favorable terms. Even after the U.S. painstakingly instigated the Russia-Ukraine conflict, while it did manage to fleece Europe, Japan, and South Korea, it failed to cripple Russia—and instead, two mysterious Eastern powers ended up benefiting. Why so little? Because Japan and South Korea have already been harvested repeatedly; most of their enterprises—and those in the EU—have already been acquired or controlled by foreign capital. Meanwhile, the prime target for harvesting not only possesses its own protective ‘breakwater,’ but also offers shelter and stability to numerous smaller nations. In short, America’s scythe is losing its cutting edge. This time, before the ‘dollar tide’ could even surge, American banks themselves buckled under pressure.

Red alert! Goldman Sachs leads the exodus—major players collectively pivot, and Europe smiles.

【Answer 2】 He stated that this decline in risk appetite would manifest primarily in capital markets activities and in facilitating client transactions. He explained that Goldman Sachs would “cherish liquidity more, retain larger buffer reserves,” and adopt a more balanced—rather than overly aggressive—strategy. He forecasts a scenario of “slowflation”—1%–1.5% growth alongside 3% inflation. Still, Waldron does not anticipate a severe economic recession. Debt alarm: Wall Street titans sound the warning Waldron joins other Wall Street heavyweights—including JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink—in sounding the alarm over the U.S. fiscal deficit outlook. He stated: “Deficit reduction is our top priority. The deficit is growing alarmingly large, and sustaining this pace into the foreseeable future is, in my view, unsustainable.” When asked whether investors were pulling out of U.S. assets due to concerns over tariffs and deficits, Waldron revealed that Goldman’s clients are seeking “to reduce overweight positions in U.S. assets” and are hedging their dollar exposure. He warned: “From a fundamental asset-allocation perspective, I see this merely as a marginal behavioral shift. But if policy-related damage persists longer, we’re more likely to witness significantly more pronounced changes.” “Institutional investors are exiting the U.S. market” According to a Financial Times report dated June 5, major institutional investors are shifting capital away from U.S. markets, as trade-policy volatility and rapidly ballooning government debt erode investor confidence in U.S. assets. Bank of America’s most recent fund-manager survey found the lowest dollar allocation in nearly two decades. This shift is starkly evident in market performance: the S&P 500 has risen less than 2% this year, while Europe’s Stoxx 600 has surged 9%. The dollar, meanwhile, is nearing a three-year low—down 9% this year. “The deficit problem is worsening,” said Seth Bernstein, CEO of AllianceBernstein—which manages $780 billion in assets—adding that the U.S. current borrowing pace is unsustainable. Trump’s signature tax reform bill is projected to add $2.4 trillion to federal debt over ten years, further straining U.S. Treasury markets. He urged investors to pause and reflect: “How much capital do you really want concentrated in a single market?”

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Blackstone's Gray Warns Europe Fiscal Risks Outweigh US Woes

Blackstone's Gray Warns Europe Fiscal Risks Outweigh US Woes

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