ONE HAS LONG BEEN A SAFE PLACE TO PARK MONEY WHILE THE OTHER IS NOT SO MUCH: Investors Fleeing China Are Going Big in Japan.

Japanese cosmetics and pop culture have long been hot items in China—Japanese stocks, less so.

The fact that this is beginning to change—Chinese individual investors are piling headlong into Japanese shares as their own market flags—is both a sign of the times and a big hint as to why Japanese stocks are suddenly doing so well in general.

Foreign investors who previously parked a lot of cash in China need somewhere else for their international allocations. A lot of Chinese domestic capital is eyeing the exits, too: And Japan is cheaper than the U.S. and, potentially, comes with less political and regulatory risk.

Potentially?

ROBERT SPENCER: Gimme a Break: Haley Claims That in the South, She Was ‘Teased Every Day for Being Brown.’

ANTONY BLINKEN IS ON HIS WAY TO MOSCOW TO FIND A COMPROMISE SOLUTION AS WE SPEAK: Putin Wants Alaska Back. Also, People In Hell Want Icewater. “One wonders what purpose these vainglorious, unenforceable pronouncements are meant to serve.”

ISN’T EVERYTHING? Email Is Racist. “This latest affront to decency is based on the accusations of Trump prosecutor Fani Willis, who, at the moment, is undoubtedly desperately casting about for anything to shift the focus from her alleged shenanigans.”

STILL NOT READY FOR PRIMETIME: Ford dealership details ‘struggle’ with EV truck as ‘concerns’ mount.

Maoli claimed the sales for the electric version of Ford’s iconic F-150 truck have been dismal at her New Jersey dealership. Her comments come just days after the U.S. automaker announced it would dial back production of the electric truck as demand wanes.

The company said it will reduce the number of shifts at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, where it builds the EV pickups, to one, beginning April 1.

The move will affect some 1,400 workers, including 700 who will move to the company’s Michigan Assembly Plant. Some employees will be placed in roles at the Rouge complex or other Ford facilities in southeast Michigan, and others can “take advantage of the Special Retirement Incentive Program agreed to in the 2023 Ford-UAW contract,” Ford said.

“I think that we all know, and we all talk about how… the infrastructure is not there yet for EVs,” Maoli added. “And I think that they’re trying to move a little bit too fast.”

Get ahead of the market — or try to create one out of thin air through taxes, incentives, and mandates — and the market will bite back.

DON SURBER: Look who protects free speech: Billionaires now are doing the job that journalists quit.

And a lot of journalists are unhappy about it.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: DeSantis Should Sue His Campaign Consultants for Malpractice. “It’s no secret that I am not a fan of the grifters in the political consultant class. Consultants don’t even have to be good at their jobs — the political landscape is littered with scores of them who have track records that should make them want to bury their heads in the sand.”

IT’S TOTALITARIAN INDOCTRINATION, OF COURSE, AND IT’S MEANT TO BE: Wisconsin Law School’s Mandatory DEI Trainings And Academic Freedom.

This sort of thing also creates a pervasively hostile educational environment on account of race, as courts are starting to notice.

GET WOKE, GO BROKE: Woolworths’ decision to shun Australia Day inflames culture war. “Australia Day, a public holiday marking the arrival of the first ships carrying British convicts in Sydney in 1788, is traditionally celebrated on January 26 with family parties and barbecues. More recently, it has become a point of contention for Australians who believe the date should be changed because of its colonial origin. The debate over the national holiday escalated this month after the country’s largest retailer Woolworths announced it would not stock Australia Day paraphernalia — including caps, temporary tattoos and plastic flags — due to a “gradual decline in demand” for merchandise.”

Related: Woolworths to fly First Nation flags outside key offices.

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: These new synthetic opioids could make fentanyl crisis look like ‘the good old days.’

CORRUPTION AT THE TOP: Harvard: Gay’s Plagiarism More Problematic Than We Thought.

Related: The Claudine Gay story isn’t Roots, it’s Shattered Glass.

FALLOUT: United Airlines forecasts first-quarter loss due to Boeing 737 Max 9 grounding. “United has 79 of the aircraft in its fleet, more than any other carrier, followed by Alaska. United said Monday it expects the planes to remain grounded through Jan. 26, though its forecast assumes it won’t be able to fly the planes at all this month.”

COMMUNISTS ALWAYS RUN OUT OF OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY: AOC-affiliated Democratic Socialists of America in ‘financial crisis.’ “The seven-figure deficit comes after the DSA, which leads anti-Israel protests across the country, did not publicly condemn the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks.”

HMM: Chinese Illegal Numbers Still Spiking, Mostly Single Adults.

STAY WARM: DUODUO Heated Electric Blanket 72″x84″ Full Size. #CommissionEarned

MORE BILLIONS FOR BORDER VIOLATORS: The Epoch Times this morning reports a spending explosion by the Biden administration on providing a full spectrum of assistance to millions of illegal immigrants since 2021. And can you guess who is paying for all this free stuff for illegals?

Adam Andrzejewski, founder and president of Open The Books, which did the research, told The Epoch Times that, while “the numbers are troubling, [they] shouldn’t surprise us. The stacking of Biden’s policy failures resulted in this immigration crisis. As more refugees flood our border, the administration keeps spending on aid and proffering even more perks. America’s southern border is now just an ever-growing magnet for people from every corner of the planet. The numbers won’t slow down unless the dollars do.”

DECOUPLING CUTS BOTH WAYS: China Buys Near-Record $40 Billion of Chip Gear to Beat US Curbs.

Imports of the machinery used to make computer chips rose 14% in 2023 to almost $40 billion — the second largest amount by value on record in data going back to 2015, according to Bloomberg calculations based on official customs data. The increase came despite a 5.5% drop in total imports last year, underscoring the importance that the Chinese government and the nation’s chip industry have placed on becoming self-sufficient.

Chinese chip companies are rapidly investing in new semiconductor factories to try and advance the nation’s capabilities and get around export controls imposed by the US and its allies. Those curbs are making it harder for Chinese companies to get access to the machines needed to make the most powerful chips — and slowing the development of China’s high-tech sector, which is seen as a threat to the US.

Taiwan Semi is still showing the rest of the world how it’s done, which brings us to this next story: China is unable to invade Taiwan, most U.S. and Taiwanese experts say. “Most U.S. and Taiwanese experts polled in a new survey say China lacks the capabilities to effectively carry out an amphibious invasion of Taiwan but is well-positioned to execute a blockade.”

SHOCKER: Supreme Court Sides With Biden Admin on Texas Border Case.

OUT TODAY:  Shapers of Worlds Volume IV: Science fiction and fantasy by authors featured on The Worldshapers podcast.

#COMMISSION EARNED

With a short story by yours truly. For more about that story, read here.

The fourth in a series of powerhouse anthologies featuring some of today’s top authors of science fiction and fantasy

From the farthest reaches of our galaxy to the cozy-yet-mysterious spaces under beds and behind sofa cushions, from mystical realms of fantasy to the here-and-now and the very near future, the nineteen authors in this fourth collection of science fiction and fantasy by authors featured on the Aurora Award-winning podcast The Worldshapers offer readers a kaleidoscope of fantastical adventures in the company of unforgettable characters.

The editor of a tyrannical bestselling author thinks she’s finally escaped their hellish relationship when the author dies . . . but she couldn’t be more wrong. A retired ghost-hunter’s life takes an unexpected turn when an immensely valuable magical vase from the nineteenth century is brought to her attention. At the end of a millennia-long journey to the edge of the galaxy, a man who has lived a hundred lifetimes is reunited with his first true love in the midst of a battle for survival. Scarecrows that appear overnight on a lonely man’s lawn prove to be far more than the teenagers’ prank he thinks them to be. A man travels back in time to confront the attacker who destroyed his life, only to make a horrifying discovery. The Monster Under the Bed finally meets his match . . .

Shapers of Worlds Volume IV hasnew stories by David Boop, Michaelbrent Collings, Roy M. Griffis, Sarah A. Hoyt, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Noah Lemelson, Edward M. Lerner, David Liss, Gail Z. Martin, Joshua Palmatier, Richard Paolinelli, Jean-Louis Trudel, James van Pelt, Garon Whited, and Edward Willett, plus previously published stories by James Kennedy, Mark Leslie, R.S. Mellette, and Lavie Tidhar. Each story features an illustration by Wendi Nordell.

Travel into the past, the present, and the future in stories set in our world, in deep space, in worlds scattered across the multiverse, and in worlds that exist only in the imagination, all shaped by an outstanding collection of authors, many of them bestsellers and award-winners.

An unforgettable journey awaits. All you have to do is turn the page . . .

Praise for Shapers of Worlds Volume IV

“One of the most overall enjoyable anthologies I have had the pleasure of reading . . . I think that the editor says it best in his introduction: this collection is like a grand feast, made of many varied splendid ingredients, and you are quite sure to leave happy and satisfied when you are done.” – Tangent Online

K12 IMPLOSION UPDATE: School Choice Is Popular and Increasingly Common: Kids have disappeared from public schools, with most opting for a range of alternatives.

Related: The ‘Expert’ Delusion in Education.

DON’T LET THE CCP GOONS BULLY A FREE MAN:  British pianist who was accosted by CCP agents who called the police on him for filming them in public. They are now trying to pressure YouTube into removing the video with their faces on it.

WELL, OF COURSE THEY DO. ONLY BY FRAUD CAN THEY KEEP THEIR GRIP ON POWER: By ‘Protecting Election Workers,’ Democrats Mean Protecting Control Over Election Administration.

A SANE VIEW ON AN INSANE SUBJECT:  Son of photographer David Bailey claims online chat rooms groomed him into being transgender.

Particularly what he says about minors.

THIS IS INSANE. IF YOU HAVE NO TEXT THAT’S SACRED TO YOU, EVEN IF THE TEXT IS THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, YOU SHOULDN’T SERVE:  Virginia official sworn-in on Metallica album.

NAH. MARIE ANTOINETTE WAS A VICTIM OF PROPAGANDA. THE DAVOISIE ARE BOND VILLAINS TELLING US ALL THEIR PLANS, LOUD AND PROUD:  The World Economic Forum’s Marie Antoinettes.