Steve Eisman says Hong Kong protests are a possible ‘black swan’

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/08/steve-eisman-says…

“I think the potential black swan, if there is a black swan right now, is what’s happening in Hong Kong right now,” said Eisman on CNBC’s Power Lunch. “If things escalate even further in Hong Kong, that would have a real impact back on the global economy.”

“The people who are protesting are not backing down, the Chinese government doesn’t seem to be backing down, so if cooler heads don’t prevail it’s possible things in Hong Kong could get very ugly.”

How credible do you think his claims are? I'd imagine if China sends in their military to quash the protests, that would be a major geopolitical event, but if not, do you think the HK protests can still bring down the global economy?

7 Comments
 

Interested too.

I know China is hella dependent on HK currency-wise, so I imagine the real fear is the cascade impact to China?

 

This is going to get very ugly because China is in no position to concede to HK because it sets a precedent they cannot allow as all their force projection comes from their unified nationalism (or appearance of) and power centralization. China will not take the chance for this to spread to the mainland - the state's biggest fear is a protest similar to the yellow vests across the entire country. Look at peasant revolution history in China I imagine a media blackout soon plus many disappearances and unaccounted for deaths.

 
Most Helpful

No, I do not think the Hong Kong protests will "bring down" the global economy, but they can certainly have a negative impact. That said, I'm firmly on the side of the protesters and freedom.

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

I think Hawaii will secede from the US before Hong Kong secedes from China, and they are both working hard at it...

Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes.
 

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