Why China's Banning iPhones

And The 'Funded Traders' Finding Out

Author

Tim Vollans
September 07, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes

Apple looking weak after reports that China wants to ban iPhones from ALL government workplaces. What’s going on?

In association with DarwinexZero. Allocating real capital to successful traders

Apple had a bad day yesterday. Down another 3% plus in pre-market today.

Now, these reports are touted as more evidence of the US-China tech war heating up. This is probably the end of Apple or something.

And it’s worth paying attention to. There’s a LOT of government employees in China…

And that’s just the direct government employees. Extend it to the State Owned Enterprises, companies in sensitive industries etc and you’ve basically banned iPhones at work for every employee in China.

That this is happening just as Huawei launched their most advanced phone yet is a mere coincidence.

And it definitely won’t have anything to do with a US lawmaker call for ending Huawei, SMIC exports after chip breakthrough

Cynics and conspiracy theorists could have a field day with this.

Let’s bring it back for a second. Get a bit of context… The (rumoured) order is targeting foreign devices. Not just Apple.

Add a few Reuters sources…

Staff in at least three ministries and government bodies were told not to use iPhones at work, said the sources, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the situation.

One of the sources said they had not yet been given a deadline to cease their iPhone use.

a third source at one of the three ministries was still using an iPhone and had not yet heard about the restriction.

A fourth source, at a Chinese regulatory body, said they had not been explicitly barred but were told they would be held responsible should any issues emerge with their use of iPhones.

A fifth source at another regulatory body said senior staff had two years ago already been required to swap their iPhones for locally made brands such as Huawei Technologies

Hardly the picture of a sweeping or sudden crackdown so far…

And we’ve jumped right from “first $3 trillion company” in July to “the next IBM” by September…

Listen, there are ALWAYS risks with Apple & China.

And it would be no surprise if China DOES push government officials towards purchasing more domestic products.

It’s already happening with Electric Vehicles, plus China’s domestic economy could always do with a boost.

But that doesn’t mean they’ll end up effectively banning iPhones.

If reports are to be believed (and when it comes to China, it’s rarely clear), the party elders aren’t too happy with the direction of the country under Xi.

Sources said that at this year's gathering, a group of retired party elders reprimanded the top leader in ways they had not until now.

A property market with little buyer confidence, massive youth unemployment, piecemeal stimulus & an increasingly antagonistic relationship with their largest trade partner are not recipes for success.

Imagine the negative ripple effects if China really turned against Apple.

Anything’s possible, but it seems improbable.

Buyers stepping in around the August low and buying this panic looks a far more likely scenario to me…

Funded Traders Found Out

A couple of months back, we wrote about the actual working of the Funded Traders business model.

💵 Becoming A Funded Trader

Fink More About Markets

pro.fink.money/p/becoming-funded-trader

Key Quotes

There's the question of whether your trades actually hit market at all...

Many of these companies operate with 'demo' accounts.

Basically, it's an in-house simulated PvP trading game.

The hopefuls lose their accounts and forfeit the 'evaluation' fees which, in turn, fund the payouts of those who don't lose their accounts (until they do). Whatever's left over is for the company.

It's a great business model and not dis-similar to the many brokers who operate B books. The broker takes the other side of client trades and lets the probabilities do their thing...

The CFTC has clocked this game, and charged one of the largest platforms (My Forex Funds / Traders Global) with Fraudulently Taking Over $300 Million From Customers Hoping to Become Professional Traders

The complaint is an entertaining read (as long as you’re not one of those who believed the marketing BS) and includes little gems like these:

Traders Global is a fraud. In reality, Traders Global—not a thirdparty “liquidity provider”—is the counterparty to substantially all customer trades.

Traders Global does not, therefore, make money when customers make money. Traders Global loses money when customers make money.

Traders Global pays customers who trade successfully. But substantially all of the payments come from fees paid by other customers, in a manner similar to a Ponzi scheme, and not from the proceeds of profitable trading against “liquidity providers.”

Another for the when something seems too good to be true, it usually is file..

That said, sometimes people will literally give you five hundred Great British Pounds in exchange for your e-mail address*

*Yes. Technically it’s the chance to win five hundred pounds.

But even if you don’t win that, you get to hear even more from us, which is worth roughly the same as Midas’ gold stash. Don’t miss out!

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Fink. more about money

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