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Over the last two weeks, since the World Economic Forum in Davos, China has been heralded as the world's savior of globalization. The country's leader, Xi Jinping, was the first Chinese president to ever attend the Forum, where he was cheered for touting the wonders of open markets. To many investors, he was a refreshing reminder of the reliable rules of global capitalism at a time when Brexit and Donald Trump are busy rewriting those rules. Yet, according to a number of investors with money at work in China, and surveys by American corporations there, the world's No. 2 economy is as protective as ever. The herald of open market capitalism is hardly open.

"China's markets, even though they have opened in some respects over the last decade, many things are not as open as they used to be," says Rob Lutts chief investment officer of Cabot Wealth Management, a $600 million family office in Salem, Mass. Lutts recently returned from a trip to Beijing and is more bullish than bearish on China. But from his recent talks with both Chinese and American CFOs in the country, the takeaway from both sides is that there is more protection in a number of key Chinese industries. "If you talk to American executives here, they all have a China strategy but are much more concerned today about not being treated fairly than they used to be. This openness that Xi is portraying in Davos...it's good for him to be there and shows China's importance to global trade and the global market, but I would not say that China is any more open today that it was a year ago. I'd say they are more protective of their own businesses than ever."

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What investors should watch the week of January 30 - February 3.

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According to AAII the bullish % dropped 5.4% last week to 31.6% which is consistent with a correction. I would expect this to change in the next survey. The clearly positive intermediate term analysis has now been joined by positive daily signals ...

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A story examining historical data on annualized returns of the U.S. stock market going back to the 1850s, which according to the analysis from one leading ETF provider points to it being unlikely that Donald Trump's tenure as new President will result in outperformance versus his predecessors.

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Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is adding his voice to those who are alarmed and upset by President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration -- and he's upping the ante on corporate responses, vowing to hire 10,000 refugees over the next five years.

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In trading on Tuesday, shares of Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE: XOM) entered into oversold territory, changing hands as low as $83.13 per share.

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In threatening Mexico, China, Japan and the Eurozone with trade wars, Trump and Navarro are manipulating our currency big time. I predict a major drop in the dollar if Congress doesn't intervene and keep our country from heading down its “elected” path to economic isolation and decline.

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Stock market strategy shift: Set growth aside and focus on risk. It could be rewarding

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The Chinese New Year is currently being observed and the event is expected to see the largest human migration in the world. According to authorities, the total number of trips made this year could be 3 billion (2.5 billion by land and 356 million by train 58.3 by plane, and 43.5 million by boat).).

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Exxon Mobil too posted lower-than-expected December quarter and full year results earlier this week, despite the upswing in commodity prices. While the company showed some improvement in its top-line for the fourth quarter, it missed the consensus quarterly and full year estimates by a mile.

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