America has sent the USS Theodore Roosevelt into the Gulf of Aden, possibly to block supplies heading to Houthi rebels currently engaged in an effort to spread its control over Yemen.

With Saudi Arabia pounding positions for more than a week, the rebels are probably in tremendous need of more supplies. If they can be choked out, maybe the country won’t become the next Iraq.

It would hard to imagine Iran engage one of our world-class aircraft carriers and its escort ship, the USS Normandy, but this is the kind of saber-rattling in the midst of nuclear negotiations that make many distrust Iran.

The country has made its intentions with respect to Israel and America well known, but still, we’re on the cusp of green-lighting their nuclear weapons development.

When will America not have to answer such calls?

It’s hard to say; however, as the global economy becomes more and more intertwined, it is critical that we focus on opportunities rather than nation-building. Don’t get me wrong, I’m one of those guys who is proud of our rich heritage of policing and saving the world, but we can’t lose sight on the economics of the planet and allow others to supplant our goals and influence us while we spend trillions and lose lives.

China’s Colonial Goals

Economic colonialism is what I’m calling China’s push to spread money and even diplomacy around the world without firing a single missile or losing soldiers. Over the last 10 years, China has poured more than $800 billion around the world with a brief lull last year.

Those investments have been spread into several sectors with energy by far the lion share, but also big investments in metals and transportation.

Now details on China’s modern Silk Road project underscores why maybe America must completely re-think its foreign policy and nation-building goals.

Since 2001, 2,357 American soldiers have died in Afghanistan while the United States has invested $5 billion. Now China is stepping up with a $45.7-billion plan that includes energy, roads, rail mass transit and ports.

It’s time to realize that China’s economic colonialism is positioning them to access the materials and customers of the future.  We have to make sure we are positioned too, and not just with aircraft carriers and soldiers.

Today’s Session

Today will be a light day in terms of domestic economic data releases. The major equity indices are holding their ground and continuing to rise so far this morning. Corporate America is helping the lift, as many companies are releasing good news regarding past and future quarters. Below are some of the companies that reported this morning.