Li & Fung bets that Beijing is serious about growing China's consumer economy
Li & Fung, the biggest supplier to Wal-Mart, is convinced that China’s leaders will carry through on their talk of shifting the country’s economy toward domestic consumption and away from exports. The company is looking to buy Chinese companies in the fashion,...It's price controls to fight supermarket inflation, China's Premier Wen promises in Mongolian supermarket
It’s an odd ritual. Something like Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney without the groundhog. At the start of the calendar year China’s Premier Wen Jiabao visits a remote corner of China, mingles with the crowds, and delivers a major message about the coming year. This year...Beijing moves to reduce the profitability of China's big export companies
Forget about trying to outguess the People’s Bank of China on interest rate increases. On the fundamentals, China’s stocks got more expensive and less attractive for 2011 because of two end-of-the year announcements from the government in Beijing. Each announcement...China will set the tone for global stock markets in 2011 but what message are China's stocks sending now?
The Shanghai stock market is closed today, Monday January 3, to observe New Year’s Day—which gives investors a chance to catch up on the market’s rather unusual reaction to a Christmas Day interest rate increase by the People’s Bank of China.Buy Baidu (BIDU)
Shares of Baidu (BIDU), China’s leading Internet search provider, have been drifting lower since a November 11 high of $114.10—until yesterday. As of the close in New York, the shares had moved up to $101.25, a 2.5% gain on the day. The most recent part of the price...So much depends on the People's Bank of China
“Don’t fight the People’s Bank of China,” is my new mantra for investing in today’s global financial markets. It replaces that old Wall Street saw “Don’t fight the Fed.” Right now what China’s central bank does on currency exchange rates, money supply, and interest...Inflation rages ahead in China, rising 5.1% in November: So where's the action from Beijing?
Bad news from the consumer price inflation numbers released in China on December 11. Inflation not only climbed in November from October’s already too-high 4.4% annual rate but jumped to a 5.1% pace. That’s well above the 4.7% rate that economists surveyed by...Shanghai stock market falls on speculation that another interest rate increase is on the way–soon
On the Shanghai stock market it’s time to play “Can you guess what the government will do next?” As fans of this ever popular game know, the point is to guess what market roiling move Beijing plans next and then by buying or selling to get your portfolio positioned to...With inflation on a run, the Chinese are buying gold too
China has treated data on the country’s level of gold imports as a state secret—until last week. And the newly public data shows that China is on a path that would have the country overtake India as the world’s largest consumer of gold. Think this might be bullish for...News on faster growth for China isn't good news in the long run
Right now faster than expected growth in China isn’t a good thing. Not in the long run anyhow. Investors in China get it even if the rest of the world’s markets still stand ready to cheer as they did yesterday. That’s because every bit of extra growth raises fears...Can Beijing fix its run-way bank lending problem? Does it really want to?
Important math yesterday, November 22, by the Financial Times’s James Kynge, the paper’s long-time China correspondent and author of the book China Shakes the World. Kynge notes that the official new bank loan total so far for 2010—a daunting 6.9 trillion renminbi in...Yingli Green Energy (YGE)
While the United State has dithered over how, when, and whether to invest in the energy industries of the future, solar cells and panels have become a commodity business. And that gives a huge edge to China’s solar manufacturers with their significantly lower labor...Where's the hot money going? China–no surprise–and its service sector–surprise
Want to know where all those hot dollars are headed? Looks like a lot of it is winding up in China’s real estate market. No surprise and nothing different there. Foreign direct investment in China’s real estate sector climbed by 48% in the first 10 months of 2010 from...China raises bank reserves again–another increase in benchmark interest rates can't be far behind
If at fourth, you don’t succeed in slowing inflation, bank lending, and growth in the money supply, try a fifth increase in bank reserve requirements. Today, November 19, the People’s Bank of China announced that banks would have to increase the money they keep as...2011 is going to be different than investors thought even a few weeks ago
Time to re-think 2011. The news of the last three weeks plus the market reaction to that news demands a rethink of investment strategy for 2011. 2011is going to be a lot less linear, a lot more volatile—if not necessary more or less profitable– than I thought it...In China's dip it's domestic consumer stocks 1 and overseas export stocks 0
If you only look at U.S. stocks, the equities markets looked calm yesterday, November 17. The Standard & Poor’s 500, for example, was up 0.02%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1%. Quite a contrast to the day before, November 16. But not if you look at...So exactly how serious is Beijing about slowing China's economy?
Have China’s biggest banks been banned from making further loans to property developers this year or not? The answer isn’t just of interest to real estate developers and investors who hold their shares. Lending policy in this sector is a good indicator of how serious...China gets the worries big time over inflation fixes
The news is that China’s government is drafting policies to fight inflation. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said so on November 15 from a supermarket in Guangzhou. The comments were broadcast on state TV so they count as solid news. The rumor is that China’s central bank...Go domestic with your international stocks
At the end of October China’s Communist Party formally endorsed the country’s new12th five-year economic plan. For 2011-2015 the plan envisions changing China from the world’s factory to the world’s market. During this period, China’s leaders intend to change the...If we may be headed to a bubble and bust, what should we do about it?
Double double toil and trouble. The world’s financial market are only facing two witches stirring the pot, but between them they’re quite capable of adding a third bubble and bust in 2011 to the run that began in 2000 and continued with 2007. I’d be a lot less worried...Inflation continues to accelerate in China, hits 4.4% in October
Those economists and traders who thought that the November 10 increase in the reserve requirement for China’s banks was a sign that inflation in October had soared have turned out to be absolutely correct. But too conservative. After the People’s Bank of China raised...So who won the elections?–which stocks? I mean
The U.S Chamber of Commerce had spent $35 million on the mid-term elections as of November 2, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. American Crossroads, another independent organization, spent $22 million. The Club for Growth $8 million. The National...Is a real estate tax finally on the way in China? It would sure shake up the stock market there
China is edging toward a national property tax system. The Ministry of Finance expects to get approval for a pilot program in December to roll out in 2011 in cities such as Shanghai and Chongqing, according to Caixin Online. There won’t be any decision until after the...Inflation numbers send Shanghai market into reverse (but down this time)
Good news plus bad news on China’s economy added up to bad news for China’s stocks today, October 21. The good news was that China’s economy grew at an annual rate of 9.6% in the third quarter. That was slightly ahead of the 9.5% that economists surveyed by Bloomberg...China taps a new leader but who is this guy?
It sure is a lot more orderly than the current U.S. elections. Even if the meaning of the result remains more than a bit vague. On October 18 the central committee of China’s Communist Party appointed Xi Jinping vice chairman of the Communist Party’s military...China stocks reverse; Shanghai finishes up 2% on belief that yesterday's interest rate hike will be last one
Well, that’s one way to read it. After dropping in the first hour of trading, China’s stocks climbed,with the Shanghai Composite Index going from a 1% loss in the first hour to a 2% gain at the close. Investors and traders in China have apparently decided that...Could China really be running out of rare earth minerals? That's what the country is saying
On October 16 China’s Ministry of Commerce said that the country could run out of medium and heavy rare earth reserves in 15 to 20 years at the current rate of production. Could this be true? Or is it simply justification for the country’s decision to cut export...The trading day starts off DOWN in China
So far on China’s stock markets it’s still the same old story: Anytime the central bank raises interest rates, as it did yesterday October 19, or does anything that might slow growth or hinder asset speculation, stocks drop like a stone. Except for real estate...China hadn't raised its benchmark interest rates since 2007–Why today?
China caught global financial markets flatfooted today, October 19, by raising its benchmark interest rates for the first time since 2007. The People’s Bank of China raised its one-year lending rate to 5.56% from 5.31% and its deposit rate by 0.25 percentage points to...Jim’s Daily Email Alerts:
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