exports), China's foreign exchange reserves are not even close to keeping pace.Readers may recall that a massive amount of money flowed into China, a good bit of it disguised (FDI was one of the suspect categories) because RMB appreciation looked to be a one-way trade. Given China's currency controls, there were limited options for playing that point of view from overseas, hence the funds influx.But now that China has quietly gone back to a hard peg to the dollar, the dreams of a quick profit have been dashed, and the hot money is making an exit. Per Brad Setser (part of a longer and useful post, hat tip reader Michael). The reserve requirement mention comes about because the PBoC requires banks to hold some of their reserves in dollars, which means that the true FX reserves are greater than the official reserves:
The trade surplus should have produced a $115 billion increase in China’s foreign assets. FDI inflows and interest income should combine to produce another $30-40 billion. The fall in the reserve requirement should have added another $50-55 billion (if not more) to China’s reserves. Sum it up and China’s reserves would have increased by about $200 billion in the absence of hot money flows. Instead they went up by about $50 billion. That implies that money is now flowing out of China as fast as it flowed in during the first part of 2008.And in December, the outflows were absolutely bruta....$70 billion plus in monthly hot only outflows … That’s huge. Annualized, it is well in excess of 10% of China’s GDP. Probably above 15% …
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Asia-Europe Shipping Rates Drop to Zero
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/01/asia-europe-shipping-rates-drop-to-zero.html
This is no regular cycle slowdown, but a complete collapse in foreign demand," said Lindsay Coburn, ING's trade consultant....The World Bank caused shockwaves with a warning last month that global trade may decline this year for the first time since the Second World War. This appears increasingly certain with each new batch of data.
Mr de Trenck predicts Asian trade to the US will fall 7pc this year. To Europe he estimates a drop of 9pc – possibly 12pc. Trade flows grow 8pc in an average year.He said it was "illogical" for shippers to offer zero rates, but they do whatever they can to survive in a highly cyclical market.Offering slots for free is akin to an airline giving away spare seats for nothing in the hope of making something from meals and fees.
This is no regular cycle slowdown, but a complete collapse in foreign demand," said Lindsay Coburn, ING's trade consultant....The World Bank caused shockwaves with a warning last month that global trade may decline this year for the first time since the Second World War. This appears increasingly certain with each new batch of data.
Mr de Trenck predicts Asian trade to the US will fall 7pc this year. To Europe he estimates a drop of 9pc – possibly 12pc. Trade flows grow 8pc in an average year.He said it was "illogical" for shippers to offer zero rates, but they do whatever they can to survive in a highly cyclical market.Offering slots for free is akin to an airline giving away spare seats for nothing in the hope of making something from meals and fees.
美媒研究中国模式: 欧美羡慕中国的国家干预能力
http://www.6park.com/news/messages/10774.html金融海啸冲击全球，美英等国先后将银行业和汽车业国有化，但中国却能独善其身。西方国家过去对中国的国家干预能力嗤之以鼻，但在危机下却效法中国，证明了中国的做法是生存之道。最新一期的美国《新闻周刊》便刊登题为“中国何以运转乾坤”的专题文章，详述中国的“指令性资本主义经济”如何有效运转，使之成为当今的金融海啸下，唯一能录得显着增长的主要经济体 www.6park.com
文章称，中国之所以能于全球经济乱局中鹤立鸡群，是因为她是唯一打破经济学教科书常规的国家。中国并没有完全放任市场经济，政府会于适当时候插手市场，重点的行业仍由政府主导，而银行业的重要职位都由政府官员出任，他们会听从国家指示，选择合适的贷款和投资对象。 www.6park.com
事实上，中国经济没有像其它5大经济体一样迅速减速，其主要原因在于中国具备自由派经济学家通常嗤之以鼻的国家干预能力，如在金融业中，中国限制外商投资，也不全盘引进外国的创新而复杂的投资工具，终能避开这次严重的金融海啸。 www.6park.com
中国看来最能抵御这场最严重的全球衰退，其指令性资本主义为何能奏效，这个问题更具时代意义。经济学家一直对这个问题感兴趣，他们往往把国家功能看得一无是处，而市场是灵丹妙药，而如今欧美也在向国家干预靠拢。 www.6park.com
文章称，中国官员面对危机时，可以像西方政府一样采用传统的市场手段，但也会加入干预，是指令式资本主义的后盾。比如去年初楼市过热，中国下令银行缩减房贷，接着当住房销售下滑时，他们又推出刺激楼市措施。同时，他们也会发布在西方被视为不当“干预”的指令，比如早前当局要求国有企业通过在国内外收购新资产，“积极扩大”在经济中的作用。 www.6park.com
中国的国家干预曾被视为不成熟经济的坏习惯，现在却获西方国家奉为圭臬，视之为稳定的堡垒。里昂证券经济师罗斯曼说：“大部分的资本密集型行业由政府控制，我因此对中国的前景感到乐观。”美国摩根士丹利亚洲区主席罗奇表示：“在经济困难时期，中国的指令控制型体制的确比其它的市场体系更有效。”
文章称，中国之所以能于全球经济乱局中鹤立鸡群，是因为她是唯一打破经济学教科书常规的国家。中国并没有完全放任市场经济，政府会于适当时候插手市场，重点的行业仍由政府主导，而银行业的重要职位都由政府官员出任，他们会听从国家指示，选择合适的贷款和投资对象。 www.6park.com
事实上，中国经济没有像其它5大经济体一样迅速减速，其主要原因在于中国具备自由派经济学家通常嗤之以鼻的国家干预能力，如在金融业中，中国限制外商投资，也不全盘引进外国的创新而复杂的投资工具，终能避开这次严重的金融海啸。 www.6park.com
中国看来最能抵御这场最严重的全球衰退，其指令性资本主义为何能奏效，这个问题更具时代意义。经济学家一直对这个问题感兴趣，他们往往把国家功能看得一无是处，而市场是灵丹妙药，而如今欧美也在向国家干预靠拢。 www.6park.com
文章称，中国官员面对危机时，可以像西方政府一样采用传统的市场手段，但也会加入干预，是指令式资本主义的后盾。比如去年初楼市过热，中国下令银行缩减房贷，接着当住房销售下滑时，他们又推出刺激楼市措施。同时，他们也会发布在西方被视为不当“干预”的指令，比如早前当局要求国有企业通过在国内外收购新资产，“积极扩大”在经济中的作用。 www.6park.com
中国的国家干预曾被视为不成熟经济的坏习惯，现在却获西方国家奉为圭臬，视之为稳定的堡垒。里昂证券经济师罗斯曼说：“大部分的资本密集型行业由政府控制，我因此对中国的前景感到乐观。”美国摩根士丹利亚洲区主席罗奇表示：“在经济困难时期，中国的指令控制型体制的确比其它的市场体系更有效。”
German Growth Slumped in 2008 as Recession Set In (Update2)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=an4RvXneBiUs&refer=economy
Companies are scaling back production and cutting jobs as global economic expansion slows and demand for German exports wanes. Bundesbank President Axel Weber last week indicated the economy may contract more this year than the bank’s 0.8 percent forecast. A decline of more than 0.9 percent would be Germany’s worst performance since records began after World War II.
“There is just no sign of the economic decline bottoming out,” said Kenneth Broux, an economist at Lloyds TSB Group Plc. in London, who expects the German economy to shrink 2.1 percent this year. “The first and second quarter will be awful. If we are very lucky, we may see a slight stabilization in the third or the fourth quarter.”
The European Central Bank has cut its key interest rate by a total of 175 basis points to 2.5 percent since early October as Europe’s economic slump deepened. Investors bet it will lower borrowing costs again tomorrow by at least 50 points, Eonia forward contracts indicate, even as some policy makers signal they’d rather wait.
Companies are scaling back production and cutting jobs as global economic expansion slows and demand for German exports wanes. Bundesbank President Axel Weber last week indicated the economy may contract more this year than the bank’s 0.8 percent forecast. A decline of more than 0.9 percent would be Germany’s worst performance since records began after World War II.
“There is just no sign of the economic decline bottoming out,” said Kenneth Broux, an economist at Lloyds TSB Group Plc. in London, who expects the German economy to shrink 2.1 percent this year. “The first and second quarter will be awful. If we are very lucky, we may see a slight stabilization in the third or the fourth quarter.”
The European Central Bank has cut its key interest rate by a total of 175 basis points to 2.5 percent since early October as Europe’s economic slump deepened. Investors bet it will lower borrowing costs again tomorrow by at least 50 points, Eonia forward contracts indicate, even as some policy makers signal they’d rather wait.
Citi gives control of brokerage to Morgan Stanley
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/090114/citigroup.html
The deal, which will give Citigroup $2.7 billion in badly needed cash as it gives up control of Smith Barney, comes as the company still struggles in the aftermath of the mortgage and credit crisis. There is speculation that CEO Vikram Pandit, who for months supported Citigroup as a "universal bank," will be taking further steps to simplify and streamline the company
"I think within 12 months, Citigroup no longer exists," said William Smith at Smith Asset Management, who owns Citigroup shares. He has been calling for a breakup of Citigroup for years, and believes the government will force that fate in piecemeal fashion over the coming year.
The idea behind the supermarket is that the average person can do all his saving, borrowing and investing with one company. Citigroup had it all, the retail and business banking operations, the investment banking business, the brokerage, even Travelers insurance. Whether that one company does it better than a number of specialized companies does, though, has been the big question facing shareholders since the deregulation of the banking industry in the 1990s. And Citi's announcement Tuesday further undermines the idea that one company can handle such diverse businesses at once
The deal, which will give Citigroup $2.7 billion in badly needed cash as it gives up control of Smith Barney, comes as the company still struggles in the aftermath of the mortgage and credit crisis. There is speculation that CEO Vikram Pandit, who for months supported Citigroup as a "universal bank," will be taking further steps to simplify and streamline the company
"I think within 12 months, Citigroup no longer exists," said William Smith at Smith Asset Management, who owns Citigroup shares. He has been calling for a breakup of Citigroup for years, and believes the government will force that fate in piecemeal fashion over the coming year.
The idea behind the supermarket is that the average person can do all his saving, borrowing and investing with one company. Citigroup had it all, the retail and business banking operations, the investment banking business, the brokerage, even Travelers insurance. Whether that one company does it better than a number of specialized companies does, though, has been the big question facing shareholders since the deregulation of the banking industry in the 1990s. And Citi's announcement Tuesday further undermines the idea that one company can handle such diverse businesses at once
Sunday, January 11, 2009
How to Spot the Bottom… Then What to Buy, Home Prices Crash, Has China Peaked? And More!
http://www.contrarianprofits.com/articles/how-to-spot-the-bottom%E2%80%A6-then-what-to-buy-home-prices-crash-has-china-peaked-and-more/10707
The entire financial world had placed a wild bet that house prices in the U.S. would go up indefinitely. The year 2008 will go down in history as the year that proved them wrong… and then all hell would break loose.
Rather than commit hari-kari… let’s do something unusual and try to think, umn, positive… it is the holidays, after all. How will we know when the bear market is bottoming? And what should we buy when it does?
“Normalized earnings for the S&P 500 could be $60-70,” Agora Financial’s managing editor, Chris Mayer, opined this morning, taking a shot at an answer.
In layman’s terms, that’s a possible low of 600-700 for the S&P 500… 30% lower than it is today.
“The S&P at 600 is entirely possible,” Mayer continues. “So we could have more room to go. But it doesn’t have to go there. Signals to watch — when earnings stop falling quarter to quarter. I actually think we’ll see a big rally early 2009 a la 1930, when the Dow was up 48% from its bottom by April. Big rally coming, and that will be your last chance to dump your weaker holdings.
If you are going to invest in stocks in 2009,” Mr. Mayer suggests, “stick with hard assets, management teams with proven track records, strong balance sheets and businesses with good disclosures (i.e., no black boxes or funny business). Ag-related stocks will have a good year, I think — fertilizer stocks, in particular. Oil stocks will come back, too, particularly oil field service stocks.
Natural gas stocks will do even better, particularly the low-cost producers.
“I think now is a good time to pick up India’s blue chips, if you can sit with them for a while. I like emerging markets still. This is a pause, and not the end, of the emerging market growth story. It’s much bigger than most people think. India has less exposure to exports than China, has a lot of savings, little debt, a very young population (half under the age of 25) and some leading companies dirt-cheap…
After briefly falling below 80 yesterday, the dollar index has stabilized around 80.6 today. The euro and pound are on the verge of parity for the first time ever. The pound, slammed by a large U.K. recession, housing crisis and lower-than-normal rates, has weakened to 98 pence per euro. Year to date, it’s down 25% versus the multination currency.
The approaching parity is reflected in the dollar exchange, as well. A euro today goes for $1.40… the pound a “mere” $1.45.
“I believe oil and gold are the places to start getting well positioned in for 2009,” writes a reader, “if one hasn’t already. Oil especially is being primed for a V-shaped recovery. If investors are paying attention, they understand that the unrealistically low price of oil is just that — unrealistic.
“Many oil and gas exploration and production projects have been shelved due to the financial crisis and falling price. Some major oil exporters have exhausted their reserves, Mexico being one. Oil exploration and production require oil prices to be over $100 to be profitable. OPEC drastically cut production levels, due to falling demand. Problems of shortages and spiking oil prices are looming.
“Gold is also primed for a spike as the bailouts and stimulus package get under way. Great way to make up for the losses in 2008 if you’re ready for the ravages that will come along with this!”
“I believe 2009,” writes a reader with his own year-end forecast, “is going to be the beginning of a ‘rich get richer’ story that will reach levels never previously even imagined. This is how I see it playing out. There are many solid companies that have more than sufficient cash to get through the upcoming tough times, but are trading at huge discounts to their historic value. At the moment, the real estate- and energy-related sectors seem to have more of these companies than some other industries, but they exist everywhere. As is often the case, Mr. Market has overreacted and taken down the good with the bad.
“I predict that once there is even a hint that the economy is starting to turn around, there will be a flood of leveraged buyouts whereby those with access to cash will be buying the best companies for a fraction of even their future one-three-year value. And the banks will rush in to provide the financing with the cash they got from the Fed and currently have sitting on the sidelines.
“Bottom line is that Joe the Plumber will find out about a year from now that the only companies still in his portfolio are the companies that the buyout companies did not want. For buyout firms like KKR and Carlyle, this is going to better than robbing a bank, since it is legal. I suggest you provide some guidance as to how to share in this upcoming M&A activity.
“Even a master list of companies that are beaten down but still are earning good money and have plenty of cash would be a start.”
The entire financial world had placed a wild bet that house prices in the U.S. would go up indefinitely. The year 2008 will go down in history as the year that proved them wrong… and then all hell would break loose.
Rather than commit hari-kari… let’s do something unusual and try to think, umn, positive… it is the holidays, after all. How will we know when the bear market is bottoming? And what should we buy when it does?
“Normalized earnings for the S&P 500 could be $60-70,” Agora Financial’s managing editor, Chris Mayer, opined this morning, taking a shot at an answer.
In layman’s terms, that’s a possible low of 600-700 for the S&P 500… 30% lower than it is today.
“The S&P at 600 is entirely possible,” Mayer continues. “So we could have more room to go. But it doesn’t have to go there. Signals to watch — when earnings stop falling quarter to quarter. I actually think we’ll see a big rally early 2009 a la 1930, when the Dow was up 48% from its bottom by April. Big rally coming, and that will be your last chance to dump your weaker holdings.
If you are going to invest in stocks in 2009,” Mr. Mayer suggests, “stick with hard assets, management teams with proven track records, strong balance sheets and businesses with good disclosures (i.e., no black boxes or funny business). Ag-related stocks will have a good year, I think — fertilizer stocks, in particular. Oil stocks will come back, too, particularly oil field service stocks.
Natural gas stocks will do even better, particularly the low-cost producers.
“I think now is a good time to pick up India’s blue chips, if you can sit with them for a while. I like emerging markets still. This is a pause, and not the end, of the emerging market growth story. It’s much bigger than most people think. India has less exposure to exports than China, has a lot of savings, little debt, a very young population (half under the age of 25) and some leading companies dirt-cheap…
After briefly falling below 80 yesterday, the dollar index has stabilized around 80.6 today. The euro and pound are on the verge of parity for the first time ever. The pound, slammed by a large U.K. recession, housing crisis and lower-than-normal rates, has weakened to 98 pence per euro. Year to date, it’s down 25% versus the multination currency.
The approaching parity is reflected in the dollar exchange, as well. A euro today goes for $1.40… the pound a “mere” $1.45.
“I believe oil and gold are the places to start getting well positioned in for 2009,” writes a reader, “if one hasn’t already. Oil especially is being primed for a V-shaped recovery. If investors are paying attention, they understand that the unrealistically low price of oil is just that — unrealistic.
“Many oil and gas exploration and production projects have been shelved due to the financial crisis and falling price. Some major oil exporters have exhausted their reserves, Mexico being one. Oil exploration and production require oil prices to be over $100 to be profitable. OPEC drastically cut production levels, due to falling demand. Problems of shortages and spiking oil prices are looming.
“Gold is also primed for a spike as the bailouts and stimulus package get under way. Great way to make up for the losses in 2008 if you’re ready for the ravages that will come along with this!”
“I believe 2009,” writes a reader with his own year-end forecast, “is going to be the beginning of a ‘rich get richer’ story that will reach levels never previously even imagined. This is how I see it playing out. There are many solid companies that have more than sufficient cash to get through the upcoming tough times, but are trading at huge discounts to their historic value. At the moment, the real estate- and energy-related sectors seem to have more of these companies than some other industries, but they exist everywhere. As is often the case, Mr. Market has overreacted and taken down the good with the bad.
“I predict that once there is even a hint that the economy is starting to turn around, there will be a flood of leveraged buyouts whereby those with access to cash will be buying the best companies for a fraction of even their future one-three-year value. And the banks will rush in to provide the financing with the cash they got from the Fed and currently have sitting on the sidelines.
“Bottom line is that Joe the Plumber will find out about a year from now that the only companies still in his portfolio are the companies that the buyout companies did not want. For buyout firms like KKR and Carlyle, this is going to better than robbing a bank, since it is legal. I suggest you provide some guidance as to how to share in this upcoming M&A activity.
“Even a master list of companies that are beaten down but still are earning good money and have plenty of cash would be a start.”
Chinese Central Bank to Test Program to Settle Trade in Yuan Rather Than Dollars
A UBS Investment Research report says that while it would be wrong to write off the U.S. dollar as the global reserve currency, its roughly 90-year iron grip on that position is loosening. “The use of the U.S. dollar as an international reserve currency is in decline,” said UBS economist Paul Donovan.
The market share of the dollar in international transactions is likely to decline over the coming months and years, but only persistent policy error - or considerable fiscal strain - is likely to cause the dollar to lose reserve currency status entirely.”The UBS report maintains that the gradual slide of the U.S. dollar is being driven not by the world's central banks, but by the private sector, as individual companies increasingly abandon the greenback as their international currency of choice.“The private sector's use of reserves is more important than official, central bank reserves – anything up to 20 times the significance, depending on interpretation,” Mr. Donovan said. “There is evidence that the move away from the dollar as a private-sector reserve currency has been accelerating since 2000.”...
According to Alibaba.com, the online company that matches Chinese suppliers with international buyers, the vast majority of their almost 700,000 Chinese suppliers no longer use dollars to settle non-US transactions in order to minimise foreign exchange risk.
So one could read the pending PBoC pilot of a yuan-based trade settlement system as a response to realities on the ground. But there have also been US reports of far more fundamental discontent with the dollar, per the New York Times in August:
He said the officials blamed the United States and believed the controversial assertions set forth in the book “Currency War,” a Chinese best seller published a year ago. The book suggests that the United States deliberately lured China into buying its securities knowing that they would later plunge in value.
And Reuters reported a more frontal attack in October in an article that appears likely to have been sanctioned:
The United States has plundered global wealth by exploiting the dollar's dominance, and the world urgently needs other currencies to take its place, a leading Chinese state newspaper said on Friday.The front-page commentary in the overseas edition of the People's Daily said that Asian and European countries should banish the U.S. dollar from their direct trade relations for a start, relying only on their own currencies...The People's Daily is the official newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party. The Chinese-language overseas edition is a small circulation offshoot of the main paper.Its pronouncements do not necessarily directly voice leadership views. But the commentary, as well as recent comments, amount to a growing chorus of Chinese disdain for Washington's economic policies and global financial dominance in the wake of the credit crisis.
China's central bank said yesterday that it plans to implement a pilot program that would settle overseas trade with the Chinese currency instead of the US dollar.
Meanwhile, exporters in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Yunnan Province in southwestern China will be allowed to use the yuan to settle trade payments with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Those moves are expected to facilitate overseas trade, as Chinese exporters might face losses if they continue to be paid in US dollars, analysts said.The dollar's exchange rate has become more volatile since the global financial crisis began.The central bank said it will make the exchange rate of the yuan more flexible and keep it "basically stable on a reasonable, balanced level."There has been speculation that the yuan's appreciation will slow down, which would help Chinese exports maintain price advantages in overseas markets
The market share of the dollar in international transactions is likely to decline over the coming months and years, but only persistent policy error - or considerable fiscal strain - is likely to cause the dollar to lose reserve currency status entirely.”The UBS report maintains that the gradual slide of the U.S. dollar is being driven not by the world's central banks, but by the private sector, as individual companies increasingly abandon the greenback as their international currency of choice.“The private sector's use of reserves is more important than official, central bank reserves – anything up to 20 times the significance, depending on interpretation,” Mr. Donovan said. “There is evidence that the move away from the dollar as a private-sector reserve currency has been accelerating since 2000.”...
According to Alibaba.com, the online company that matches Chinese suppliers with international buyers, the vast majority of their almost 700,000 Chinese suppliers no longer use dollars to settle non-US transactions in order to minimise foreign exchange risk.
So one could read the pending PBoC pilot of a yuan-based trade settlement system as a response to realities on the ground. But there have also been US reports of far more fundamental discontent with the dollar, per the New York Times in August:
He said the officials blamed the United States and believed the controversial assertions set forth in the book “Currency War,” a Chinese best seller published a year ago. The book suggests that the United States deliberately lured China into buying its securities knowing that they would later plunge in value.
And Reuters reported a more frontal attack in October in an article that appears likely to have been sanctioned:
The United States has plundered global wealth by exploiting the dollar's dominance, and the world urgently needs other currencies to take its place, a leading Chinese state newspaper said on Friday.The front-page commentary in the overseas edition of the People's Daily said that Asian and European countries should banish the U.S. dollar from their direct trade relations for a start, relying only on their own currencies...The People's Daily is the official newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party. The Chinese-language overseas edition is a small circulation offshoot of the main paper.Its pronouncements do not necessarily directly voice leadership views. But the commentary, as well as recent comments, amount to a growing chorus of Chinese disdain for Washington's economic policies and global financial dominance in the wake of the credit crisis.
China's central bank said yesterday that it plans to implement a pilot program that would settle overseas trade with the Chinese currency instead of the US dollar.
Meanwhile, exporters in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Yunnan Province in southwestern China will be allowed to use the yuan to settle trade payments with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Those moves are expected to facilitate overseas trade, as Chinese exporters might face losses if they continue to be paid in US dollars, analysts said.The dollar's exchange rate has become more volatile since the global financial crisis began.The central bank said it will make the exchange rate of the yuan more flexible and keep it "basically stable on a reasonable, balanced level."There has been speculation that the yuan's appreciation will slow down, which would help Chinese exports maintain price advantages in overseas markets
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