Archive for December, 2010
File not found. China Economy: PMI slows, so what?
Slower growth and high inflation is the recipe for stagflation.
China Economy: 3 Reasons why hard landing won’t be allowed to happen
Ultimately, rate hikes will slow the economy. But the Chinese government may not want that to happen.
China, Real Estate. 26 December, 2010, 22:37
China Real Estate: Wen Jiabao said the government will continue to curb home prices
The Premier Wen Jiabao said the effort to curb home prices will continue, which does not bode well for property developers.
Breaking News: People’s Bank of China raises interest rates
People’s Bank of China raised interest rates on Christmas Day.
Cross asset, Markets. 24 December, 2010, 9:47
Monkey fund managers may do just as well as human
Laurie Santos found that human irrationality is deeply rooted, so deeply rooted that we probably can hardly prevent boom and bust.
Economy, United States. 24 December, 2010, 9:14
Inflation Economics, Government Deficits and Debt
Brad Delong has an excellent lecture reviewing issues including inflation, government deficits, and national debt.
China Economy: Interbank Liquidity tightened
Although not aggressive enough, the government measures to control inflation is working somehow.
If you are not rich enough, you cannot buy things from my shop
Only tiny fraction of all Chinese people can afford the exclusive membership of Chow Tai Fook VVIP store, but China has awful lot of people to start with.
Financials, World. 23 December, 2010, 8:42
How Merrill Lynch blew itself up by eating cyanide it created
By selling stuff from one unit of the company to another, Merrill Lynch blew up itself.
Economy, United States. 22 December, 2010, 17:57
United States: How broke is the country? (Part 2)
Meredith Whitney’s apocalyptic view will certainly make many people unhappy. But Municipals default is certainly something you would like to keep in mind.
Baltic Dry Index: what does it mean?
Baltic Dry Index is at recent low. If it is truly a reliable indicator, it pictures a rather different story from the recent strength in data.
Real Estate, World. 22 December, 2010, 10:07
Australian Real Estate: Home prices may fall
Bascially this tells the Chinese what they should do. Enough said.
Gordon Brown did not save the world, but the Chinese does
The Chinese are committed to buy peripheral European bonds. Good for Europe, not sure if that’s good for Chinese.
Economy, United States. 21 December, 2010, 17:38
Chart: Bond market predicts interest rate hike?
Perhaps it is still fashionable to say that interest rates will remain low for longer, the bond market sees it differently.
China, Financials. 21 December, 2010, 11:39
China Banks: raising risk-weighting for local government debts
China asks banks to increase the risk-weighting for loans to local governments. We knew very well, of course, that local governments have no money.
Hong Kong, Real Estate. 21 December, 2010, 11:15
Reverse Mortgage and 2047
One strange thing that cross my mind, it seems that the banks which originate reverse mortgages are bound to lose money (OK, HKMC will cover the loss).
China Economy: 7 questions that you should ask
These are some of the top questions I have on my mind about the Chinese economy.
Economy, United Kingdom. 20 December, 2010, 18:58
Why UK can and US cannot?
George Osborne was greeted by the US with respect for the deficit cutting. Indeed, it is rather amazing that UK can do it, but not the others.
Economy, United States. 20 December, 2010, 14:28
United States: How broke is the country?
The new 60 minutes episode explores the public finances of states and local governments of the Unted States.
Hong Kong, Real Estate. 20 December, 2010, 13:03
Hong Kong Property: Forget about Special Stamp Duty
The government measures will not help curbing prices, but other things will.