Economic Edge » China & Asia’s Economic Growth

Wal-Mart to Open Hundreds of Stores in India

EconEdge — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 22:29:01 +0000

Wal-Mart Expanding to India

Like many investors, Wal-Mart smells opportunity in India.

Yesterday Wal-Mart announced that it has formed an alliance with Bharti Enterprises Ltd. (India's leading telecommunications company) to open hundreds of stores in India over the next several years.

Japan's Money Management Industry Growing–Mutual Fund Assets on Verge of Boom

EconEdge — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 19:08:48 +0000

According to an article recently published by Investment News, Japan's money management industry (particularly its mutual fund sector) could be on the verge of a boom.

Economic Facts about Japan

Japan is the world's second-largest economy.

Bilingual Babies: Mandarin Speaking Au Pairs from China in High Demand

EconEdge — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 01:49:11 +0000

Nannies and au pairs from China are in high demand lately, according to two articles published in The New York Times and Spiegel International. Wealthy and middle-class parents—seeking to give their children an economic edge—have hired live-in au pairs from China to teach their infant children Mandarin Chinese.

Shortage of nickel due to surging demand from China

EconEdge — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 17:00:06 +0000

According to Bloomberg News, a shortage of nickel drove prices to the highest level since at least 1987, and forced the London Metal Exchange to impose trading restrictions for the first time in a year.

Morgan Stanley to invest one billion dollars in Indian real estate

EconEdge — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 15:23:45 +0000

I heard this from Azam Meo's weekly real estate videocast, and researched it online to make sure it was accurate.

Morgan Stanley's property fund has committed to invest $1 billion in Indian real estate. According to Zain Fancy, head of Morgan Stanley real estate in the Asia-Pacific region, "India is one of the most attractive markets." Rising wages—and a rising middle class—are fueling a property and development boom in India (which is currently Asia's fourth largest economy).

China’s energy consumption & peak oil

EconEdge — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 17:00:47 +0000

China's energy consumption is expected to be 69 percent higher in 2010 than in 2002, according to the Federal Energy Information Administration. That growth
rate is 5 times higher than the estimate for the United States and more
than 15 times higher than Europe.

China uses half the world’s cement and 40% of the world’s steel

EconEdge — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 20:57:59 +0000

No wonder homebuilders are struggling, and commodity prices are rising… China, in the midst of a massive infrastructure build-out, used half of the world's cement and 40 percent of the world's steel last year, according to government statistics. If the price of raw materials continues rising, homebuilders and developers will be hit even harder.

Chinese Economy Grew 11.3% last quarter

EconEdge — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 01:50:36 +0000

According to reports, the Chinese economy grew 11.3% last quarter, the fastest pace of growth in almost a dozen years. Interestingly, no major economy has grown faster than 5% a quarter over the past 30 years. China serves as an exception to this statistic (assuming China can sustain its rapid growth rate).

World millionaires hit 8.7 million, according to World Wealth Report

EconEdge — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 18:07:39 +0000

Every year, Merrill Lynch publishes its "World Wealth Report," which analyzes high net worth investors and their investing patterns. According to the wealth report, the number of people globally with more than 1 million dollars in net assets swelled by 6.5 percent in 2005 to a record 8.7 million.

China Won't Make Yuan Fully Convertible; Fears Hedge Funds

EconEdge — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 01:43:17 +0000

China won't make its currency fully convertible for at least five years because it worries hedge funds may force the yuan to plunge, much as happened to the Korean won and Thai baht during the 1997 Asian financial crisis, said Li Deshui, a member of the central bank's monetary committee.

Chinese government inflating money supply at 18% a year

EconEdge — Wed, 24 May 2006 23:45:41 +0000

More Q & A with Gary North. Interestingly, North believes that there will be a recession in China shortly after the 2008 Olympic Games, due to the fact that the government is inflating the money supply at about 18% per year.

China increasing its stockpile of minerals and natural resources

EconEdge — Sun, 14 May 2006 00:09:46 +0000

According to Bloomberg, China plans to build strategic reserves of key minerals such as uranium, copper, aluminum, and steel (along with oil reserves). Another catalyst for rising commodity prices..? Excerpt below…

China Urged to Quadruple Gold Reserves

EconEdge — Thu, 11 May 2006 15:00:27 +0000

A Reuters article (excerpt below), published on Tuesday, notes that some Chinese economists are urging Beijing to substantially increase gold reserves, and to diversify holdings away from the dollar.

BEIJING — Some Chinese economists are urging Beijing to quadruple its gold reserves to 2,500 tonnes from the current 600 tonnes because the country foreign exchange reserves had become the world's largest, an official industry newspaper reported on Tuesday.

China: The Next Economic Superpower–demand for oil and raw materials

EconEdge — Mon, 01 May 2006 22:00:57 +0000

In the article below, Puru Saxena asserts that America's days as the undisputed global leader are numbered. Saxena clearly explains China's consumption and increasing demand for natural resources and raw materials.

Strong Wage & Productivity Growth in China

EconEdge — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 17:25:30 +0000

Wages in China rose 12 percent annually from 1999 to 2000.
In 2003, the laboring classes in China earned 13% more than the year before, and by 2004 and 2005, wages were increasing at a 14% clip.

Oil $14 higher in 2010–China's demand for oil

EconEdge — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 02:52:48 +0000

According to the Congressional Budget Office, oil prices may be $14 higher in 2010, primarily due to China's demand for fuel. Might be a good time to buy oil futures, a commodity fund, or perhaps LEAP's on oil producers and oil refineries…? As the price of gas continues to rise, we should see more demand for hybrids and fuel-conserving vehicles.

Decapitation Strategy–Economic & Political Risk in China

EconEdge — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 04:53:18 +0000

Excellent article by Dan Denning about economic and political risk in China. Excerpted below…

DECAPITATION STRATEGY
by Dan Denning

The biggest risk I see in China right now is not economic, but political. And what's more, China's biggest risk is itself and how it might act if Taiwan pushes for a two-state relationship. Personally, I don't think the United States is willing to go to war over Taiwan. American interests in the region are more economic than military. For their part, though, the Chinese seem deadly serious about Taiwan. In fact, everyone I talked to in China was unanimous that China would not and could not allow Taiwan independence. China will go to war over Taiwan if it has to. How might that war play out? Dr. Marc Faber sets the stage: