China, Lipstick, and the Pig

August 17, 2009
Forex Hound

China plunged another 5.8% overnight adding to the 12% we've been waving the flag over the past few weeks. So let's see if US computers can pretend the rest of the world doesn't exist for yet another day. Somehow I doubt it although we'll always have the post 3:30 PM period to paint lipstick on the pig.

August 18, 2009
FOCUS: Recent Slump Doesn't Signal End To China Share Rally

SHANGHAI (Dow Jones)--China's most-watched share index has tumbled 16% over the past two weeks but analysts say this doesn't mean the party is over, largely because Beijing probably doesn't want it to be.

Probably doesn't want the party to be over? Probably? That's got to be one of the funniest things I've read in a long time.

News flash! NOBODY wants the party to be over. At some point, the party always ends though. Go figure.

August 19, 2009
Copper Falls in New York as China’s Equities Enter Bear Market

The Shanghai Composite Index fell as much as 5.1 percent and declined 20.5 percent from this year’s high in August. Copper climbed 94 percent this year as China rolled out a 4 trillion-yuan ($585 billion) stimulus before new bank loans fell in July.

Here's yet another trip down memory lane.

August 1, 2009
China's Bubble-icious IPOs

Why this bubble in China? Wei Jianing, an economist at the Development Research Center of the State Council, estimates that 20% of the unprecedented amount of credit banks have extended during the first half of the year has found its way into the stock market. For the BBMG IPO, Hang Seng Bank offered margin loans at a record low rate of 0.5%.

0.5% margin loans should do wonders for their economy long-term, especially once everyone starts doing it. That was the theory anyway.