Showing posts with label Yuan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yuan. Show all posts
Monday, August 31, 2009
Splat
A couple of days ago I said that US debt default would splat the US far worse than its trading partners; of course, I missed the point. The real danger is rejection of US debt and the US dollar by its foreign purchasers, and both Karl Denninger and Jesse see that as an outcome of the Japanese election result.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Saturday, October 13, 2007
That sinking feeling
It is now 100 days since July 6, our starting point for measuring the Dow's fall. Against gold, the decline is substantial.
What about currency risk? According to O&A historical figures (using interbank rates), the US dollar has declined against the British pound by only 0.8%; and against the Chinese yuan, only 1.2%. But in the same period, the dollar has lost over 4% against the Euro, and 4.3% against the Japanese yen. Annualised, that's a drop of about 15% per year in yen terms. (Which currency has Warren Buffett bought this year?)
Gold? Acording to the World Gold Council (WGC), in the twelve months to 26 September, the Eurozone has sold 475.75 tonnes. (This zone includes Sweden and Switzerland; the latter has disposed of 113 tonnes out of that total, or nearly 9% of its stock. How strong is the Swiss franc? Is sound money a bad idea?)
The WGC September account reports that the US still holds 8,133.5 tonnes of gold, exactly the same amount as reported for Q1 2005, two and a half years ago. Allegedly: never forget that "credit" is Latin for "he believes it."
But maybe that's so; maybe Uncle Sam has, er, requested that other countries reduce their bullion stock in order to, um, maintain price stability. After all, the dollar has fallen 13.4% against gold already.
The competitive struggle to lose currency value continues.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Doug Casey: sounding grim and clear
A trenchant interview with Doug Casey in Financial Sense today. Some highlights:
At some point there’s going to be a panic out of the dollar. When it happens, it’s likely to be the biggest financial upset since the 1930s. Part of the question is what they’ll panic into. The euro? As I have said many times, if the dollar is an “I owe you nothing,” the euro is a “Who owes you nothing?”...
If an American doesn’t get significant assets outside the U.S. now, it may be impossible in the future. The best thing to do is buy real estate abroad, since it’s currently not reportable, like bank and brokerage accounts, and they can’t very well make you repatriate it...
We’re now experiencing a lot of monetary inflation, which eventually will be reflected in price inflation. What’s really going to tip this over the edge, however, is the rest of the world deciding to get out of dollars. A lot of those $6 trillion abroad are going to come back to the U.S., and real goods are going to be packed up and shipped abroad. Inflation will explode...
Markets are about trade... At some point the Chinese will want payment in something other than dollars. In the meantime the yuan will go higher...
What do I think is likely? Certainly a depression, probably of the inflationary type. But if there are widespread defaults in the mortgage market because of a housing bust, hundreds of billions of dollars worth of buying would disappear, which is deflationary. You could have both things happening at once, in different parts of the economy...
I hate making predictions, but if things continue down this path, I think we could see gold going over $1,000 within the next 12 months, and maybe even before year-end. And then the mania starts for the mining stocks.
At some point there’s going to be a panic out of the dollar. When it happens, it’s likely to be the biggest financial upset since the 1930s. Part of the question is what they’ll panic into. The euro? As I have said many times, if the dollar is an “I owe you nothing,” the euro is a “Who owes you nothing?”...
If an American doesn’t get significant assets outside the U.S. now, it may be impossible in the future. The best thing to do is buy real estate abroad, since it’s currently not reportable, like bank and brokerage accounts, and they can’t very well make you repatriate it...
We’re now experiencing a lot of monetary inflation, which eventually will be reflected in price inflation. What’s really going to tip this over the edge, however, is the rest of the world deciding to get out of dollars. A lot of those $6 trillion abroad are going to come back to the U.S., and real goods are going to be packed up and shipped abroad. Inflation will explode...
Markets are about trade... At some point the Chinese will want payment in something other than dollars. In the meantime the yuan will go higher...
What do I think is likely? Certainly a depression, probably of the inflationary type. But if there are widespread defaults in the mortgage market because of a housing bust, hundreds of billions of dollars worth of buying would disappear, which is deflationary. You could have both things happening at once, in different parts of the economy...
I hate making predictions, but if things continue down this path, I think we could see gold going over $1,000 within the next 12 months, and maybe even before year-end. And then the mania starts for the mining stocks.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
UK, US Treasury securities, and blogs (continued)
Well, I've got some sort of response from Iain Dale's commentators, starting with an ad hominem accusation of being emotionally needy (scared, more like!).
Here's my main argument, however inexpertly expressed:
Over the last 12 months, 10 countries have reduced their loans to the US by a combined total of $72 billion; we've increased our commitment by $112 billion, moving us from 10th place to 3rd place in the list of America's creditors. And our own finances aren't that good, either.
America is in hock to foreigners to the tune of 2.18 trillion dollars and rising. Effectively, they're running up a very big credit card bill to maintain domestic living standards. The US Comptroller General has very recently commented that this indebtedness could be used against the US by unfriendly foreign powers.
Our greatly increased support for America's finances is at the cost of some risk to ourselves, because if the borrowing spree continues unabated, we may find we get repaid in dollars that are worth far less than they are today. Can we afford to keep bailing out a spendthrift?
The borrowing is a powerful economic stimulus to China which, despite its relative poverty, is the second biggest creditor to the US. By sending the money back to America in the form of loans (purchase of US Treasury bonds), they avoid having their own currency appreciate. So their wage rates remain fantastically low and they continue to take business and jobs from the West - us included. Think of the transfer of the Swan Hunter shipyard to south India, or the purchase of Rover by China (don't tell me they're desperate to create long-term employment in Birmingham, when the average per capita wage in China is less than £1,000 per year). We're seeing a shift from higher-paid industrial work to lower-paid service jobs - perhaps the economic profile and geographical distribution of the readership of this blog means that it isn't obvious to them. China and others are hoovering up world resources in the dash to industrialise, right down to our iron manhole covers. James Kynge's "China shakes the world" is easy to read and very enlightening about what's going on.
Japan, America's greatest creditor, also buys US bonds to keep excess money out of its own system, so its interest rates are low, so the yen stays low and protects its well-established export markets. Also, a lot of money powering the world's stockmarkets is cheap money borrowed from Japan and invested elsewhere - the so-called "carry trade". All right if it goes on forever - but it can't. You cannot live for the rest of your life on borrowed money.
If currencies were responsibly managed, the trade deficit would cause the US to start to run short of cash, US wages would go down and exports back up, and trade would eventually (if painfully) come back into balance. But the Americans - and others, including ourselves again - respond by increasing the money supply (mostly through bank lending - up another 13% this year on both sides the Atlantic), which leads to price inflation, hence the rise in house prices and the stock markets. But borrowed money has to be repaid someday and then the tide will go out - but this time, we'll be left without much industrial capacity.
There's a fear that to prevent a 3os-style Depression, governments will print money even faster, but this leads to hyperinflation and eventually no one wants the currency at all (cf. Germany in 1923). So we could well have both a slump and high inflation. It may sound dull and technical, but then money is boring - until you haven't got any.
An American Congressional committee recently grilled the chairman of the Federal Reserve (like our Bank of England) and at least one Congressman admitted he realized he didn't understand inflation; the only one who seemed to was Ron Paul, who said that if we can make a living by printing money, we should all quit our jobs and do that. Most of Ron Paul's own investments are in gold and silver; the world's richest investor, Warren Buffett, has been sitting on many billions of dollars of cash for a long time and has recently disclosed that he's hedged by buying into a foreign currency, to protect against financial loss from a falling dollar.
If the value of the dollar (and possibly the pound) starts to collapse through overproduction, we really will notice - it's not just going to be bargain fares to Disneyworld. Americans - rich, expert ones, who manage big funds - are sounding the warnings loudly, clearly and angrily.
The collapse hasn't happened yet, partly because the dollar is the world's standard trading currency. This is changing; already, Iran is demanding payment from Japan in yen, not US dollars. When more countries start to impose similar conditions, the demand for the dollar will drop significantly, and so will its exchange value. China is beginning to de-link from the dollar, in favour of a wider basket of currencies; meanwhile, it's widened the range within which its currency (the renminbi, or Chinese yuan) can move against the dollar. They're not in hurry to appreciate their money, for reasons of international industrial market share; but that's the way the pressure is building.
Although our economy is much smaller than America's, we have (to some extent) similar problems ourselves. Yet here we are, lending money to our bigger cousin. I don't think we can sub him indefinitely, and I don't think we have begun to address the question of our own economic future. Without that, there'll be lots more hoodies to hug.
Here's my main argument, however inexpertly expressed:
Over the last 12 months, 10 countries have reduced their loans to the US by a combined total of $72 billion; we've increased our commitment by $112 billion, moving us from 10th place to 3rd place in the list of America's creditors. And our own finances aren't that good, either.
America is in hock to foreigners to the tune of 2.18 trillion dollars and rising. Effectively, they're running up a very big credit card bill to maintain domestic living standards. The US Comptroller General has very recently commented that this indebtedness could be used against the US by unfriendly foreign powers.
Our greatly increased support for America's finances is at the cost of some risk to ourselves, because if the borrowing spree continues unabated, we may find we get repaid in dollars that are worth far less than they are today. Can we afford to keep bailing out a spendthrift?
The borrowing is a powerful economic stimulus to China which, despite its relative poverty, is the second biggest creditor to the US. By sending the money back to America in the form of loans (purchase of US Treasury bonds), they avoid having their own currency appreciate. So their wage rates remain fantastically low and they continue to take business and jobs from the West - us included. Think of the transfer of the Swan Hunter shipyard to south India, or the purchase of Rover by China (don't tell me they're desperate to create long-term employment in Birmingham, when the average per capita wage in China is less than £1,000 per year). We're seeing a shift from higher-paid industrial work to lower-paid service jobs - perhaps the economic profile and geographical distribution of the readership of this blog means that it isn't obvious to them. China and others are hoovering up world resources in the dash to industrialise, right down to our iron manhole covers. James Kynge's "China shakes the world" is easy to read and very enlightening about what's going on.
Japan, America's greatest creditor, also buys US bonds to keep excess money out of its own system, so its interest rates are low, so the yen stays low and protects its well-established export markets. Also, a lot of money powering the world's stockmarkets is cheap money borrowed from Japan and invested elsewhere - the so-called "carry trade". All right if it goes on forever - but it can't. You cannot live for the rest of your life on borrowed money.
If currencies were responsibly managed, the trade deficit would cause the US to start to run short of cash, US wages would go down and exports back up, and trade would eventually (if painfully) come back into balance. But the Americans - and others, including ourselves again - respond by increasing the money supply (mostly through bank lending - up another 13% this year on both sides the Atlantic), which leads to price inflation, hence the rise in house prices and the stock markets. But borrowed money has to be repaid someday and then the tide will go out - but this time, we'll be left without much industrial capacity.
There's a fear that to prevent a 3os-style Depression, governments will print money even faster, but this leads to hyperinflation and eventually no one wants the currency at all (cf. Germany in 1923). So we could well have both a slump and high inflation. It may sound dull and technical, but then money is boring - until you haven't got any.
An American Congressional committee recently grilled the chairman of the Federal Reserve (like our Bank of England) and at least one Congressman admitted he realized he didn't understand inflation; the only one who seemed to was Ron Paul, who said that if we can make a living by printing money, we should all quit our jobs and do that. Most of Ron Paul's own investments are in gold and silver; the world's richest investor, Warren Buffett, has been sitting on many billions of dollars of cash for a long time and has recently disclosed that he's hedged by buying into a foreign currency, to protect against financial loss from a falling dollar.
If the value of the dollar (and possibly the pound) starts to collapse through overproduction, we really will notice - it's not just going to be bargain fares to Disneyworld. Americans - rich, expert ones, who manage big funds - are sounding the warnings loudly, clearly and angrily.
The collapse hasn't happened yet, partly because the dollar is the world's standard trading currency. This is changing; already, Iran is demanding payment from Japan in yen, not US dollars. When more countries start to impose similar conditions, the demand for the dollar will drop significantly, and so will its exchange value. China is beginning to de-link from the dollar, in favour of a wider basket of currencies; meanwhile, it's widened the range within which its currency (the renminbi, or Chinese yuan) can move against the dollar. They're not in hurry to appreciate their money, for reasons of international industrial market share; but that's the way the pressure is building.
Although our economy is much smaller than America's, we have (to some extent) similar problems ourselves. Yet here we are, lending money to our bigger cousin. I don't think we can sub him indefinitely, and I don't think we have begun to address the question of our own economic future. Without that, there'll be lots more hoodies to hug.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Peter Schiff on US monetary policy
Peter Schiff's latest commentary (today in Forex Street) pours scorn on the Treasury Secretary's professed commitment to a strong dollar, and points out that Ben Bernanke's reasons for a stronger Chinese yuan (renminbi) also imply higher interest rates AND higher consumer prices in the US.
Schiff concludes with the same recommendations as in his book, Crash Proof (my review here): buy gold (he's selling Australian Perth Mint Certificates through a dedicated website) and selected foreign (i.e. non-US) equities.
Schiff concludes with the same recommendations as in his book, Crash Proof (my review here): buy gold (he's selling Australian Perth Mint Certificates through a dedicated website) and selected foreign (i.e. non-US) equities.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
US dollar needs to fall; intellectual property needs protection
An interesting report from China Daily yesterday. The American Chamber of Commerce there is asking for less pressure to revalue the renminbi and more for structural reforms in China.
The value of the renminbi is not the answer to everything. If the Chinese yuan rises against the dollar, then Chinese imports will cost more, and America might well cut back; but US industrial exports could be slow to grow because of eroded manufacturing capacity. And a weaker dollar would mean foreigners could bid more for US products (including foodstuffs), so creating price inflation in the US while production lags behind demand.
And there is also the question of just how much the dollar would have to drop to make US products globally competitive anyway. What you could see is Chinese light industrial manufacturers suffer a contraction, losing business to countries that have even lower wage costs, such as Vietnam. When the dust has settled, America's balance of trade crisis could simply have widened from US-China to US-Far East.
So it's not so much the renminbi that has to rise, but the dollar to fall.
Also interesting to see intellectual property rights come to the fore. As America sees her economic strength sapped, she must worry about the scruples of her competitors. If "might makes right", patents and copyright may not be the pension she was hoping for. I did discuss this a while ago (May 23), and think it's an issue to follow.
The value of the renminbi is not the answer to everything. If the Chinese yuan rises against the dollar, then Chinese imports will cost more, and America might well cut back; but US industrial exports could be slow to grow because of eroded manufacturing capacity. And a weaker dollar would mean foreigners could bid more for US products (including foodstuffs), so creating price inflation in the US while production lags behind demand.
And there is also the question of just how much the dollar would have to drop to make US products globally competitive anyway. What you could see is Chinese light industrial manufacturers suffer a contraction, losing business to countries that have even lower wage costs, such as Vietnam. When the dust has settled, America's balance of trade crisis could simply have widened from US-China to US-Far East.
So it's not so much the renminbi that has to rise, but the dollar to fall.
Also interesting to see intellectual property rights come to the fore. As America sees her economic strength sapped, she must worry about the scruples of her competitors. If "might makes right", patents and copyright may not be the pension she was hoping for. I did discuss this a while ago (May 23), and think it's an issue to follow.
Friday, June 08, 2007
Peter Schiff: China will dump the dollar
Peter Schiff predicts China must de-link from the dollar in today's Market Oracle. Because their economy is robust (based on actually making things), they will cope with the disruption and thrive; the USA will face the reckoning for its folly.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Globalisation and economic depression - some strategies
China has its problems. Monsters and Critics, quoting UPI, says that 3.5 million jobs could go if the yuan appreciates much more against the dollar. But if it doesn't, the trade imbalance continues and the economy and stockmarket carry on overheating. So China too is between a rock and a hard place.
In the long run and given free global trade, surely low-wage economies will take work from the higher-wage ones, until we reach equilibrium. It's the rate of change that makes it messy. For people like the Chinese, they have to work out how to take over our manufacturing capacity without bankrupting their biggest customers; for the West, how to lose all this work and wealth and remain democracies.
Richard Duncan thinks it can't be done without some original form of intervention - he suggests a steadily rising minimum wage, to give the worker in the developing economies enough money to take over the job of buying things, a job that we in the West thought was ours for life.
But the implication for us seems clear - we must become poorer. The winners among us will be those who are able to extract capital out of their possessions and preserve it. Marc Faber says that there are bubbles everywhere - property, shares, commodities - but I guess that in a deflationary world there must be something that will increase in value relative to most other things.
Cash seems obvious - the deflation of the Thirties was such that in the UK we had the Geddes Axe, actually cutting the wages of public servants to maintain a steady relationship between money and things (UPDATE: I got Geddes wrong - see HERE - sorry). So public servants who had accumulated savings would have done well - if they had saved. For many others, it was unemployment and poverty. To get an idea of the process and consequences, read "Twopence to cross the Mersey" by Helen Forrester, a real-life story about the economic descent of her middle-class family, which had (typically) lived on credit before the Crash.
Some fear that our governments will shudder at the thought of repeating that period and will try to buy their way out of the jam by printing money, in which case we could go from deflation to hyperinflation, and this is where the gold-bugs raise their voices.
On this analysis, I should think the strategy is clear. First, get out of/avoid debt. Then, live simply, and if possible convert unnecessary assets to cash - which you may partly invest in whatever you think will hold its value. And look for the steadiest job you can find?
In the long run and given free global trade, surely low-wage economies will take work from the higher-wage ones, until we reach equilibrium. It's the rate of change that makes it messy. For people like the Chinese, they have to work out how to take over our manufacturing capacity without bankrupting their biggest customers; for the West, how to lose all this work and wealth and remain democracies.
Richard Duncan thinks it can't be done without some original form of intervention - he suggests a steadily rising minimum wage, to give the worker in the developing economies enough money to take over the job of buying things, a job that we in the West thought was ours for life.
But the implication for us seems clear - we must become poorer. The winners among us will be those who are able to extract capital out of their possessions and preserve it. Marc Faber says that there are bubbles everywhere - property, shares, commodities - but I guess that in a deflationary world there must be something that will increase in value relative to most other things.
Cash seems obvious - the deflation of the Thirties was such that in the UK we had the Geddes Axe, actually cutting the wages of public servants to maintain a steady relationship between money and things (UPDATE: I got Geddes wrong - see HERE - sorry). So public servants who had accumulated savings would have done well - if they had saved. For many others, it was unemployment and poverty. To get an idea of the process and consequences, read "Twopence to cross the Mersey" by Helen Forrester, a real-life story about the economic descent of her middle-class family, which had (typically) lived on credit before the Crash.
Some fear that our governments will shudder at the thought of repeating that period and will try to buy their way out of the jam by printing money, in which case we could go from deflation to hyperinflation, and this is where the gold-bugs raise their voices.
On this analysis, I should think the strategy is clear. First, get out of/avoid debt. Then, live simply, and if possible convert unnecessary assets to cash - which you may partly invest in whatever you think will hold its value. And look for the steadiest job you can find?
Monday, May 28, 2007
America's inflation causes China's inflation
A thoughtful article by Thomas Brewton yesterday here explains that US inflation is also causing inflation in China. While America sheds jobs and lives on credit, the Chinese economy is becoming overheated. When the pop comes, the result may well be bankruptcies and unemployment in both countries, as well as in others. Richard Duncan's book "The Dollar Crisis" explains the mechanisms in detail.
If the yuan is allowed to appreciate against the dollar gradually, Chinese business will start to suffer, but starting now may mean less pain overall. The USA will also undergo painful - and politically unpopular - adjustments. Can the crisis be managed without a crash?
If the yuan is allowed to appreciate against the dollar gradually, Chinese business will start to suffer, but starting now may mean less pain overall. The USA will also undergo painful - and politically unpopular - adjustments. Can the crisis be managed without a crash?
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
US-China "Strategic Economic Dialogue" resumes
We're waiting to hear much from the Western side on the talks, but see here for a Chinese-angled general background to the series. However, this one from China View is more frank about the differences between the two sides.
Pakistan's Daily Times gives useful detail on the economic issues: US manufacturers are calling for further appreciation of the Yuan against the dollar, but "an international think tank, Oxford Economics, estimated that even a 25 percent revaluation of the yuan against the US dollar would decrease the total deficit by only 20 billion dollars after two years."
For the American side, it must be like an uncomfortable meeting with your bank manager.
Pakistan's Daily Times gives useful detail on the economic issues: US manufacturers are calling for further appreciation of the Yuan against the dollar, but "an international think tank, Oxford Economics, estimated that even a 25 percent revaluation of the yuan against the US dollar would decrease the total deficit by only 20 billion dollars after two years."
For the American side, it must be like an uncomfortable meeting with your bank manager.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Conspiracy to support the dollar
This exchange of letters in the Market Oracle has very significant implications. It's a discussion of the huge international "carry trade", which means borrowing in one country at low rates of interest, to invest in another country.
In this case, it is loans from Japan to invest in US Treasury bonds. The columnist, Professor Antal E. Fekete, says that Japan will keep its interest rate low, because otherwise the yen would rise, hitting Japanese exports. On the other side, the US Treasury will maintain or even increase interest rates on its bonds, to prevent the dollar from collapsing, despite America's economic weakness. China has no wish to destabilise the dollar, and as the Professor points out, some of China's enormous gains from the US come from its holding of Treasury bonds. So there are powerful vested interests sustaining the status quo.
This is a cool-headed contrary view to that of the most pessimistic bears, who feel in almost a moral sense that the present state of affairs ought to end in tears. It is the very awfulness of the potential consequences of a sudden, radical change of balance in the world economy that motivates the main players to keep the polite fiction of normality going.
So the Professor is a "bond bull": yes, the dollar may gradually decline; no, it will not suddenly dive. That's his position.
In this case, it is loans from Japan to invest in US Treasury bonds. The columnist, Professor Antal E. Fekete, says that Japan will keep its interest rate low, because otherwise the yen would rise, hitting Japanese exports. On the other side, the US Treasury will maintain or even increase interest rates on its bonds, to prevent the dollar from collapsing, despite America's economic weakness. China has no wish to destabilise the dollar, and as the Professor points out, some of China's enormous gains from the US come from its holding of Treasury bonds. So there are powerful vested interests sustaining the status quo.
This is a cool-headed contrary view to that of the most pessimistic bears, who feel in almost a moral sense that the present state of affairs ought to end in tears. It is the very awfulness of the potential consequences of a sudden, radical change of balance in the world economy that motivates the main players to keep the polite fiction of normality going.
So the Professor is a "bond bull": yes, the dollar may gradually decline; no, it will not suddenly dive. That's his position.
Monday, May 21, 2007
China goes shopping for the world's resources
China is taking in $20 billion a month of foreign capital, according to this 9 March article from the International Herald Tribune. It has set up an agency to decide how to invest its (now) $1.2 trillion in foreign currency reserves.
There are many implications, some contradictory. Diversification could mean less demand for US Treasury bonds, and if China lends less to America, interest rates could rise in the USA. On the other hand, increasing its holding of other currencies will make it less disruptive for China to let the dollar drop against the yuan.
A stronger yuan will affect some Chinese businesses that trade with America, as previously noted. In a thread discussing America's trade deficit on China Daily, "tradervic" from Chicago says: "Mexico thought it had the cheapest labor market, welcoming all the American companies they could get. Then China showed up with their workforce, and those same American companies left Mexico, leaving the Mexicans running into America looking for jobs. It will be interesting to see what happens when the American companies start pulling out of more factories out China for Vietnam, Bangledesh, and other countries. It is like I told my cousins-in-law in China what happened to my cousins-in-law in Mexico and my immediate family in Detroit: Do not get too used to the jobs - they will not last forever."
I have previously suggested that China may be willing to accept these consequences, to some extent, as part of a strategic economic plan. Just as the Chinese in light industry should not take their jobs for granted, the US cannot rely forever on its bargaining power as one of China's biggest customers.
A Bloomberg article today explains how China is trying to manage the currency appreciation so as to limit the damage in employment terms. It also has a stockmarket bubble on its hands. Did China ever expect that wealth and success could be such a problem?
Now it can also start buying the world's assets. The IHT article quotes Jing Ulrich of J.P. Morgan: "They're not going to be looking for financial assets, but energy assets and natural resources, minerals — things China desperately needs." So bears who look to buy commodities as a hedge against US inflation, may be doubly motivated when they see a big player enter the same market.
There are many implications, some contradictory. Diversification could mean less demand for US Treasury bonds, and if China lends less to America, interest rates could rise in the USA. On the other hand, increasing its holding of other currencies will make it less disruptive for China to let the dollar drop against the yuan.
A stronger yuan will affect some Chinese businesses that trade with America, as previously noted. In a thread discussing America's trade deficit on China Daily, "tradervic" from Chicago says: "Mexico thought it had the cheapest labor market, welcoming all the American companies they could get. Then China showed up with their workforce, and those same American companies left Mexico, leaving the Mexicans running into America looking for jobs. It will be interesting to see what happens when the American companies start pulling out of more factories out China for Vietnam, Bangledesh, and other countries. It is like I told my cousins-in-law in China what happened to my cousins-in-law in Mexico and my immediate family in Detroit: Do not get too used to the jobs - they will not last forever."
I have previously suggested that China may be willing to accept these consequences, to some extent, as part of a strategic economic plan. Just as the Chinese in light industry should not take their jobs for granted, the US cannot rely forever on its bargaining power as one of China's biggest customers.
A Bloomberg article today explains how China is trying to manage the currency appreciation so as to limit the damage in employment terms. It also has a stockmarket bubble on its hands. Did China ever expect that wealth and success could be such a problem?
Now it can also start buying the world's assets. The IHT article quotes Jing Ulrich of J.P. Morgan: "They're not going to be looking for financial assets, but energy assets and natural resources, minerals — things China desperately needs." So bears who look to buy commodities as a hedge against US inflation, may be doubly motivated when they see a big player enter the same market.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Chinese business can suffer, too
An article in WTOP news says that some areas of Chinese industry are surprisingly vulnerable to the currency exchange rate:
A rise of 10 percent in the yuan could lead to the loss of 5.5 million jobs in China, according to a report by the Chinese central bank. It said companies hardest hit would be those that make textiles, furniture, shoes and toys for export.
"If the yuan rises by another 5 percent, our profits will be totally wiped out," said Li Shaoxiong, deputy general manager of the Fujian Ala Shoe Co., which sold half its 2006 output of 6 million pairs of athletic shoes to American retailers.
Beijing is counting on such labor-intensive light manufacturers to create millions of new jobs. Even though its bustling economy is expected to grow by more than 10 percent this year, a big share of that is in heavier manufacturing and other industries that create fewer jobs.
Perhaps China will take the view that it can tolerate a rise in foreign-trade-related unemployment while it continues to amass capital; as the East gets richer, it will eventually generate its own demand for the products of light industry.
A rise of 10 percent in the yuan could lead to the loss of 5.5 million jobs in China, according to a report by the Chinese central bank. It said companies hardest hit would be those that make textiles, furniture, shoes and toys for export.
"If the yuan rises by another 5 percent, our profits will be totally wiped out," said Li Shaoxiong, deputy general manager of the Fujian Ala Shoe Co., which sold half its 2006 output of 6 million pairs of athletic shoes to American retailers.
Beijing is counting on such labor-intensive light manufacturers to create millions of new jobs. Even though its bustling economy is expected to grow by more than 10 percent this year, a big share of that is in heavier manufacturing and other industries that create fewer jobs.
Perhaps China will take the view that it can tolerate a rise in foreign-trade-related unemployment while it continues to amass capital; as the East gets richer, it will eventually generate its own demand for the products of light industry.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
China announces changes to interest and exchange rates
As I said on 16th May. Though it didn't take a genius to foresee: the Chinese are careful to flag up their intentions so as not to scare anyone. The interest rate increase means the yuan/renminbi will rise against the dollar.
The other move looks like part of a longer-term strategy: the band within which the yuan moves against the dollar is to widen from 0.3% to 0.5% (maximum per day - over time, unlimited), presumably partly to accommodate appreciation of the Chinese currency in response to the interest rate. This may please America, as a lower dollar will reduce the price advantage of Chinese good.
But I think it's also signalling the stage at which one partner tapes their favourite music, before they pack their bags and leave home for good. Having more flexibility in the dollar-yuan exchange may suit China's bigger plan, to move away from dependence on the US market.
Goodbye dollar, hello Euro?
The other move looks like part of a longer-term strategy: the band within which the yuan moves against the dollar is to widen from 0.3% to 0.5% (maximum per day - over time, unlimited), presumably partly to accommodate appreciation of the Chinese currency in response to the interest rate. This may please America, as a lower dollar will reduce the price advantage of Chinese good.
But I think it's also signalling the stage at which one partner tapes their favourite music, before they pack their bags and leave home for good. Having more flexibility in the dollar-yuan exchange may suit China's bigger plan, to move away from dependence on the US market.
Goodbye dollar, hello Euro?
China: a turning point?
Please read this news article, about US-Chinese economic relations. It's a rehash of an essay by China's Vice Premier Wu Yi in yesterday's Wall Street Journal. To me, the very polite tone and careful emphasis on mutual benefit make it clear who's wearing the trousers now. The subtler they are, the more they mean it.
Listen with your inner ear to the statement "Attempts to politicize trade issues should be resisted," bearing in mind who is making it. I sense some kind of turning point. If you play the oriental game Go, the term is "sente", meaning that the initiative has passed to the other player.
Listen with your inner ear to the statement "Attempts to politicize trade issues should be resisted," bearing in mind who is making it. I sense some kind of turning point. If you play the oriental game Go, the term is "sente", meaning that the initiative has passed to the other player.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
China to watch US interest rate and exchange policies
... and from the other side, a thoughtful opinion by Zhang Ming in today's Chinese People's Daily online edition. It notes that changes in the US interest rate might have to be matched by China, but another option is for the US to devalue the dollar. Should the latter occur, it would affect flows of capital between the countries, but (in the writer's view) not so much the Chinese stockmarket, which is mainly powered by domestic investment.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Yuan to rise soon?
China is giving more signals of its plans to let the Yuan/Renminbi rise.
Premier Wen referred to "improving the Renminbi exchange rate mechanism, giving greater scope to the role of the market and introducing greater interest rate flexibility".
Premier Wen referred to "improving the Renminbi exchange rate mechanism, giving greater scope to the role of the market and introducing greater interest rate flexibility".
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Renminbi (Chinese Yuan) to rise soon?
A Chinese news report here details the current Chinese investment frenzy. The market doubled last year and has grown 50% so far this year. The interest on bank accounts is less than inflation, which is running at 3%, so private investors are raiding their accounts for money to speculate on stocks. One way to cool things down is to raise interest rates.
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