» Asian Markets

Inquiring minds as well as commodity bulls need to consider the likely economic impact of China’s commodity imports and how sustainable those imports are. For example, please consider China’s Cotton Reserves Enough to Meet Deficit for Six Years  Cotton stockpiles in China, the world’s b...

In the past two weeks we have been treated with a mostly positive but nonetheless mixed bag of economic data from China. There has been good news, bad news, good news with worrying underlying trends, and bad news with silver linings. Analysts have announced that things are getting worse and that ...

Nearly every day I receive emails from “Brisbane Bear” regarding the sorry state of affairs in Australia. Here is another one to consider: Insolvencies for quarter near record high  CORPORATE insolvencies hit their second-highest peak on record in the last quarter, as the aftershocks o...

The Chinese service sector expanded last month causing many to believe the worst news regarding China was over. I think it has barely started. Damping the Pollyanna view comes news China New Yuan Loans, Money Supply Lower Than Expected in October  The value of loans issued by banks in China in Oct...

The Japanese model of incrementally perfecting consumer technologies may well have have reached marginal returns. Do we have what it takes to get from here to there? This apparently simple question offers profound insights into the dynamics of individuals, households, enterprises and nation-states. ...

Was the March 2009 low the end of a secular bear market and the beginning of a secular bull? Without crystal ball, we simply don’t know. One thing we can do is examine the past to broaden our understanding of the range of possibilities. An obvious feature of this inflation-adjusted is the patt...

Here is a quick look the Nikkei 225 with an overview of the cyclical rallies and their duration during Japan’s secular bear market, now well into its 22nd year. I’ve also included an overlay of nominal and real Nikkei performance and the pattern of inflation/deflation. And finally, we...

Every day I get emails and links from all over the world. I wish I had time to comment on all of them. Here are a pair of stories regarding Canada and Australia. The Financial Post reports Six Canadian banks on review for Moody’s downgrade  Debt rating heavyweight Moody’s Investors Service s...

Here is an excellent interview at The Economist Buttonwood Conference featuring Hugh Hendry. You may have to enter your email address to play, but I doubt it has to be accurate as there was no verification process. The interview is well worth a play in entirety, covering Gold, Hyperinflation, Tre...

Chiwoong Lee at Goldman Sachs has a new report out (“China vs. 1970s Japan”, September 25, 2012) in which he predicts that China’s long-term growth rate will drop to 7.5-8.5%. I disagree very strongly with his forecast, of course, and expect China’s growth rate over the next decade to avera...

A rally in Asia is underway this morning as Wen Jiabao, China’s premier is upbeat on China’s economy  Wen Jiabao, China’s premier, has given his most optimistic assessment of the Chinese economy since the start of the year, saying that it had stabilised and that the government’s target of...

If you want a look at the fiscal future of the U.S., look west to Japan, a nation that sits precariously on a fiscal cliff a thousand feet high. If you want to know how the Keynesian Cargo Cult’s grand experiment in borrowing money to fund bloated fiefdoms, rapacious cartels and bridges to no...