» Asian Markets

The Ponzi schemes and off-balance sheet loans in China’s banking system are in the forefront of today’s news. Reuters reports Bank of China executive warns of shadow banking risks A senior Chinese banking executive has warned against the proliferation of off-book wealth management produ...

I recently debated twice with senior Chinese officials on the future prospects for China.  In both cases they made the argument that Chinese growth rates were going to rise in the next few years and that the current deep pessimism is unwarranted. I argued, of course, that growth would slow even...

The global economy continues to weaken most everywhere you look. The focus of this post is Japan where the Markit/JMMA Japan Manufacturing PMI™ shows Modest deterioration in operating conditions recorded in September.  Key points: Output and new orders both down again, albeit at slower rates We...

With no follow-through so far to the initial two-day spike-up global rallies in response to the ECB’s ‘whatever it takes’ program, the U.S. Fed’s QE3 announcement, and Japan’s additional stimulus plan, hopes for more market support have shifted to China. After five straight down-days for ...

This week the Shanghai stock index, $SSEC, dipped below the 2000 level for the first time since 2009. Stockcharts does not have intraday charts of ADRs so here are a couple of charts from yesterday to consider.$SSEC Daily Chart The following monthly chart puts things in better perspective. $SSEC Mo...

Three weeks ago the Wall Street Journal published my OpEd piece about concern that China may try to make the rebalancing process less painful by allowing the RMB to depreciate. In the piece I argue that this isn’t as obvious as you might think. From July 2005 to February this year the RMB ros...

As the global recession deepens, bad news in Asia continues to mount. China and Japan are leading the Asia-Pacific decline. The HSBC Flash China Manufacturing PMI™ is negative once again with Output down at Sharpest rate in Ten Months. Key Points Flash China Manufacturing PMI™ at 47.8 (47.6 in...

In the wake of a global crash on the the price of steel, led by falling demand, banks in China have gone to warehouses to seize assets of companies in default. However, commodities pledged as assets for loans, simply are not there. Please consider Ghost warehouse stocks haunt China’s steel se...

Just recently both Presidential candidates have taken a “tough-stance” on China hoping to parlay the long running love-hate relationship between the U.S. and China into votes come election time.  While American’s love cheap products – the sustained levels of high unemploym...

A collapse of property schemes, commodity schemes, and other investments schemes in China is well underway. The Ponzi schemes all had one thing in common: they needed an ever-growing pool of suckers to pay the returns promised to investors. Well, the pool of greater fools finally ran out, and Shado...

Economic growth continues to slow at an accelerated pace globally, not just in Greece and Spain, and other euro-zone countries in the headlines, but in the world’s ten largest economies of the U.S., China, Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Italy, India, and Canada. The 17-nation ...

It’s not just Chinese manufacturers that are struggling. It is also Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. In other words, the Asian export machine has cracked wide open. South Korea The Markit South Korea Manufacturing PMI® shows Production Falls at Fastest Rate in Eight Months. Key points New o...