In talking to the FT’s Gillian Tett, Hugh Hendry of The Eclectica Fund makes the hilarious metaphor of China as Santa Claus bringing gifts to a world constrained by excessive Western government debt issuance.  But, Hendry thinks the Asian surplus countries are the most exposed and most vulnerable because they are excessively dependent on foreign [...]

The fundamentals in Asia are much stronger than they are in the U.S. or in Europe. This bodes well for a recovery in the region.  Nevertheless, there is reason to worry because here is a video warning about an Asian-wide bubble in the making. I have warned about the Chinese bubble.  Frederic Neumann talks about [...]

You have probably heard the stories about China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) bidding for Repsol YP’F’s Argentine assets in a quest for more natural resources for China. Well, apparently, the Chinese want a lot more than just Argentina; they want the whole of Repsol’s Latin American asset base.
The Chinese have been buying up [...]

In the lead-up to next week’s G8 summit, the Chinese have been making yet more noises about setting up a new monetary system without the dollar as its anchor and leading reserve currency.  The Chinese, who have maintained a export orientation which has made them the largest holder of U.S. government bonds, are concerned that [...]

George Soros does not see what the alternative to the dollar is right now.  Yes, the Chinese are making noises about moving away from the dollar.  But, this is a long-term strategy.  Over the short-term, the Chinese still have trillions of dollar assets. What alternatives to the dollar are there?
Video below.

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As If you didn’t know this already, the wall of money being funnelled through Chinese banks is creating a massive speculative bubble in shares.  The Telegraph reports:
Under orders from the government, China’s banks have flooded the economy with new credit this year, advancing more money in the first six months than the total for 2008. [...]

Late last year, I predicted that China, as a major exporter to the West, would feel a huge impact from the meltdown in the global economy, taking it’s growth rate down to 2% (See Top ten predictions for the 2009 global economy). Forgetting about the fact that data are highly suspect in China, I see [...]

This comes via the Financial Times:
China has introduced an explicit “Buy Chinese” policy as part of its economic stimulus programme in a move that will amplify tensions with trade partners and increase the likelihood of protectionism around the world.
In an edict released jointly by nine government departments, Beijing said government procurement must use only Chinese [...]

Marc Chandler, Global Head of Currency Strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman has a good piece out today highlighting the differing economic policy agendas of the BRIC group (Brazil, Russia, India and China).  In it he suggests CRIBS is a more appropriate moniker for the group as it is China and Russia leading the way for [...]

On Monday, I mentioned that the Asian Development Bank Fund was a clear sign that Asia was cutting loose from the west and looking to take care of things domestically.  WIlliam Pesek of Bloomberg News put out a piece this morning echoing those sentiments, but also adding a lot more background regarding the events leading [...]