Icbccss&p500usd Discussion Threads

[keyboard] 30/12/2003 11:38

First joint China-EU satellite successfully launched into orbit - Xinhua

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) - China successfully launched a high-altitude satellite into orbit early Tuesday as part of the first ever joint Chinese-European mission, state media reported.

Witnesses said the satellite was launched using a Long March 2C/SM rocket at 3:06 am from Xichang in Sichuan Province, Xinhua news agency reported.

The satellite is the first high-altitude orbiting satellite launched by China. It is part of a space probe program being carried out jointly by China and the European Space Agency (ESA) to study the earth's magnetic field.

Tracking reports from the Xi'an Satellite Monitor and Control Center showed the launch was successful, Xinhua reported.

30/12/2003 00:34

[hectorp] 30/12/2003 08:00

saars confirmed in Guangjong.
However China A and B shares rose last night...
This could reflect
the small scale of the SAARS now
and the good efforts of China to control it.
Lets hope so,
H.

[geologic] 30/12/2003 05:07

Easy to Order new ships,
eventually the Market will be oversupplied.
Boom of one year, two years maximum

[mcbeanburger] 29/12/2003 18:36

Hector,

I am a man of many words....few of them my own :)

I am less confident about steel and shipping but coal seems like a no brainer.

McB

[hectorp] 29/12/2003 18:25

McBean,
are we expected to take out a subscription to your big articles!
I like the steel and shipping angle above, 2004 again good for CHIN stocks and Funds? very likely IMO.
Don't forget S America, Hungary India and Japan for 2004 also.

[mcbeanburger] 29/12/2003 17:59

Got coal and ships?

Commodities

The bulk of it goes to China.

To most people the world of commodities conjures up images of precious metals and there is no doubt that the gold and platinum group metals have put on a sparkling performance in 2003. But in fact the real commodity story of 2003 has been the bulk commodities. Unfortunately, iron ore, coal and alumina are not quite so exotic as platinum and palladium. While the price performance of the traded metals has been spectacular in bulk commodities the real story has really been about volume more than price, though prices have been good too.

Data for bulk commodities tends to be released more slowly than for metals traded on terminal markets. Even so, what is available is pretty amazing. In 2002, as in 2001, China produced more steel than any other country. And not just a little bit more. Its 2002 production of 180 million tonnes is twice that of America's and way above the 108 million that Japan produced. Given that Chinese production rose 23% in November this year to 20 million tonnes it is clear that 2003 is going to break new records. Year to date production is already over 200 million tonnes.

To make steel you need two key ingredients: iron ore and coal. While China has both, especially the later, it is actually more effective for it to import the iron ore from Australia where the large scale operations are very efficient and low cost. That mostly explains why Chinese iron ore imports are expected to rise by 37 million tonnes to 148 million tonnes in 2003 and total Australian iron ore exports are forecast to rise 12% to 203 million tonnes. These are big number and with those sorts of increases it is not surprising to read that analysts expect a 9% price rise to be negotiated next year. But here's the nasty part. The strength of the Australian dollar means that the revenue from exports will only rise by 4% in local currency terms. That might be modest, but it certainly shows that Rio Tinto's battle to win the fight for mining company North against Anglo American a few years ago was worthwhile. It also demonstrates that Billiton's merger with BHP was very timely.

The situation in coal is quite different in that China is a large producer in its own right, something of the order of a billion tonnes a year which is about the same as the US. However, most of the US production comes from large scale, usually open-cut mines that are very low cost. In China by contrast mines are small, labour intensive and not at all efficient. One of my least favourite site visits as a mining analyst was to a coal mine in China that entailed crawling along little rat runs on hands and knees to get to tiny little coal faces. Our hosts were also especially eager to take flash photographs of us. Not something I was very comfortable with. These mines are simply not capable of rapid expansion to supply the massively expanding steel industry, particularly in the higher grade coking coals needed to make steel. With that background it is understandable for international coking coal prices to be forecast to rise by 20% next year. That makes it the biggest jump since the nineteen seventies, the last time there was a serious commodity price boom.

Aluminium is the metal used in the largest volumes after steel. China, as we might expect, is now playing a leading role in producing this metal as well as consuming it. Reported primary production in 1999 was 2.6 million tonnes but this had risen to 4.3 million by 2002 and with output of 4.9 million in 2003 for the year to November it is clear that this year is going to show another large jump. To make aluminium you need alumina, a classic high volume low value bulk commodity. Demand for this raw material will rise in step with aluminium production.

There is one thing that ties all these commodities and China together. Because they are bulky moving them around the world is not easy and the rapid rise in demand and volumes has caught the shipping industry on the hop. A measure of the strength of that market is that the Baltic Dry Index reached an all time high of 4560 at the end of October. Although it has only been in existence since 1985 the shape of the graph of the index resemble a commodity in full bull market form. After bouncing around the 1,000 level for years it started to move up at the beginning of this year and then has just climbed vertically to almost quadruple. That makes the performance of some precious metals look pretty pedestrian.

This boom demonstrates that there is not enough shipping capacity available. A ship building boom can be expected very shortly. And as ships need a lot of steel it is a fair guess that the market for the bulk commodities looks set fair for some time to come.

[energyi] 29/12/2003 13:02

Alliance Pacific is private,
but there is a window on it thru Laramide (v.LAM)
which is a substantial shareholder

[mcbeanburger] 29/12/2003 12:37

Energyi,

if it is anything like the one I noticed recently on the HK exchange, a 3/4 banger might be conservative.

good luck.

McB

PS Any thoughts on EPZ? answers on the silver thread. thanks.

[energyi] 29/12/2003 12:03

McB,
I recently took a placement in a China gold exploration company.
Still private, likely to go public in March 2004.

We are hoping for a 3-4 bagger, maybe more

[briarberry] 28/12/2003 12:36

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) - China's foreign trade is expected to top 840 bln usd
this year, up 35 pct from 2002 and making the nation the world's fourth biggest
trader, the China News Service quoted vice trade minister Yu Guangzhou as
saying.
It quoted Yu as saying that China's exports this year will top 430 bln usd,
while imports are seen at about 410 bln usd.
Yu, speaking at a nationwide trade meeting, said China's dynamic trade
performance is based on the country's fast-paced economic growth, a domestic
market with a large potential and a cheap labor force that is becoming stronger
and more skilled.
Adjustments in global demand and supply are also benefiting China, while
China is also importing more goods to feed a growing domestic consumer market,
he said.
China's entry into the World Trade Organization has also boosted trade as it
resulted in China's import tariffs falling and non-tariff measures being
removed, he added.
China's economy is expected to grow by 8.5 pct this year.
By becoming the world's fourth largest trading nation, China will overtake
France, leaving it behind only the US, Japan and Germany.
Yu's comments marked the second time this month that a vice minister of
trade predicted that China would become the world's fourth largest trading
nation this year.
However, China's figures appeared to be a narrower tabulation of numbers and
do not include trade in services.
Yu also said that actual foreign direct investment (FDI) into China during
the first 11 months of the year reached 47.2 bln usd, while FDI for the entire
year is expected to be about equal to last year's 52.7 bln usd.
China's total exports in the first 11 months were valued at 390 bln usd, up
32.9 pct year-on-year, while imports rose 39.1 pct to 370.6 bln usd, the General
Administration of Customs reported earlier this month.
According to figures from the World Trade Organization (WTO), China was the
world's fifth largest merchandise exporter in 2002 with 325.6 bln usd.
That put it right behind France, with 331.8 bln usd, and well ahead of
Britain, with 279.6 bln usd

[hectorp] 24/12/2003 16:05

So thats that then! If anyone absorbed the last 3-4 articles, they have to be either an economics graduate or a liar!
I sure tried!
anyhow I've spent this week doubling my investment in China and especially Hong Kong: also added 40% to my Jap holdings, and at last returned to an ivestment in India ( Morgan Fleming's Fund). I suppose we will see 20% on our investments 'over there' between now and late summer. I'd take profits if that was reached however, whenever it came to be.

[keyboard] 23/12/2003 13:29

China's GDP to grow by over 9 pct in both Q4 2003 and Q1 2004 - NBS economist

BEIJING (AFX-ASIA) - China's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow by over 9 pct in the fourth quarter of this year and in the first quarter of 2004, due to the rapid growth in industrial production, the Shanghai Securities News cited the chief economist of the National Bureau of Statistics as saying.

The newspaper quoted Yao Jingyuan as saying that industrial production, especially in the electronics, communications equipment, electric appliances transportation, machinery, metallurgy and petrochemical sectors, contributed over 60 pct to GDP growth this year.

Yao told the newspaper that the central government will also attach more importance to the development of the service sector next year, and will come up with some preferential policies to support its growth.

Yao said the government will also take steps to further increase farming incomes and stimulate consumption to boost the economy next year.

He said the internal and external environment for the Chinese economy will be much better in 2004 than in 2003, as private investment is expected to increase, and the positive effects of China's entry into the WTO begin to be felt.

As for the 7 pct GDP growth expected by some government departments for 2004, Yao said the forecast is on the lower side.

Yao said China's GDP should grow by over 8.5 pct to over 11 trln yuan for the full year 2003.

Yao said although investment in the real estate and steel industries is rising rapidly, it is still too early to say that China's economy is overheating because economic indices for consumption, employment and farming incomes are still growing rather slowly.

Actually, the major economic indices are not overheating when compared with that in the peak years, Yao said.

Fixed asset investment rose 30.5 pct in the first three quarters of this year, and is expected to increase 25 pct for the whole year, but the growth rate was 44.4 pct in 1992 and 61.8 pct in 1993, Yao said.

Real estate investment increased 32.8 pct in the first three quarters, and is expected to rise 30 pct for the full year. In comparison, the growth rate stood at 117.5 pct in 1992 and 165 pct in 1993, he said.

He said retail sales are expected to grow 9 pct in 2003, while they were up 16.8 pct 1992, 28.4 pct in 1993 and 30.5 pct in 1994.

The consumer price index (CPI) is expected to grow about 1 pct this year, but it was up 21.7 pct in 1994, he said.

All these figures show that the Chinese economy is not overheating, and that it is not necessary to take measures to cool it down, Yao said.

(1 usd = 8.3 yuan)

[e-mail]

23/12/2003 10:29

[mcbeanburger] 21/12/2003 19:58

more interesting cut and paste from SI (following the links)

To:Jim Willie CB who wrote (5145)
From: Jay Chen Thursday, Dec 18, 2003 6:44 AM
View Replies (2) | Respond to of 5366

Hello JW, Before commenting on your script, I point you to:
(a) Ominous sign of inflation numbers to come and

(b) Conundrum of China inflation fact vs. US deflation fiction

(c) Tale of gold hunt in Beijing

(d) Puzzle of reversing the previous China capital flight when China is trying to cool economy

(e) Old Europe cozying up to New China

(f) Talk of submarines

(g) New Russia flirting with New China

(h) Energy crisis

(i) Anticipating a looting

Regarding >

... may be true, but I believe the USA acting out its hegemonic philosophy, more than anything else, encourages China to distance itself from USD-space, whereas credit bubbles and printing money may actually tie China to USD-space, because China also needs to print, and to provide employment, just like the US, banking problems be darned, at least until J6P in the US is fully spent.

On
which overrides all capital banking reserve problems>>

... This point is interesting. What I NOW definitely seem to SEE:

(a) China is encouraging repatriation of previously flown capital back to China even thought it is trying to cool the economy (but I note the economy can be cooled effectively by other, non-conventional, means ;0)

(b) China is encouraging private gold ownership and encouraging the mattress cash (USD and RMB) to get back into the banking system;

(c) It appears that China is motivated to allow its citizens a safety cushion (gold) and wean them off of USD;

(d) It appears China is intent on spending its USD hoard on things it needs;

(e) It appears China is intent on achieving serious nuclear and conventional deterrent;

... and so, let us watch, wait and see what happens next with the renewal of the Washington Agreement on gold, which CBs will be selling and which CBs will be buying, and whether the buying CBs will on-sell its gold to its citizens.

It may be that China wants its citizens, as opposed to its central bank, to hold the gold and China intends to back its currency as the US does, with guns and butter, obtaining the best of both currency regimes, namely (a) social stability due to private mattress gold acting as an anchor, and (b) modulated economic growth because of fiat paper desired by some :0?

China may simply leave the world to cast a ballot for alternative paper currencies, one backed by a population with gold, and the other supported by a population with obligations.

Chugs, Jay

[mcbeanburger] 20/12/2003 23:41

Sorry Ram don't know it.

Trotsky from Kitco, makes some interesting points on China:

trotsky (@falling money supply) ID#377387:
Copyright (c) 2002 trotsky/Kitco Inc. All rights reserved
there's no mystery there. bank assets are declining - industrial and commercial lending has been contracting for 3 years, and now the mortgage credit bubble has simply stopped dead as well. since 'money' in the fiat system is only added with the help of fresh debt creation, its supply tends to begin to shrink when the credit expansion for whatever reason stops ( in this case: industrial overcapacities & higher mortgage rates ) .
the HUGE existing debt mountain therefore also represents the major argument supporting the idea that the coming economic downturn will be deflationary in nature. 'money' will be destroyed on account of defaults, and consequently, the money supply should then shrink further. also, the savings-starved private sector will attempt to build up cash balances - this liquidity preference is also set to contribute to the deflation ( i.e., the 'price' deflation, since goods purchases will be continually deferred. the current weak X-mas shopping seaon is a small foretaste of what's in store in the future ) .
no wonder the bond market is rallying gain - it KNOWS.

trotsky (Pit yorkie) ID#377387:
Copyright (c) 2002 trotsky/Kitco Inc. All rights reserved 1. why would China flop? it will flop when the credit expansion comes to a halt. note in this context that China's internal credit expansion is inextricably linked to the US current account, and with it, to the US credit expansion. in China, a plethora of malinvestments has taken place, as always happens when too much money out of thin air hits an economy. how do we know? look at commodity prices - they are a symptom of the fact that demands on resources are made that those resources can't currently meet. look at the recent reports that China is bulding more steel mills than can't possibly be fed by currently available iron ore production. note also, that the Chinese government, scared that the boom is getting out of control, has belatedly ordered the state owned banks to stop lending to car manufacturers, steel producers and aluminium producers ( all of whom strain the electricity infrastructure close to breaking point at this stage ) . it is a TYPICAL Misesian crack-up boom, and it will end the same way such booms ALWAYS end: a bust as soon as the credit expansion stops. well, the credit expansion IS stopping.

as for the US economy, the statement "That still needs the USA which will only come down when interest rates hike" is imo naive. as a matter of fact, after 3 years of extraordinary 'stimulus' measures ( i.e., an unprecedented rate cutting spree, the biggest expansion in the budget deficit ever, and an unconstrained mortgage credit and housing boom ) the US economy looks incredibly anemic. over 30% of resources are idle - industrial capacity utilization is creeping along at depression levels, personal income has first fallen, and now stagnates. meanwhile, it has taken nearly $7 in ADDITIONAL credit to produce $1 of GDP 'growth', which in turn is largely a statistical mirage anyway ( not only hedonic indexing contributed, but also the fact that what amounts actually to a net negative for the economy is counted as a 'positive' in the GDP accounts, like e.g. the wasteful government spending - esp. on defense - and the rise in oil prices ) .
your 'solution', namely to 'simply print money' obviously is exactly what has happened over the past 3 years already, and it has irrevocable damaged the economy's structural integrity imo...to the point that when the dreaded consumer rescession finally strikes, we could be faced with a bust that exceeds anything seen since the 30's. you are also conveniently forgetting that 'printing' money alone doesn't achieve anything - someone must be willing and able to borrow and spend the money ( i.e. must take actions that further deplete the pool of real funding, putting the economy ever deeper into the hole ) . however, who is left to do that? total US credit market debt is now at nearly 360% of GDP - $36 trillion. even if we assume a low interest expense of say 7% for the entire amount, the economy would need to produce $ 2.5 trillion annually in NET PROFITS to simply pay for the interest on this amount. we're running into mathematical impossibilities here, which is why it has become a "Ponzi economy" where new credit is taken on to pay off old credit & interest.
so instead of fearing rate hikes, you should ask, 'how much potential stimulus is left to avert the collapse?' - and the answer is, not enough.

Copyright (c) 2002 trotsky/Kitco Inc. All rights reserved i meant the effect the US trade deficit with China has on China's money supply. since the Yuan is pegged, money supply in China has exploded at well over 20% growth rates. this produces malinvestment in China. the same holds of course for other mercantilist Asian nations that finance the US current account by printing up domestic currency to buy US govt. debt. the point here is that it's a vicious cycle, with all participants apparently 'forced' to print as much 'money' as possible. this creates various booms and boomlets, but depletes the pool of real funding. once the pool of real funding effectively begins to shrink, it doesn't matter anymore how much money you print - the boom can not be restarted then ( Japan's experience over the past decade+ ) .
this is the problem the Fed has encountered now as well....like i said, an unprecedented rate cutting spree has done very little to improve the US economy's most important facets. it is a huge mistake to avert a realignment of the production structure in order to avoid a recession, or a deep recession. it hollows the economy out, while the recession simply happens later - and then is much worse than it would have been otherwise.
in short, the central banks can only con the market for a little while...and are making things worse while doing so.

Copyright (c) 2002 trotsky/Kitco Inc. All rights reserved @'it's not like in the 30's when they intentionally took the money away...'

like i said before, this assertion does not jibe with the facts. free bank reserves increased by over 400% between late 1929 and early '33, a sign that the Fed's printing presses were indeed running hot. also, the inflationists can NOT explain what happens in Japan, can they? after all, the BoJ has been printing money like crazy for well over 10 years now, and it just keeps sloshing around in MM funds, unused...or is wasted by the government on white elephant projects.
when you know about a neighborhood that is visited by one of those money helicopters don't hesitate to let us know. so far, the modus operandi of the CBs is the same as it always was....and the US money supply has begun to shrink, i.e. there's now deflation in the actual broad money measures. it will get worse.
also, i don't think that China's boom/bust cycle is not important for us - China is the world's largest manufacturer of goods. what happens there is probably VERY important for the rest of us.

[rambutan2] 20/12/2003 16:23

any views on petrochina, its mkt cap and growth prospects? am mulling over buying some berk hathaway, primarily due to mkt underestimating insurance profits to come this year, but it also has a 13% stake in petrochina.

[energyi] 20/12/2003 15:37

China NOW- what the USA was in 1929?

"A last major instability of the American economy had to do with large-scale international wealth distribution problems. While America was prospering in the 1920's, European nations were struggling to rebuild themselves after the damage of war. During World War I the U.S. government lent its European allies $7 billion, and then another $3.3 billion by 1920.

By the Dawes Plan of 1924 the U.S. started lending to Axis Germany. American foreign lending continued in the 1920's climbing to $900 million in 1924, and $1.25 billion in 1927 and 1928. Of these funds, more than 90% were used by the European allies to purchase U.S. goods. The nations the U.S. had lent money to (Britain, Italy, France, Belgium, Russia, Yugoslavia, Estonia, Poland, and others) were in no position to pay off the debts. Their gold had flowed into the U.S. during and immediately after the war in great quantity; they couldn't send more gold without completely ruining their currencies. Historian John D. Hicks describes the Allied attitude towards U.S. loan repayment:

In their view the war was fought for a common objective, and the victory was as essential for the safety of the United States as for their own. The United States had entered the struggle late, and had poured forth no such contribution in lives and losses as the Allies had made. It had paid in dollars, not in death and destruction, and now it wanted its dollars back.

There were several causes to this awkward distribution of wealth between U.S. and its European counterparts. Most obvious is that fact that World War I had devastated European business. Factories, homes, and farms had been destroyed in the war. It would take time and money to recuperate. Equally important to causing the disparate distribution of wealth was tariff policy of the United States. The United States had traditionally placed tariffs on imports from foreign countries in order to protect American business. However these tariffs reached an all-time high in the 1920's and early 1930's. Starting with the Fordney-McCumber Act of 1922 and ending with the Hawley-Smoot Tariff of 1930, the United States increased many tariffs by 100% or more. The effect of these tariffs was that Europeans were unable to sell their own goods in the United States in reasonable quantities.

In the 1920's the United States was trying "to be the world's banker, food producer, and manufacturer, but to buy as little as possible from the world in return." This attempt to have a constantly favorable trade balance could not succeed for long. The United States maintained high trade barriers so as to protect American business, but if the United States would not buy from our European counterparts, then there was no way for them to buy from the Americans, or even to pay interest on U.S. loans.

The weakness of the international economy certainly contributed to the Great Depression. Europe was reliant upon U.S. loans to buy U.S. goods, and the U.S. needed Europe to buy these goods to prosper. By 1929 10% of American gross national product went into exports. When the foreign countries became no longer able to buy U.S. goods, U.S. exports fell 30% immediately. That $1.5 billion of foreign sales lost between 1929 to 1933 was fully one eighth of all lost American sales in the early years of the depression."

...MORE:

[mcbeanburger] 13/12/2003 12:39

taken from SI

To:Malcolm Bersohn who wrote (43115)
From: Jay Chen Friday, Dec 12, 2003 8:16 AM
View Replies (2) | Respond to of 43171

Hello Malcolm, I just got back to the hotel room after having dinner with some China mainland state-owned enterprise senior corporate managers (chemical fertilizer, electric power) and private businessmen.
Some random notes:
(a) Chongqin and Changsha are fairly large secondary cities (population 30 mm and 8-9 mm) and the industries there are on a system of 3 days with electricity and one day without. There is a power shortage due to currently insufficient but previously plentiful generating capacity;

(b) China apparently has decided that it will phase out its coal export program and become a coal importing country;

(c) Domestic oil prices have gone up 10% in the last month, and will likely rise again. Activities that can be converted to coal energy has be directed to do so;

(d) There are three critical issues facing the country now, presenting crisis and opportunity, and they are economic overheating (believed to be temporary), food shortage (30% increase in basic foodstuff YTD, but believed to be beneficial for farmers who in turn will use the added income for other goodies), and environmental issues (requiring much money and added GDP to improve);

(e) Gold bars are hard to come by in Beijing because the shops have long lines whenever the bars are in stock;

(f) Corporate borrowing rate is 4.9% for RMB borrowing, and less for USD debt;

(g) Because coal prices are way up in China, and chemical fertilizer price goes up even more (profit increasing), the large chemical fertilizer company is less willing to export their products to the US, however the US buyers have apparently been quite willing to pay more; and

(h) The chemical fertilizer company is converting the USD revenue from export to CAD and RMB because (a) they buy stuff from Canada and (b) they believe RMB will rise against USD at some point.

So, there you have it, and so we must apparently consider buying more:





I am unwilling to consider the power generators.

Chugs, Jay

[hectorp] 06/12/2003 17:11

China thread a bit quiet recently, this will very probably reverse in January with the rally in US markets that will trigger the Chinese miracle still further.
Long: commodities,
and China Trust Warrants eg Edin Dragon and Hedge Funds eg GAM Orient.

[mick p] 29/11/2003 00:09

Fitch's Lau: China's Major Banks, Bad Loans and Ratings Listen
Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Arthur Lau, director for financial institutions at Fitch Ratings, talks with Bloomberg's Catherine Yang from Hong Kong about the outlook for Chinese banks such as Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Agricultural Bank of China. China may pump money into these banks, bankers and regulators said.



00:49 Level of non-performing loans at China's major banks
01:54 Need for recapitalization of China's major banks, outlook
00:42 Ownership and management of China's major banks
01:29 Problems at China's major banks: management, liquidity
01:01 Lau discusses Fitch's ratings on China's major banks
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Someone wants to float the yuan?

[hectorp] 28/11/2003 11:17

It has a long way to go- which is the best part of the above post?
It CAN double and treble in the next 5-10 years or sooner.
I stake some of my pension on China Hong Kong and Far east over 5-10 years!

Shorter term, been trading China Aluminum. Using spreads with CMC for that, this is a volatile and rising stock, can fluctuate by 10-20% over a few days.
I'm a buyer of this one from 3.45 -60 levels with a short term target of 4.20.
This can and may come over a few days.
I suppose the stock could double again in 2004... we will see!
H.

[energyi] 25/11/2003 10:27

From The Bottom Line

Its and bits: Putting China's market into perspective
I read in the Wall Street Journal the other day that the total size of the stock market in mainland China is about $450 billion. For comparison's sake, two U.S. companies, GE and IBM, are worth a combined $450 billion.

China's big and growing, but it's got a long way to go.

[energyi] 19/11/2003 19:58

November 13 – Bloomberg: "China, the world's No. 2 energy user after the U.S., said its crude oil imports rose to a record 74.2 million metric tons (545.4 million barrels) in the first 10 months of this year. China's crude oil imports rose 30.3 percent in the January-October period, the customs bureau said..."

November 14 – Bloomberg: "China's power use will rise as much as 15 percent this year to a record as the economy expands..."

November 13 – Bloomberg: "China posted a record trade surplus last month as exports surged at their fastest pace in five months, stoking growth in Asia's second-biggest economy... The trade surplus widened to $5.74 billion... Exports grew 37 percent to $40.9 billion... The nation's imports rose 40 percent last month to $35.2 billion..." "China's iron ore imports jumped 32 percent in the first 10 months of this year, while steel-product imports rose more than half..."