Icbccss&p500usd Discussion Threads

[briarberry] 13/1/2011 15:45

South Korea has raised interest rates unexpectedly from 2.5% to 2.75% in an attempt to cool rising prices as the country's economic recovery strengthens.

It is the second time in three months that the central bank has raised rates.

[briarberry] 12/1/2011 21:27

China struggling to print enough yuan notes

China has the world's largest money printing operation but still fails to meet demand for yuan, a central bank official said, amid rampant lending and a flood of foreign exchange into the country.

The remarks by vice governor Ma Delun, posted on the central bank website Tuesday, highlight the challenges facing Beijing as it tries to control the value of its currency and reduce the volume of money flowing into the economy.

[briarberry] 12/1/2011 21:22

China's eastern city of Wenzhou will allow individuals to make direct investments overseas as the government encourages capital outflows to ease pressure on inflation and currency appreciation.

Citizens cannot exceed $3 million with any single investment abroad or spend more than a total $200 million each year, and may not invest in overseas financial companies, according to a statement on the Wenzhou Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Bureau's website posted on Jan. 7.

[briarberry] 12/1/2011 14:07

Bank of China Opens for Renminbi Trade in U.S. The Bank of China, one of the country's main state-owned lenders, is now allowing American clients to open accounts in renminbi and trade in the currency, another step in China's effort to position the renminbi on the world stage.

[briarberry] 11/1/2011 16:36

BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- China's foreign trade last year jumped 34.7percent year on year to more than 2.97 trillion U.S. dollars while its trade surplus fell 6.4 percent to 183.1 billion U.S. dollars, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said Monday.

The country's exports grew 31.3 percent year on year last year to 1.58 trillion U.S. dollars while imports surged 38.7 percent to 1.39 trillion U.S. dollars, said the GAC.

[briarberry] 11/1/2011 16:14

China's broad money supply (M2), which covers cash in circulation and all deposits, had increased 19.7 percent year-on-year to 72.58 trillion yuan at the end of last year.

The growth rate was 8 percentage points slower from a year ago, but still exceeded the government target of 17 percent.

The narrow measure of money supply (M1), cash in circulation plus current corporate deposits, climbed 21.2 percent from a year earlier to 26.66 trillion yuan

[briarberry] 11/1/2011 16:07

SHANGHAI - The central government has given the city's proposal to launch a property tax the green light, and the tax is likely to begin in the first quarter of this year, sources said.

But many details still need to be worked out, according to a source close to the decision-makers.



China may soon launch a trial property tax in Chongqing and Shanghai, amid the latest efforts to rein in wildly inflated property prices.

[briarberry] 10/1/2011 13:32

Everyones watching China...


JPMorgan Execs Say China Vital for Growth The investment bank's executives have said that its securities venture into mainland China, which was approved by the country's regulator last week, is a key aspect of the firm's globalizing strategy.

[briarberry] 05/1/2011 01:12

Chinese debt levels are listed at just over 20% of GDP, but if one were to add in local debt, total debt would closer to 70-80% of GDP, versus the United States' near 90% of GDP says Victor Shih, professor at Northwestern University.

[briarberry] 01/1/2011 21:56

USD/Yuan was pegged at 6.8 for a couple of years, now it's moving again...


Stronger Yuan

On Dec. 31, the currency strengthened beyond 6.6 per dollar for the first time in 17 years, fueling speculation that officials will allow more gains to counter inflation.



A lot of hot money moving into RMB accounts in Hong Kong banks.

[briarberry] 31/12/2010 16:33

Home prices in 70 Chinese cities rose for an 18th month in November, even after the government raised borrowing costs, suspended mortgages for third-home purchases and pledged to introduce a property tax. Foreign investment in China's property market rose 48 percent to $20.1 billion in the first 11 months, more than double the 17.7 percent increase in the country's total overseas inflows, official data show.

The Ministry of Commerce last week ordered local authorities to halt approvals of some foreign property investments to curb speculative buying. Premier Wen Jiabao said Dec. 26 that measures to curb the real estate market weren't well implemented and the government will introduce new steps to crack down on speculation.

[briarberry] 21/12/2010 18:32

BEIJING, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- China will raise gasoline and diesel prices 310 yuan (about 46 U.S. dollars ) per tonne and 300 yuan per tonne, respectively, beginning Wednesday, the National Development and Reform Commission(NDRC) announced Tuesday.

The is the second increase in fuel prices in two months after the NDRC raised the price of gasoline by 230 yuan and diesel by 220 yuan in October.

[briarberry] 13/12/2010 09:04

Shanghai Composite up 2.88% (2011 new loan target is only 0.5 trillion yuan down from this year although unofficially it might be down 2)...

China is likely to set a target of at least 7 trillion yuan ($1.1 trillion) of new loans for 2011, said two people briefed on the matter.

The government also aims for 4 percent inflation, 8 percent economic growth and 16 percent money supply expansion for next year, the people said, declining to be identified because the information isn't public. No final target for new lending has been set and the figure may change, one person said.

China moved to rein in lending this year after record credit growth in 2009 caused inflation to quicken and home prices to surge. The central bank has a target of 7.5 trillion yuan of new loans for 2010, a ceiling that was almost breached in the first 11 months of the year, and has forced banks to set aside more deposits as reserves three times in five weeks.
...
New lending for this year may be higher than official figures suggest, or about 9 trillion yuan, when off-balance sheet credits and short-term financing bills that get converted into loans are included, one of the people said.
...
China's banking regulator in August ordered lenders to transfer off-balance sheet loans extended through trust firms back onto their books by the end of 2011 and make provisions equal to 150 percent of potential losses. The move was aimed at curbing banks' practice of lending proceeds from sales of wealth management products through trust companies.

[briarberry] 11/12/2010 17:59

Inflation in China has risen to a 28-month high, sparking warnings of new interest rate rises.

The 5.1% November rise was the biggest since June 2008, and follows a sharp hike on the October rate of 4.4%.

China implemented a $586bn stimulus package two years ago which many analysts believe was the catalyst for the inflation rises.

[briarberry] 08/12/2010 11:39

Charts of

The Chinese OECD leading indicator
+
The Chinese National Bureau of Statistics leading indicator

[briarberry] 06/12/2010 14:07

BEIJING, Dec. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- China may raise banks' reserve requirement ratio at the start of next year to curb capital inflow and control lending rates, central bank adviser Li Daokui has said.

Interest rates will be raised gradually in 2011 and policy makers will also study global economic conditions, Li said on Friday.

His comments came after the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee's Political Bureau said it would shift from a relatively loose to a prudent monetary policy to fight inflation and curb excessive liquidity.