Tag Archives: China

Published: 12th April 2016 Download issue: A trip I took to Hong Kong and Singapore in March proved a useful way to gauge the mood of clients on China’s doorstep. Overall, my meetings with these clients—all entrepreneurs with significant investments in the Middle Kingdom— tended to confirm what other observers have been saying: the Chinese authorities have the resources to ensure the economy attains 6.5%-7% growth this year, and maybe even next year as well, but things may get complicated...

It’s official, I’m calling a banking crisis in Europe. Things didn’t go well the last time I did this. Of course, many will say, “But the rating agencies have learned their collective lessons. They would most assuredely warn us if the European banks are close to going bust, right?!!!”. Yeah, right! Reference our past research note on so-called trusted parties in private blockchains for banks. Those interested in purchasing the 22 page report on what is likely the first major bank to fall...

It's official, I'm calling a banking crisis in Europe. Things didn't go well the last time I did this. Of course, many will say, "But the rating agencies have learned their collective lessons. They would most assuredely warn us if the European banks are close to going bust, right?!!!". Yeah, right! Reference our past research note on so-called trusted parties in private blockchains for banks. Those interested in purchasing the 22 page report on what is likely the first...

Interesting times for China, some scepticism about the recent market rebound, and prospects for private equity investing are some of the themes in the April edition of 'Perspectives', out now in English In the April issue of Perspectives, Christophe Donay, head of macroeconomic research at Pictet, argues that the Chinese fiscal and monetary authorities still have plentiful resources to ensure that China achieves a growth rate of 6.5-7.0% this year and next. But China will sooner or later...

It’s been decades since conglomerates were the toast of American commerce. Many that formed in the 1960s and 70s broke up in the decades that followed, as the trend of diversification gave way to specialization. But in China in 2016, enthusiasm for the conglomerate form is at an all-time high, particularly among Internet companies. Last year, web titans Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent invested a total of $29 billion in 134 businesses.   Alibaba has been the most aggressive of the...

A Huge Leak The “Panama Papers” tax haven leak is big … After all, the Prime Minister of Iceland resigned over the leak, and investigations are taking place worldwide over the leak. But Why Is It Mainly Focusing On Enemies of the West? But the Panama Papers reporting mainly focuses on friends of Russia’s Putin, Assad’s Syria and others disfavored by the West. Former British Ambassador Craig Murray notes: Whoever leaked the Mossack Fonseca papers appears...

For Japan, the post "Shanghai Summit" world is turning ugly, fast, because as a result of the sliding dollar, a key demand of China which has been delighted by the recent dovish words and actions of Janet Yellen, both Japan's and Europe's stock markets have been sacrificed at the whims of their suddenly soaring currencies. Which is why when Japanese stocks tumbled the most in 7 weeks, sinking 3.5%, to a one month low of 16,164 (after the Yen continued strengthening and the Tankan confidence...

Quick: Name the Asian country whose cheap labor costs have attracted droves of foreign manufacturers, driving an explosion in export-driven economic activity that is now transitioning to more moderate, consumer-based growth. Did you say China? Vietnam would have been correct, too.   As labor costs have risen dramatically in China over the last several years, a growing number of manufacturers have moved operations from the Middle Kingdom to Vietnam or even decided to set up shop there...

For several years, the United States has been the bright spot in the world economy, with the strongest growth recovery among developed nations, sustained labor market improvement, and climbing stock markets. But that’s the past. What about the future? From the perspective of senior European executives, the outlook for the U.S. market has become increasingly worrisome of late. In the most recent installment of a twice-yearly survey, a panel of those executives told Credit Suisse that their...

By now it is common knowledge that when it comes to massive, taxpayer-backed hedge funds, few are quite as big as the Swiss National Bank, whose roughly $100 billion in equity holdings have been extensively profiled on these pages, including its woefully investments in Valeant and the spike in its buying of AAPL stock at its all time high. But while the SNB's stock holdings are updated every quarter courtesy of its informative SEC-filed 13F (we wish the Fed would also disclose the equities...