America's North Shore Journal » China’s Economy
Chinese Economy Threatened By Deflation
It is foolish to accept Chinese economic figures at face value. China remains a centralized communist state. It has no incentive to produce honest data on its economy, nor do the people in the trenches have any incentive to report the economic truth up the line to their superiors. Everything about the economy of China should be treated with suspicion. As the risk of deflation looms large on top of weaker exports and declining private real estate investment, China’s economy may continue to slow down in the quarters immediately ahead but regain growth momentum in the second half of next year, according to a Morgan Stanley report released on Wednesday. In its China Economics Outlook for 2009, the Hong Kong-based Morgan Stanley Asia forecast China’s baseline GDP growth would be around 7.5 … Read entire article »
Filed under: China, China's Economy
China Factory Output Down
China’s manufacturing output fell sharply in November, just the latest sign that the global economic slowdown is impacting on its economy. The official purchasing managers’ index declined to 38.8 in November, from 44.6 in October, with any figure under 50 indicating a contraction. The fall was caused by a sharp drop in new orders, especially from abroad. China’s President Hu Jintao has warned that the global financial crisis is hitting the country’s competitiveness. BBC … Read entire article »
Filed under: China, China's Economy
Large Coal Deposits Found in China
China uses a tremendous amount of coal. And they do not have the technology in place to burn it cleanly. You will also recall the frequent mine collapses that kill dozens or hundreds of miners each time. After efforts by geological exploration teams for over a year, an ultra large coal field with a forecasted 23 billion tons of total reserve was found in the famous Turfan Basin in China. Reporters learnt from the Department of Land and Resources of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region that, the newly-discovered coal field is located in the Sha’er Lake in Piqan County of Turfan Region in Xinjiang. The coal mine occupies an area of over 300 square kilometers with a gross minable thickness of 169.69 meters, and a coal bearing ratio of 29%, with the largest … Read entire article »
Filed under: China, China's Economy
Protest Violence in China
More news about violence and turmoil in China. Beijing officials routinely cite 8% GDP growth as the level needed to sustain employment. China’s growth rate is currently hovering around 9%, its lowest in seven years, and many expect next year’s figure to be lower. Efforts to boost GDP include Sunday’s announcement that the country will spend $1.4 trillion to stimulate the economy. Reliable unemployment figures are not available, but factory closures appear to be up: 67,000 small- and medium-size enterprises have shuttered in the first half of this year, according to government statistics. Thousands of workers at a diesel factory in Jiangsu province protested this month because of concerns over potential layoffs. A closer look at what happened in Longnan last week shows why protests are likely to intensify as people become … Read entire article »
Filed under: China, China's Economy
Labor Unrest in China
It is fair to say that most of the incidents of unrest in the Chinese population are never reported. It is difficult to estimate that number but it is safe to say that those reported have increased in number over the last several years. unrest in the population is one of the signs of the coming collapse of the current government. Chinese leaders have finally admitted that the country is facing a “grim†situation on the employment front owing to the global economic crisis. An official survey has shown that demand for labour has fallen 5.5% in the third quarter of this year across 84 different cities. Yin Weimin, head of the ministry of human resources said that labour discontent was a “top concern†of the government as the employment situation has … Read entire article »
Filed under: China, China's Economy
Workers’ Paradise? Sent to Paradise.
A nasty industrial accident in China, where growth comes before safety. A horrible way to die, I expect. TimesOnline At least 32 workers were killed and two injured today when they were buried in white-hot molten steel at a metal factory in North East China, officials said. The mishap was triggered when a 30-tonne-capacity steel ladle sheared off from the blast furnace, spilling liquid metal onto the factory floor three metres below. The molten steel engulfed an adjacent room where workers had gathered for a routine shift change, the State Work Safety Administration said. Rescuers were unable to get closer because of the intense heat emitted from the “white-hot†liquid metal which rose to 1,500 C (2,732 F), according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. … Read entire article »
Filed under: China, China's Economy
Chinese Riot Over Bus Fare
Tracking another sign that the collapse of China is coming, sooner rather than later. BBC A protest staged by thousands of rural workers in central China ended in violent clashes last week, reports say. Several people were injured as up to 20,000 people clashed with 1,000 police in Hunan province on Friday, a local official told Reuters news agency. The Boxun Chinese news website said the clash was sparked by rising public transport costs. A witness told the BBC sporadic incidents continued on Monday. Rural regions of China have seen mounting unrest in recent years. Thousands of protests were held last year amid growing discontent over the widening gap between rich and poor and corruption among officials at local level and above. … Read entire article »
Filed under: China, China's Economy, Commentary, Original writing
Dow Down, Dumb!
The stock market took a bit of a beating today. Bloomberg U.S. stocks plunged, wiping out about $600 billion in market value and erasing all of 2007′s gains, after a selloff in China spread and sparked the biggest rout in four years. Treasuries had the biggest jump since December 2004. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell as much as 546 points, the most since the first trading day after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. All but two companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index declined. Alan Greenspan, the man who never saw prosperity that he liked, made some comments: Bloomberg On Monday, Greenspan said, “It is possible we can get a recession in the latter months of 2007.” Although Greenspan also went on to say that most forecasters … Read entire article »
Filed under: American Economy, Analysis, China, China's Economy, Original writing
Coming Soon: Future Posts
- Declaration of War 1812 (in 129 days)
- USS President vs HMS Belvidera (in 134 days)
- General Hull Invades Canada (in 153 days)
- First Battle of Sacketts Harbor (in 160 days)
On Y!CN
- Radioactive Gravel from Japanese Nuke Disaster Used in Buildings
- Fuel Supplies Reach Nome
- Fuel Convoy Reaches Nome
- Russians Sail to Rescue of Ice Bound Alaska Community
- Pope Embraces Anglicans in U.S. with New Ordinariate
- Nebraska Nuke Plant Placed on Special Inspection Status
- Radioactive Water Leaks at Japanese Nuke Site
- Japan Damaged Nuke Plants Still Not Under Control
Social Links
China and Inflation
February 20th, 2008 | 1 Comment
The recent weather problems, and crop failures, have begun to affect the Chinese economy. BBC Chinese inflation hit an 11-year high in January after rising price pressures were exacerbated by fierce snow storms, official figures show. Soaring food prices were largely blamed for pushing consumer inflation up to 7.1% last month, from 6.5% in December. Inflation in China continues to rise despite higher interest rates and other measures by Beijing to keep the economy from overheating. The worst winter for decades hit food supplies, sending food costs up 18%. Massive snowfalls wrecked crops and killed millions of livestock. But analysts cautioned that the severe weather was not the only factor behind rising food costs, and warned that prices could still increase further. The Chinese economy is a balancing act. All of the factors that … Read entire article »
Filed under: China, China's Economy, Commentary, Original writing