It seems our world is as unstable as it has ever been. There are brewing conflicts everywhere, in many cases interconnected and with such a cacophony of players that even seasoned diplomats are confused. To make things worse, we have a non-functioning UN Security Council and a lack of will by the international community to… Continue Reading
Third in a series on currencies and leverage, by Benjamin Cox China made the right choice to sell a “leveraged growth” story. They ended up with roads, steel mills, bridges, buildings, and ports. Frankly, even with the cost of a debt default or an inflationary period, they will have – on a net basis –… Continue Reading
by CEO.CA on Bay St. Legendary investor and author Jim Rogers urged students to scrap career plans for Wall Street or London’s financial district during a Nov. 4, 2010 speech at Oxford University’s Balliol College (one of his alma maters). He recommended studying agriculture and mining instead. “The power is shifting again from the financial… Continue Reading
China is going to do everything it can to support a five-year price war on iron ore and oil, and they will do so by keeping Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX:FMG), Hancock Prospecting and U.S. shale oil producers alive as long as possible. China wins from lower prices, even as the rest of the world… Continue Reading
Via Energy and Gold.com: If we could only look at one chart it would have to be the following one: US Dollar Index (Weekly) After peaking in March the US Dollar Index has spent the last 6 months consolidating between roughly 93 on the downside and 98 on the upside. A decisive resolution of… Continue Reading
Via Energy and Gold.com: Largely due to China’s one-child policy the world’s largest country and 2nd largest economy is facing the specter of a shrinking labor force beginning in two years and lasting for more than two decades: This phenomenon along with many other factors has China facing a tremendous challenge in maintaining economic… Continue Reading
Via Energy and Gold.com: Last week we highlighted the 3200-3400 area in the Shanghai Composite as a likely support zone from which a dead-cat bounce could begin and that is exactly what has transpired over the last few days: The rebound has been fairly aggressive (20% in 3 trading sessions) and the target area… Continue Reading
Via Energy and Gold.com: The recent parabolic leveraged speculative rise and fall of the Shanghai Composite is reminiscent of silver’s epic rise and crash during 2011, have a look: Silver (2010-2011) Shanghai Composite (2014-2015) While the chart structures are slightly different (silver rose 50% in barely 6 weeks while Shanghai took… Continue Reading
Via Energy and Gold.com: After a margin debt fueled parabolic ascent, China’s Shanghai Composite has been in virtual free-fall for the last month. Bloomberg put together an interesting chart which effectively illustrates the timeline of events which led to where we are at now: Judging by media coverage and social media message volume we… Continue Reading
January 12, 2015 When China celebrates its new year next month, we will transition into the Year of the Ram, also known as the Year of the Goat or Sheep. If you believe in luck, this could be a good sign. The ram comes eighth in the 12-zodiac cycle, and in Mandarin, “eight” sounds very… Continue Reading
“Europe is a landscape. East Asia is a seascape. Therein lies the crucial difference between the 20th and 21st century.” History is replete with seemingly isolated incidents ballooning into something much larger. As a stark reminder, the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I is only a few months away. Back then,… Continue Reading
This post originally appeared in South China Morning Post. Three years ago, Robert Friedland, executive chairman and founder of Ivanhoe Mines, told the Hong Kong Mines and Money conference: “Hong Kong will become the largest mining finance market in the world.” Four years on this clearly hasn’t happened, which has led some to wonder if it… Continue Reading
Fairfax Holdings recent annual letter to shareholders offers many nuggets of wisdom including this excerpt on China (emphasis our own): “In the last few years we have discussed the huge real estate bubble in China. In case you continue to be a skeptic, here are a few observations from Anne Stevenson Yang, an American who… Continue Reading
Canadian Solar’s (CSIQ) earnings disappointment last Friday has set the stage for a potentially large shakeout in one of the best performing sectors of 2014. After a 40% gain for the solar sector during the first two months of the year, many of the leading solar names are set up for a sizable correction: Click… Continue Reading
Which way is the beach? If you’re having flashbacks of Elton John singing “Candle in the Wind” or Leo helping Kate fly, don’t be alarmed. It’s not actually 1997. It sure does feel like it though. Concern over China’s inevitable potential crash and Fed tapering have sent emerging markets spinning. In response, Turkey (+5.5%), South… Continue Reading
