As you will have gathered, my expertise in high finance is exceedingly low. According to the 'Memsahib' (aka: the Finance Director), my expertise in low finance is also dead dodgy! But you see, I'm a 'broad picture' sort of a man, I don't wish to be bothered with trivial detail, just give me the fundamentals and I'll take a stab at a judgment. For example, as I have told you all before, China is fucked! For the last week or two 'Tyler Dunne' at Zero Hedge has been reporting on some extraordinary behaviour going on inside China. For a start, and most ominously, capital outflows are reaching flood levels. For those of you who lack the required knowledge of high financial terminology - I heard that! - "capital outflows" means lots of dodgy geezers with heavy suitcases making for the airports as fast as they can. Well, not really, because it's actually worse than that. It means huge numbers of exceedingly rich Chinese who live and work inside the country can see the warning signs and they're clicking on their computers in order to get their money out as fast as they can.
In today's Telegraph, A E-P has trawled the international high finance swots and their opinions seem to coincide - China is in big trouble! The government through a mixture of new financial and legal restrictions backed up by a thuggish police force have reigned in the free-ish market that was developing and now it is back to government diktat. For a while, this will work, or at least, it will give the appearance of working but in the end it will fail.
It's the old riding the tiger problem
Posted by: Backofanenvelope | Thursday, 23 July 2015 at 11:22
Some "intellectuals" in the West have praised China's government managed economy. Reality always intrudes in economics and the outcome is the same--markets and arithmetic always win. China seeks to avoid disharmony and disruption at all cost. The very forces that build markets and economies.
Posted by: Whitewall | Thursday, 23 July 2015 at 12:09
Off topic. I see your YMD has kicked Nicola in the crutch. I expect it was unintentional but he has wrecked her plans to sell us windmill output.
Posted by: backofanenvelope | Thursday, 23 July 2015 at 13:33
Where are they flying to from these airports in China. Every country I can think of has people looking for somewhere to go.
Posted by: Lord T | Thursday, 23 July 2015 at 13:42
Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, London...you know, all the really good places.
Posted by: Whitewall | Thursday, 23 July 2015 at 13:48
Apparently, Vancouver has more Chinese than locals! Eskimos or whatever they are.
Posted by: backofanenvelope | Thursday, 23 July 2015 at 14:40