Re: Confidence in Economy Sends CHINA stocks HIGHER.


"GLOBALIST" <free.tuneup@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:5dd9aa45-5292-4c0d-9c22-5017ece4dcd3@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[What's good for the new super power, China, is good for us.]

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So, in your fucked up little pea-brain, the DJIA down 223 today and over 440 down since the 1st of June is a good thing? You truly are a fucking mindless idiot.
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Confidence in Economy Sends China Stocks Higher Sign in to DAVID
BARBOZA
Published: July 2, 2009

SHANGHAI — There they go again.

Fueled by renewed confidence in economic growth here, and perhaps the
kind of frenzied buying that took place a few years ago, Chinese stock
prices are once again soaring.

The Shanghai Composite Index rose 52 points Thursday, to close at
3,060.25, putting the index up 68 percent this year.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index fell slightly Thursday, but only
after ending its best quarter in 15 years on Tuesday. That index is up
about 20 percent for 2009.

Though well off their 2007 highs, Chinese stock markets are again
among the world’s best performing this year.

Economists say China’s growth has begun to pick up after a sharp
slowdown late last year and early this year. Sales of homes and cars
are strong, and manufacturing has seen modest improvement, though
worries remain about the strength of the recovery.

Still, as far as stocks go, analysts say it’s almost 2007 all over
again.

“Sentiment has staged a remarkable recovery,” said Jing Ulrich,
chairwoman of China equities at J.P. Morgan. “This is about
confidence. The money has always been there, even in the dark days of
2008.”

In 2007, Chinese stock markets were in the midst of a record-breaking,
multiyear rally that saw share prices more than quadruple from their
2005 lows. Everyone, from mom-and-pop store owners to big
corporations, was playing the stock market — and winning.

At the time, state-owned companies sometimes set up separate divisions
just to speculate and trade stocks. And in those heady days, some of
the world’s biggest initial public stock offerings took place in
Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Then, in early 2008, predictions of a huge sell-off began to
materialize, and stock prices plummeted. The global economic crisis
triggered an even bigger sell-off.

The Shanghai Composite was as low as 1,717 last November — a 70
percent drop from its peak in late 2007.

Chinese stock markets are known for their volatility, and investors
often treat them like casinos. The government pushes and pulls the
market by occasionally tweaking regulations. Many listed companies are
known for fuzzy or suspect accounting.

But in China, where interest rates are typically low and the
government restricts investors from sending money overseas, there are
few options for big returns.

Many analysts say the Chinese economy is showing signs of improving,
but there are also hints that huge, government-initiated bank loans
are flowing into the stock and real estate markets now, lifting
prices.

Speculators, in other words, may be back.

In the first half of the year, banks operating in China made about $1
trillion in new loans — an astounding figure considering that all of
the 2008 bank loans totaled about $620 billion, analysts say.

Many analysts are cautious.

“The fundamentals are positive, but it’s not party time again,” said
Stephen Green, an economist at Standard Chartered Bank who is based in
Shanghai. “Profitability is pretty weak. We’re in a U-shaped recovery,
but things are only gradually improving.”

Economists are debating the recovery in China. But a strong consensus
is forming about the size of China’s growth by the end of this year.

Many economists are now forecasting that China will grow by about 8
percent in 2009.

In the first quarter of 2009, China said its economy grew by 6.1
percent, the lowest in a decade. Exports have been down as much as 25
percent from a year earlier.

But a massive economic stimulus package and huge loans seem to be
driving domestic growth, commodity prices and retail sales growth.

“We can hit that 8 percent target,” Ms. Ulrich at J.P. Morgan said,
“even without meaningful contributions from exports.”

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