Seeking Alpha

Seeking Alpha Portfolio App for iPad

522 people get EWH articles and Market Currents by email alert.

Get email alerts on EWH »

EWH

iShares MSCI Hong Kong Index ETF

5/21/2013, 9:05 PM ET

Quote & Headlines Market Currents StockTalk

All
| Earnings
| Dividends
| M&A
| On the move

Friday, April 27, 2012, 7:55 PM U.S. and European manufacturers are racking up weak performance in China as growth slows to its lowest level in three years, and the government is attacking the problem in a way that only China can: by pushing its expansion policy into the interior. As the coastal markets mature and struggle with a glut of housing and commercial space, companies are now looking at expanding inland, where the clampdown on the housing market isn't so tight. 4 Comments [Global & FX]
Friday, April 27, 2012, 5:03 AM China's industrial profits rose 4.5% in March, recovering from a January-February decline, and were down 1.3% Y/Y for the quarter. Comment! [Global & FX]
Thursday, April 26, 2012, 7:35 AM Included in Volvo's (VOLVY.PK) mostly upbeat earnings report, is an expected 15-25% drop in the market for construction equipment in China. The company had previously guided for a flat 2012 in China. Volvo becomes the 3rd heavy equipment maker in 2 days to warn on slowing in China. Comment! [Global & FX]
Wednesday, April 25, 2012, 9:36 AM One more from Caterpillar earnings: A lot of the China slowdown talk has been waved off as little more than skewed data owing to the timing of the Chinese holidays. It may be of interest to note CAT saying, "demand in China remained weak after the Chinese New Year, and we now expect the overall machine industry to decline slightly this year." (PR) (h/t Mike Bergen) 1 Comment [Global & FX]
Wednesday, April 25, 2012, 8:57 AM The ABB earnings presentation sounds a lot like Caterpillar earnings, where weakness in China is being offset by strength in North America. ABB's order book in China is off 35% Y/Y, up 16% in the U.S. SEB notes the company saying it's uncertain when Chinese demand will recover vs. previously saying it appeared Chinese growth was returning. (earnings) 3 Comments [Global & FX]
Wednesday, April 25, 2012, 7:58 AM "2015 is not possible in my view," says John Greenwood of Chinese officials' floating of that year for making the yuan fully convertible. Greenwood helped design the HKD peg to the greenback in 1983 and says any talk of breaking the peg needs to stay on hold until after the yuan becomes convertible. Comment! [Global & FX]
Wednesday, April 25, 2012, 7:45 AM More on Caterpillar (CAT): The company raises its full year profit outlook to $9.50/share while maintaining revenue at $68-$72B. The bears, however, are likely to pounce on "slowing in China and Brazil," mentioned early and often by CEO Doug Oberhelman. Shares -1.8% premarket. (PR) Comment! [Earnings, Global & FX]
Monday, April 23, 2012, 3:23 PM Where's the rally, asks Scotty Barber, who notes the BRICs - during periods when their central banks are cutting rates - outperform developed markets. Brazil's 75 point cut (with more to come) was the loudest move, but policy is easing in the others as well. As of yet there's been no rally in either absolute or relative terms. Comment! [Global & FX]
Monday, April 23, 2012, 11:29 AM Chinese banks are starved of capital following a massive lending spree and still needing to pay their largest shareholder (the gov't) big dividends. A decade after going public, the banks remain arms of the government, making loans when and where it suits officials, and incredibly reporting a troubled loan rate of just 1.15%. "There's an awful lot of money just going round and round ... giving the appearance of strength when it's really not there," says Fraser Howie. Comment! [Global & FX, Financials]
Monday, April 23, 2012, 5:29 AM HSBC's flash estimate of China's PMI: 49.1, up slightly from last month's final reading of 48.3 but still below the 50 level signifying contracting economic activity. It's the strongest flash reading in the last four months. Comment! [Global & FX]
Sunday, April 22, 2012, 5:23 AM China is likely to continue taking steps to allow the yuan to trade more freely following the recent widening of its exchange-rate band, Yi Gang, the Deputy Governor of the PBOC, said yesterday. "It's time to let the market more or less to decide the rate (while) reducing the intervention," Yi said without elaborating on the timing of such moves. Comment! [Global & FX]
Thursday, April 19, 2012, 11:36 AM China moves to allow domestic funds to introduce yuan-denominated equity ETFs in Hong Kong, affording offshore investors the opportunity to use yuan to invest in mainland markets. It's not the first move this year suggesting Beijing's interest in funneling investor dollars towards the country's stock markets. 3 Comments [Global & FX]
Thursday, April 19, 2012, 9:45 AM The widening of the yuan's trading band - far from being a signal of Beijing's confidence in the economy - makes devaluation even more likely, says SocGen's Al Edwards. China's vaunted current account surplus is essentially no more and even the IMF is no longer calling the currency overvalued. Comment! [Global & FX]
Wednesday, April 18, 2012, 3:45 PM Take advantage of recently improved sentiment on China to buy puts on Hong Kong (EWH), says SocGen's Rebecca Cheong. China's property correction "is only halfway done," according to her team. There are a number of ways to play this, but low volatility on EWH makes puts a particularly cheap way to make a bearish bet. Comment! [Global & FX, Quick Ideas]
Wednesday, April 18, 2012, 7:32 AM Home prices fell in 62 out of 70 tracked Chinese cities in March, according to a private survey (official survey here). The figure was slightly worse than February, but an improvement from November's level. The China Real Estate ETF: TAO +21.9% YTD. Comment! [Global & FX]
Wednesday, April 18, 2012, 7:27 AM Home prices fell in 46 out of 70 tracked Chinese cities in March, up from declines in 45 in February, reports the NBS. On a Y/Y basis, home prices declined in 38 cities vs. just 27 in February. Home sales were 17% lower during Q1, says Credit Agicole's Dariusz Kowalczyk, citing separate data. Shangahi +2% last night, led by property developers. Go figure. 3 Comments [Global & FX]