User 142738

In the Midst of an Extreme Black Swan (Part II)

The author claims that "China has not banned short selling." This is absolutely false. You haven’t heard of China banning short-selling because it has been banned since the inception of a stock exchange. The concept of short-selling stocks of government-owned enterprises isn’t really beneficial, so why allow it?

You probably haven’t heard of the 1.4 trillion yuan ($200 billion) bailout package, either, where the government essentially bought stocks at face value to push the local stock market index over the “psychologically significant” level of 2000 points. I suppose that’s a good way to stimulate the global economy — forgive huge amounts of U.S. debt and buy mainland stocks!

Britain's Short-Selling Ban

Banning short-selling does nothing.

Case in point: short-selling has been banned in China (not Hong Kong) pretty much forever despite the 70% drop this year. It did not help.

AIG Bailout Signals End to American Values

The author claims that "countries such as India and China are starting to embrace many of the values that have made the US great". This is patently false. If anything, China and India have a gigantic head start in government interventions, takeovers, forced mergers and bailouts. Look up the recent (failed) propping up of the rupee in India, or the China Mobile merger, for a couple of examples.

A 15.9% (perhaps higher since it's based off of LIBOR), two-year loan would be considered usury for a HELOC, but for AIG it's suddenly a bailout? No. It's a very high-interest loan, with about a trillion dollars worth of collateral backing it up.

Such an event would probably be considered a legitimate "stimulus" if it were to occur in any other country. Even if the loan were for 0%.

Synutra Goes Beyond Government Orders in Infant Formula Recall

China-produced formula is exported, though only formally to Taiwan; perhaps other places. Informally, it sneaks into ethnic shops all over the world.

Quite a Reversal - China Central Bank Cuts Interest Rates

"Inflation cooled to 4.9 percent in August..." Really? Perhaps per month, but definitely not per year.

If you believe the inflation figures from the Chinese government then I've got a trunk of money in Nigeria with your name on it.

Shanghai Should Continue to Sell Off

Selling $1T in reserves would require the PBoC to print 6.84 trillion yuan. I believe far more than 6.84 trillion yuan were lost in this correction.

Is Wachovia the Worst Run Bank in America?

User 258704: Technically, the shares were purchased, albeit for $0.00001 each. The Treasury press release is here: www.treas.gov/press/re...

A separate report also outlines that the Treasury expects to receive a 10% dividend, cash only (or 12% if a year is skipped).

In related news, I believe Jim Rogers has finally flipped his lid. If lost equity were debt (houses and land, luckily, can be classified as assets or equity; stocks cannot be assets), the correction in Shanghai would have wiped out China's cash reserves sixfold.

Global Stock Markets: We All Fall Down!

mdmrjsds: Are you referring to Japan?

Apple's China Debacle: The Corporation as an Agent of Social Change

The iPod has support for Simplified Chinese, but I don’t believe the iTunes store is open in China. What’s amazing is how Apple is able to amass such sales from people with whom they don’t even do direct business with.

Asking iTunes to take down all the Tibet-related items is like asking a deli in Manhattan to not sell ham because it offends someone in Tehran… it ain’t gonna happen!

Miscalculating Inflation: The Link to Global GDP

romorris: The GDP numbers appear to have been adjusted for purchasing parity, though PPP adjustments should have put the U.S. above the EU by about a trillion international dollars. Japan should have also "shrunk" by the adjustment.

Shanghai's Own Stock Market Rules

eid: The most referenced rule is that you are not permitted to short-sell stocks in Shanghai. It makes you wonder if the Shanghai composite would have fallen further if short selling (not necessarily “naked” short selling) were permitted.

Will GM's Volt Change History?

169775: According to your numbers, Toyota started its PHEV research in 1987 and found a way to put $10,000 worth of lithium-ion batteries in a car for only $4,000.

Shifting Emphasis from Inflation to Growth

JDL51: The Chinese and Russians have quite a bit of experience defaulting on foreign debt, and Japan is doing a better job than the U.S. in going further into it (debt). Your postulate is negated by something called “recent history.”

The Euro's Long Run Is Finally Over

eh: The EU member countries can only wish that they could lower their collective government deficits to below $1,000,000,000,000.

The Euro's Long Run Is Finally Over

eh: The EU member countries can only wish that they could lower their collective government deficits to below $1,000,000,000,000.