Precious Metals Quotes

Gold Price       3months Futures         US$  1,315.09

Silver Price     3months Futures         US$       19.87

China's first "blue economy" zone in east China's Shandong Province has QI growth of 10.2%

Recent data suggest that China's first "blue economy" zone in east China's Shandong Province has become a new engine for growth -- and one that grew faster than the entire provincial GDP in the first quarter.

The sector recorded a growth rate of 10.2 percent in the first quarter, exceeding the provincial average by 0.5 percent. Its total output last year hit 2.4 trillion yuan (about 391 billion U.S. dollars), accounting for one-fifth of the nation's total marine output, according to statistics from the Shandong Development and Reform Commission (SDRC).

In April 2010, the State Council, China's cabinet, approved the establishment of the Shandong Peninsula Blue Economic Zone as one of three pilot zones for the development of China's marine economy.

The economic zone covers 159,500 square km of offshore waters and 64,000 square km of land in six cities and two coastal counties.

A development plan for the economic zone was approved by the State Council in early 2011 as part of China's national development strategy. According to the plan, the Shandong provincial government will coordinate the development of its land and marine economies and strengthen exploration, especially in emerging marine industries.

In just two years since the economic zone was established, the area has encountered unprecedented growth in maritime equipment manufacturing, oceanic chemicals, fishing, transport as well as tourism.

Japanese P.M. Shinzo Abe wins elections

 "Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition scored a decisive victory in an election on Sunday - so big that there are suspicions he will lose interest in difficult economic reforms and pursue his nationalist agenda instead.

"We've argued that our economic policies aren't mistaken, and the public gave us their support. People now want to feel the benefits. The economy indeed is improving," a weary but confident-sounding Abe said at LDP headquarters late on Sunday after his ruling coalition's victory was assured.

"We'd like to do our best to generate a positive cycle - in which job conditions improve and wages rise, boosting personal consumption and prompting companies to invest more - as soon as possible," he said.

But some, including Japanese businesses with a big stake in the matter, worry the hawkish leader will shift to focus on the conservative agenda that has long been central to his ideology.

That agenda includes revising the post-war pacifist constitution, strengthening Japan's defence posture and recasting Tokyo's wartime history with a less apologetic tone.

Ties with China and Japan have been seriously strained by territorial rows and feuds over wartime history. Concerns are simmering about the risk of an unintended clash near disputed isles in the East China Sea where Japanese and Chinese vessels have been playing a cat-and-mouse game for months.

Source: Reuters

Marc Faber Thoughts

About the end of bond buying by the Fed.

First of all, whenever

the market is obsessed with one indicator, whether in the 1970s when it

was the money supply, or in the 1980s, when it was the deficit,

employment, it usually loses its relevance. But, I believe that the Fed

will continue to monetize. We had quantitative easing (QE)1, QE2 and now

we are in QE3.

In 2009 they started with QE1, (I believe) we

would go up to QE99 or there will be an unlimited QE over time, I still

believe that. The only thing is that over time the impact of QE or money

printing loses its traction. This QE has not boosted employment for the

ordinary people but has boosted the asset prices that are owned by very

small portion of the population, the 1 percent, it is not even 1

percent, it may be 0.5 percent that benefits from rising stock prices,

rising high end property prices in the Hamptons, in the US. Property

prices over the last 12 months are up 35 percent, but it does not

benefit the man on the street, but they will continue to do it. — in moneycontrol

Deloitte. Shale Gas: Oil and gas Reality check 2013

 The shale gas industry is only a regional experience circumscribed to the U.S. which is already exploiting some of its resources,while building an infrastructure to export  gas as LNG.
 Optimistic economic journalism has since lately written about the U.S. shale gas boom production
as a game changer for the price of oil and gas prices at global markets. But Deloitte's research has found that in a closer examination of the development of the world's shale gas industry, only the
U.S. is currently exploiting its resources,other countries with certain exploration and known
reseves of shale gas are China,Argentina and Poland, but are only in a nascent stage. So for the time
being and for the forseeable future, next 3 years, the US shale gas production will have limited impact on global markets.
 "The U.S. is on the cusp of becoming a shale globalizer"says Deloitte. With low local prices and surging production U.S. gas producers want to export gas as LNG to profit from substantially higher prices in Asia. Still the export of U.S. gas is pending, Government exports approval are the most
important matter.

The propect of U.S. gas exports has many observers(many in Asia), hopeful that U.S LNG indexed to
Henry Hub prices will also be exported, eroding the existing long-term contract price indexed to crude
oil.

International Energy Agency: Medium-Term Renewable Energy market Report

Power generation from hydro, wind, solar and other renewable sources worldwide will exceed that from gas and be twice that from nuclear by 2016, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said today in its second annual Medium-Term RenewableEnergy market Report  (MTRMR).    

"Despite a difficult economic context, renewable power is expected to increase by 40% in the next five years. Renewables are now the fastest-growing power generation sector and will make up almost a 25% of the global power mix by 2018, up from an estimated 20% in 2011. The share of non-hydro sources such as wind, solar, bioenergy and geothermal in total power generation will double, reaching 8% by 2018, up from 4% in 2011 and just 2% in 2006".
“As their costs continue to fall, renewable power sources are increasingly standing on their own merits versus new fossil-fuel generation,” said IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven.
“Many renewables no longer require high economic incentives. But they do still need long-term policies that provide a predictable and reliable market and regulatory framework compatible with societal goals,” she stated. “And worldwide subsidies for fossil fuels remain six times higher than economic incentives for renewables.”
When global renewable generation rose by over 8% despite a challenging investment, policy and industry context in some areas. In absolute terms, global renewable generation in 2012 – at 4 860 TWh – exceeded the total estimated electricity consumption of China.

 Led by China, non-OECD countries are expected to account for two-thirds of the global increase in renewable power generation between now and 2018. Such rapid deployment is expected to more than compensate for slower growth and smooth out volatility in other areas, notably Europe and the US.

The MTRMR also sees gains for biofuels in transport and for renewable sources for heat, though at somewhat slower growth rates than renewable electricity. Biofuels output, adjusted for energy content, should account for nearly 4% of global oil demand for road transport in 2018, up from 3% in 2012. But advanced biofuels growth is proceeding only slowly.

As a portion of final energy consumption for heat, renewable sources, excluding traditional biomass, should rise to almost 10% in 2018, from over 8% in 2011. But the potential of renewable heat remains largely unexploited.