Hi-tech , l’app economy vale 10 milioni al giorno

In cinque anni è cresciuta un’economia completamente nuova, con un fatturato globale di quasi 15 miliardi di dollari, la creazione di circa 300 mila posti di lavoro negli Stati Uniti e altre decine di migliaia nel mondo, e con l'opportunità di fare fortuna e diventare milionario aperta a qualsiasi creativo con una buona idea, in ogni parte del pianeta. È l'economia delle «applicazioni» o «app», inventata da Apple con il lancio del suo negozio virtuale App store il 10 luglio 2008.
L'anniversario del suo primo lustro è stato celebrato la settimana scorsa con ancor più enfasi di quello del debutto del primo iPhone perché ha avuto un impatto profondo su tutta l'industria high-tech. Ha, infatti, cambiato il modo in cui viene concepito, distribuito e pagato il software, contribuendo al declino dei tradizionali pc; e ha reso più democratico il mercato degli sviluppatori di software, permettendo ai piccoli indipendenti programmatori di farsi conoscere al largo pubblico allo stesso modo delle grandi aziende. Le app sono dei veri e propri programmi di software che, scaricati su uno smartphone, lo trasformano in un apparecchio potente come un computer e capace di svolgere le più diverse funzioni, dal leggere un libro a trovare la strada per raggiungere in auto una destinazione, dal condividere testi e foto con gli amici a passare il tempo giocando .
Oggi sull’App store si trovano circa 900 mila app, sia gratis sia a pagamento, create da un esercito di sviluppatori. Nei soli Stati Uniti sono registrati 275 mila professionisti di questo settore specializzati sul sistema operativo iOS, quello dell'iPhone e dell'iPad (dati Apple). A tutti gli sviluppatori in questi cinque anni Apple ha pagato il 70% del fatturato generato dalle loro app (Apple trattiene il 30%) ovvero 10 miliardi di dollari; e secondo i calcoli di Chuck Jones, analista di Forbes, gli sviluppatori incassano in media 10,5milioni di dollari al giorno da Apple.
Grazie all'App store sono diventati milionari i due poco più che ventenni Kevin Systrom e Mike Krieger, che freschi della laurea a Stanford hanno creato nel 2010 Instagram, la app per scattare e condividere foto, e l'hanno venduta a Facebook per 1 miliardo di dollari nel 2012. E, fra i tanti altri - anche italiani -, hanno fatto fortuna gli inglesi di Shazam e i finlandesi di Rovio. La prima è una app inventata da un gruppo di studenti inglesi a Berkeley, poi domiciliati a Londra: è così popolare che in inglese il suo nome è diventato un verbo, «to Shazam» significa tenere il mano il telefonino e usare il suo microfono per ascoltare una canzone e riconoscerla confrontandola con la banca dati online della app; ha realizzato un fatturato di 32,5 milioni di dollari nel 2012 e si sta preparando a quotarsi a Wall Street. Rovio è la società che ha sviluppato il videogioco Angry birds, l'applicazione a pagamento più scaricata nella storia dell'App store: è il frutto della creatività di tre studenti, dell'università della Tecnologia di Helsinki, e oggi genera un fatturato di 195 milioni di dollari, non tutti virtuali, anzi quasi metà vengono dalla fabbricazione e vendita dei giocattoli ispirati agli Angry birds e altre fonti di reddito sono legate alla costruzione di parchi di divertimento sullo stesso tema.

Source:  Corriere della Sera

Precious Metals Prices 11.28 a.m. Eastern Time

Gold Price Futures        3 months      US$    1,391.98

Silver Prices Futures     3 months      US$        23.92

Relancer la croissance et l'emploi en France ? Oui, c'est possible

Partons d'abord du constat que réformer notre pays est possible, comme le montre l'accord du 11 janvier, permettant les premières réformes du marché du travail. Les précédentes réformes des régimes de retraite ont déjà permis d'infléchir la tendance des dépenses de pensions. Ceci est le résultat d'efforts coordonnés des partenaires sociaux et de la puissance publique, saluons-le.
Quelles sont alors les conditions du redressement ? La première est d'engagerdes réformes de l'ensemble des administrations publiques. Sans nier les premiers efforts d'économies, il est indispensable d'aller beaucoup plus loin à l'instar duCanada, des pays nordiques ou de l'Allemagne.
Le diagnostic de nos handicaps est bien établi, notamment dans le rapport Pacte pour la compétitivité de l'industrie française de Louis Gallois, comme dans ceux de la Cour des comptes et, plus récemment, du Fonds monétaire international (FMI) : une détérioration structurelle de la compétitivité du pays (la France a perdu un quart de sa part du marché mondial en vingt ans), la panne des investissements productifs et le niveau devenu intolérable de la dépense publique que traduit la croissance ininterrompue de l'endettement du pays.
La dépense publique est, en effet, insoutenable, non seulement par son niveau (57% de la richesse nationale en 2012), mais aussi par sa dérive (4 points de produit intérieur brut – PIB – supplémentaires en cinq ans, aggravation absolument inédite dans notre histoire économique).

Quelles sont alors les conditions du redressement ? 
La première est d'engagerdes réformes de l'ensemble des administrations publiques.Recentrage des politiques publiques sur leur "cœur de métier" et calendrier défini à l'avance. La compétitivité doit aussi être celle de l'Etat.

La deuxième part du constat que la croissance et les créations d'emplois durables viennent des entreprises. Toute la politique économique doit être sous-tendue par ce seul objectif du redressement de la compétitivité, garant de notre système de protection sociale.

La troisième est de poursuivre l'intégration européenne: le maintien dans la zone euro a été heureusement le choix constant de nos dirigeants, impliquant maîtrise des déficits publics, convergence fiscale , coordination des politiques économiques et peut-être à terme solidarité financière.

Source:  Le Monde

Disparada do dólar turbina fundo cambial

Populares no início da década passada, os fundos cambiais renovaram seu apelo com a disparada do dólar, que acumula alta de 18% em 2013.

Essas aplicações tinham acumulado no ano, até o dia 20 (dado mais recente disponível), valorização média de 17,68% brutos (sem descontar imposto nem taxa de administração), segundo a Anbima (associação das entidades dos mercados). É a maior rentabilidade da indústria de fundos.

Para analista, tendência ainda é moeda subir
Ação de exportadoras protege contra alta da divisa

Como comparação, neste ano a poupança acumula alta de 4,09%.

Em 2013, os fundos cambiais já captaram R$ 503 milhões. Apesar de ser um nicho pequeno (0,06% do volume dos fundos), o segmento já contabiliza a maior captação líquida (descontados os resgates) desde os R$ 2,47 bilhões apurados em 2005.

Esses fundos aplicam em contratos cambiais da BM&FBovespa, que têm duração de um mês e depois são renovados para outro mês. No passado, compravam títulos públicos indexados ao dólar, que, além da variação cambial, também rendiam juros.

A aplicação é indicada para quem precisa de uma proteção de médio para longo prazo contra a alta do dólar.

É o caso de pessoas que sustentam filhos no exterior, pretendem se mudar ou comprar um imóvel em outro país.

Consumers Money rates

Yield/ Rate		%                          52-WEEK		CHANGE IN                      PCT. PTS
INTEREST RATes	LAST	WK AGO	HIGH	LOW	52-WK	3-YR
Federal-funds rate target	0-0.25	0-0.25	0-0.25	0-0.25	...	...
Prime rate*	3.25	3.25	3.25	3.25	...	...
Libor, 3-month	0.26	0.26	0.42	0.26	-0.16	-0.06
Money market, annual yield	0.44	0.44	0.53	0.42	-0.08	-0.27
Five-year CD, annual yield	1.26	1.25	1.41	1.15	-0.15	-1.10
30-year mortgage, fixed	4.74	4.66	4.78	3.54	1.03	0.11
15-year mortgage, fixed	3.80	3.72	3.84	2.80	0.74	-0.31
Jumbo mortgages, $417,000-plus	4.92	4.89	5.11	3.97	0.60	-0.65
Five-year adj mortage (ARM)	3.69	3.67	4.06	2.80	0.61	-0.09
New-car loan, 48-month	2.44	2.52	3.72	2.42	-0.55	-3.73
HELOC, $30,000	5.26	5.27	5.27	4.60	0.62	0.18

  Source: WSJ     At Close 23/08/2013

China Rethinks Deals for Resources

  From the Wall Street Journal:
  Excerpts
"A  $8 billion Australian mine that has yet to export a chunk of ore is emblematic of why China is rethinking its huge, multiyear effort to buy up resources abroad.
The mine, the Sino Iron project more than 900 miles north of Perth, in Western Australia, was launched in 2006 with an estimated $2.5 billion in development costs. The mine was to supply China with iron ore, a crucial steelmaking ingredient, and help China break into a global mining market dominated by BHP Billinton,Rio and Vale do Rio Doce.
Instead, Chinese owner Citic Pacific Ltd.has grappled with everything from high labor costs and naturally occurring asbestos in the rock to a massive ore-grinding mill that years after its installation still doesn't work''.
 Analysts say the project's capital expenditure could reach $11 billion. Citic Pacific, an arm of state-owned Citic Group, declined to respond to requests for comment.

"China has plowed $226.1 billion into outbound mergers and acquisitions to grab a slice of global resources since 1995, about a quarter of which was in the mining sector, according to data provider Dealogic. But people inside and outside the government say Beijing is taking a more careful look at projects''.

"The government still encourages 'going out,' " said Jin Bosong, deputy director of the Ministry of Commerce's International Trade and Economic Cooperation Research Institute. "But now the emphasis is to make companies ask questions like: 'Can the project make money?' " he said.

Mining projects are high on the list. Last December, a senior official at the government's top economic-planning agency said at a closed-door conference that while more than $10 billion has been spent on China's overseas iron-ore mining investments, few of these projects have begun operation, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

"Some of these projects' infrastructure costs are far higher than the investment cost for the iron ore itself," said Wang Jianjun, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission's overseas investment department, according to Xinhua.

Founder of online bulletin board 2channel, received about ¥350 million in advertising revenue from the site despite selling his management rights to an ...

Hiroyuki Nishimura, 36, founder of online bulletin board 2channel, received about ¥350 million in advertising revenue from the site despite selling his management rights to an overseas firm in 2009, informed sources said.

Nishimura allegedly failed to declare about ¥100 million of the ¥350 million, and has been confronted about this by the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau, according to the sources.

Nishimura posted on his own blog that he had transferred the right to operate 2channel to Packet Monster Inc., a company registered in Singapore, in January 2009.

In a book titled "Boku ga 2channel o Suteta Riyu" (The Reason I Abandoned 2channel), which Nishimura published in June that same year, he wrote, "I no longer serve as an administrator of the Internet forum [after selling it to a Singaporean firm] and I've become an adviser or a mere user [of the forum]."

According to the sources, the advertising revenue from 2channel was originally paid mainly to Tokyo Plus K.K., a Kita Ward, Tokyo-based company that deals in Internet-related business and for which Nishimura serves as chief executive officer.

But then, from 2009 to 2012, the revenue of about ¥350 million was transferred to Packet Monster Inc.

Chinese company has completed construction of 1,750MW nuclear generator

Dongfang Electrical Machinery Co. Ltd (DFEM), a major Chinese power generating equipment manufacturer, has completed construction of a 1,750 MW nuclear generator and started transporting it to a nuclear power plant in south China on Saturday.

The 1,750 MW generator currently has the biggest per-unit installed capacity among the nuclear generators in the world, according to the DFEM,which is based in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The generator is being sent to the Taishan nuclear power plant in south China's Guangdong Province from the company's production base in Deyang City, Sichuan Province.

DFEM will provide two such generators for the nuclear power plant.

DFEM has produced 14 nuclear generators so far with a total installed capacity of 15,790 MW.

The Taishan nuclear power plant is a joint venture of China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Co. Ltd (CGNPC) and Electricite de France.

According to CGNPC, the first-phase project of the nuclear power station got a total investment of 50.2 billion yuan (8.13 billion U.S. dollars), and would include the construction of two units using the Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) technology, with each unit capacity up to 1,750 MW.

The two units of the first-phase project are to be respectively put into commercial operation in 2013 and 2014, and will annually generate 26 billion kilowatt-hours on-grid energy when completed.

Source: Xinhua

Chinese police detained a prominent online commentator

"Chinese authorities are sending a chill through the country's noisy community of online social commentators as police detained a prominent Web user and state media stepped up calls for a crackdown on what it describes as spreading rumors online.
State media said Sunday that Xue Manzi, a well-known social commentator, angel investor and philanthropist, had been detained on suspicion of soliciting a prostitute. It wasn't clear whether Mr. Xue, 60 years old, would face formal charges. A police statement identified a man surnamed Xue as having been detained. Mr. Xue couldn't be reached for comment. 

News of Mr. Xue's detention rocketed through the Chinese web, where he commands an important presence. He has more than 12 million followers on SinaCorp.'s  Weibo microblogging service, where he frequently comments on contemporary social and other issues.

Some online postings said the heavy coverage of the allegations in state media suggested that authorities want to make an example of Mr. Xue, while some wondered if he had been set up. Chinese authorities in the past have used similar charges to discredit and silence political critics.

Mr. Xue's detention follows the arrest in recent weeks of political activists calling for greater government transparency and for officials to disclose their assets. A campaign against the spreading of rumors online has been loudly praised in state media and netted the widely publicized detention of four people in Beijing this past week.

Earlier this month, the head of the State Internet Information Office, which monitors online content, called a group of "big V",(V stands for verified users confirmed by Sina) to a forum and urged them to be more constructive in their social media postings".

Source: WSJ

Precious Metals Prices 7.30 Eastern Time

Gold Price Futures        3months     US$   1,395.17

Silver Prices Futures     3months     US$        24.02

Top 15 China's Business to Consumers(B2C) Websites

Top 15 China B2C Websites in March 2013

China's online luxury market

China’s online luxury (e-luxury) market is set for an industry renaissance. China is on track to become the largest e-commerce market based on market share in 2013, and it is already home to the world’s largest online shopper population with 242 million. Furthermore, in addition to everyday purchases like clothing, cosmetics and books, Chinese online shoppers have already demonstrated that they are willing to make “big-ticket” purchases online such as automobiles.
At the same time, China’s traditional luxury market has reached a new level of maturity, which requires a different approach. Western luxury brands have executed well in tier-1 cities like Beijing and Shanghai; however, there is tremendous unmet demand in China’s lower-tier cities. Relying on traditional brick and mortar stores is a costly and time-intensive strategy for inland China expansion.
Thus, the online channel is the only viable way to reach these consumers today.
Western luxury brands will need to take time to understand what Chinese e-luxury consumers care about most – and what might discourage them from making purchases online. The most critical challenge is earning consumers’ trust. Retailers need to guarantee product authenticity and deliver a meaningful customer experience.
Right now, China’s booming e-commerce growth is converging on a luxury market facing an entirely new phase of development. The result is an unprecedented opportunity for e-luxury retailers and luxury brands with the proper business model.

China became the world’s largest consumer of luxury goods in 2012. Likewise, the nation will surpass the US to become the number one e-commerce market by market size later this year.
Retail e-commerce sales reached RMB 1300 billion (about USD $209 billion) in 2012, accounting for 6.1% of China’s total retail sales. The Chinese government views the development of e-commerce as critical to future economic growth. It supports ongoing improvements to China’s online shopping ecosystem, including development of online payment safety and logistics capacity. China’s e-commerce market will continue to grow at double-digit rates over the next 3 years.

China already leads the world in online shoppers with 242 million—equivalent to roughly 73% of the US population. This consumer population will continue to increase rapidly in conjunction with the overall increase in Chinese internet users.
E-commerce has already changed the traditional retail industry in China and the ways consumers prefer to shop. Luxury brands and retailers should consider e-commerce a vital component of their China expansion plans.

Jack Ma: Vision and values at Alibaba.com

Jack Ma is one of the first entrepreneurs to
develop e-commerce in China. He and his team
have achieved many ‘firsts’ in the area of Chinese
Internet Trade. He founded the first internet
commercial website in China, and created a B2B
marketplace platform to all small and
medium-sized enterprises in Asia and around the
world. He promoted the “Trust Pass” plan on the
website, which created the world’s first on-line
credit platform for companies.
Under Jack Ma’s leadership, the Alibaba B2B
websites have attracted more than 17 million
registered members in 220 countries globally,
with daily postings exceeding 35 million, making
Alibaba.com the most active Internet market
place and B2B community worldwide.

 Jack Ma vision and values in Alibaba:

The company will remain a ‘start-up’ no matter how long it has been in existence. What ever has 

been stable, I will disrupt that stability. The company needs to continue to innovate and grow. I 

want the employees to believe that we are a small company, no matter how big we get. I believe 

we can create a system and culture to perpetuate this culture of entrepreneurial and start-up spirit. To fuel the entrepreneurial and innovative spirit, along with a service attitude, Jack Ma is 

looking for people with the following characteristics: 

1) People with a dream. “Don’t let your colleagues work for you. They need to 

work for their dreams!” If people don’t believe in the dream and join the company 

purely for money, they won’t stay long .

2) People with shared values. “The value system is very important at Alibaba. We 

are crazy for it! In China, we might be the only crazy company who so strongly 

maintains our value system. People who don’t fit our values cannot survive in 

the company.” (Alibaba’s six core values are customer comes first, teamwork and 

cooperation, embracing change, integrity, passion, and honoring your job). 

3) People with a smile. “When we hire people, we look for people who are naturally 

optimistic and happy. In the start-up process we will meet with difficulties and 

challenges. Optimistic and happy people can better deal with these challenges 

and succeed. It’s hard to make a happy person unhappy, but it’s even harder to 

make an unhappy person happy. I am able to tell whether a person is on our 

staff by their smile.” 

4) People who enjoy work and can turn stress and challenges into 

innovation. ”Employees must be able to handle pressure and challenges, and 

turn them into positive energy for innovation, not negative energy for depression.” 

5) People who work together. “We don’t welcome people who think they are smart because they may think they are above others. This industry is so new that it 

really doesn’t have any real talents. The people who are real talents probably
don’t know they are talents. Everyone has tremendous potential. We all use
other people’s strengths to overcome our weaknesses …. We are all ordinary
people, but our goals are extraordinary.”

. 

China's surging online shopping

China saw surging online shopping in the second quarter of 2013 with transactions totaling   437.13 billion yuan (about 70.8 billion US dollars), showed new data on Sunday.

The figure was a 24.2-percent quarter-to-quarter increase, and a 45.3 percent year-on-yearincrease, according to a research report released by iResearch, China's leading Internet industry   research company.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, total retail sales of consumer goods amounted to 6.03   trillion yuan nationwide in the period.

This indicates that online shopping now accounts for about 7.3 percent of consumer retail inChina.

In the second quarter, China's E-commerce giants initiated several rounds of collective pricewars to stimulate consumption.

According to the iResearch report, the price war has developed from a means of competition  into a market tool used by E-commerce companies to tap and stimulate customers' purchasing  desire.

Source:China Daily

China's economic reform balance between Government and the market.

Li Wei, head of the Development Research Center at the State Council, thinks the core issue for the economic reforms is to balance the relationship between the government and the market. To achieve this, better allocation of resources in the market is needed.

"China must accelerate the transformation of government functions, improve administrative efficiency and reduce intervention in the market. The government should allow the market to play its role and alleviate itself of tasks which can be better handled by society," he said.

The May 6 State Council executive meeting decided to delegate power to lower levels concerning 62 items that were previously subject to central government approval, a move Li Wei backs. The most urgent task for China's economic reforms is to accelerate the building of a resource-saving and environment-friendly society and speed up pricing schemes for land, water, power, oil and natural gas so that their prices can truly reflect market demand and supply, he said.

Wang Dongjin, former Vice Minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, said whether the government can properly recognize and balance its relationship with the market will decide the success of the new round of economic reforms.

Wang said the number of items subject to government approval is reducing, but the government still frequently participates in microeconomic activities, which will only exacerbate unrestrained administrative power, the waste of resources, environmental pollution, redundant construction and a surplus of production capacity, and also cause corruption. The root cause for such a situation is that there is no effective restraint mechanism on government interventions and the power to allocate resources.

According to Wang, current economic reforms should focus on "reforming" the government: It should return the power once monopolized by the government during the planned economy to the market, companies and society. Reforms should reduce the government's hand in microeconomic activities. In the meantime, the government should stick to strengthening education, health care, employment, social security and public services.

Source:  Beijing Review

Western program new engine for growth: Premier Li

China is betting on its western development program to lead a new round of economic growth as the government is mulling "differentiated" policies for the region that will feature huge spending on infrastructure, Premier Li Keqiang said on Monday.
"We will roll out more preferential policies tailored for the western region concerning infrastructure projects, to accelerate the construction and upgrading of rail and road networks," he said.
 Healthy economic development in the western region holds the key to the country's overall economic health.
Due to rising labor costs and a saturated market, the coastal areas are losing growth momentum. And experts believe the western region, which boasts a huge market and big pool of labor, is bound to become the country's new growth engine.

Some western cities have grown faster than their rich counterparts in the east.

In the first half of this year, three western cities Guiyang in Guizhou province, Xining in Qinghai province and Kunming in Yunnan province topped the national list in terms of year-on-year growth.

Source: China Daily

BOJ Governor Bond Buying is no risk for financial stability of Japan

In an article published today in the Wall Street Journal:

"Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda presented evidence Saturday that the central bank’s bond-buying effort is starting to produce results.

Increases in Japanese stock prices, long-term interest rates that have remained quite stable and low, improved employment conditions, and signs that business investment is picking up were among the signs Mr. Kuroda cited.

He also said that investors’ inflation expectations appear to be picking up.

Mr. Kuroda made the comments at the annual global banking summit in Jackson Hole, Wyo., hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

During the question and answer session, Mr. Kuroda defended the BOJ’s policy prescriptions as “completely justified” and said there was no evidence it was raising risks to the stability of the financial system. Japan’s financial system is “quite sound,” he said.

Japan’s problem has been continuous deflation, and the bond-buying program is designed to fix that, he said".

Alibaba's latest move Yu'ebao, its online-finance platform.

Yu'ebao, launched in mid-June is Alibaba's wildly popular online-finance platform that works through Alipay, Alibaba's third-party-payment arm, to deposit idle Alipay funds into a comparatively high-yielding money market fund.

Given Yu'ebao's current annual interest rate of 4.5 percent, its lack of a minimum deposit requirement, and the ability to transfer and withdraw funds easily without paying a commission,it  has made them China's biggest online investment service.

 The online platform that works through Alibaba's online finance arm Alipay (a Chinese version of Paypal) and partners with Tianjin-based Tianhong Asset Management Co. Ltd., had attracted 1 million users. A month after it was unveiled, in mid-July, it had 4 million users and more than 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) in deposits.

Yu'ebao's popularity has skyrocketed in large part, because of consumer confidence in its parent company, Alibaba, and its link to the company's online payment platform, Alipay, which claims close to 600 million active worldwide users (800 million registered accounts according to the company's website).
In announcing Alibaba's intention for Yu'ebao and Alibaba's foray into financial services to Chinese media, the company's founder and chairman, Jack Ma, said, "China's financial industry, especially the banking industry, only serves 20 percent of clients, and I see there are 80 percent of the clients (who) are not covered. Financial services should be about serving the layman, rather than playing inside your own circles and making money for yourself."
Hangzhou-based Alibaba, which runs Taobao, Tmall, and a host of other e-commerce sites, accounted for 70 percent of package deliveries in China last year, with sales reaching $163 billion, or 2 percent of China's GDP, according to statements released by Yahoo. The American tech giant currently owns a 24-percent stake in Alibaba.
In preparations for a possible public listing in the months to come, some financial analysts have estimated Alibaba's worth at more than $100 billion, rivaling Facebook's $104 billion valuation last year before its $16 billion IPO—the largest ever for a tech company, and the third largest of all time.
Analysts are able to justify the sky-high valuation because of the explosive growth in China's online retail sector. McKinsey's estimates the Chinese online retail economy, with Alibaba's operations as a core engine, will reach $420 billion to $650 billion by 2020, eclipsing the United States to become the world's largest market. China is currently the second largest market in the world, with online retail sales reaching $210 billion in 2012, and an annual growth rate of 120 percent since 2003.

Source: Beijing Review

Marc Faber thoughts about the Indian Economy

 "I am not very optimistic about India on the macroeconomic front, and it

has to do with the government policies. The economic policies of the

government are by and large a disaster; the government could have done

more. The government in India, through its incredible bureaucracy, has

retarded economic growth in the last 20-30 years by at least 3% per

annum in real terms. It’s a miracle that the Indian economy has

performed well, considering the quality of its government".

China's regulators trimming overcapacity in Industries

Trimming Overcapacity.

BBMG Corp. is a large cement producer listed on China's stock market. Two of its subsidiaries are being eliminated because the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has deemed their capacity excessive.
According to its 2013 semi-annual report, BBMG now has a cement production capacity of 45 million tons, while each of the two subsidies to be shut down only has 100,000 tons of production capacity.
 The eliminated capacity only accounts for a small proportion of the corporation's total capacity, therefore the performance of the corporation will not be affected,the company said on a statement.

Industries such as cement, steel, electrolytic aluminum, ferroalloy, copper smelting, chemical fiber and papermaking are among those required to cut surplus capacity. Altogether 527 enterprises in the cement industry are on the list. Alcohol, gourmet powder, citric acid and lead-acid battery were previously not key sectors of excess capacity but have now been included on the list.

China has been shutting down companies in overcapacity for a decade. When the plan began in 2003, only three industries were targeted steel, cement and electrolytic aluminum. Today the list is five times longer.

Although the Chinese Government has made several attempts to tackle the problem of overcapacity in the past, it had little success, said Wang. This time might be some different because the new term of government is keen on advancing economic reforms and tolerating slower economic growth

Wang a  researcher with CITIC Securities Co. Ltd. said "Among all the problems the Chinese economy is facing, overcapacity is at the top," "In some industries the problem has been quite serious, causing low prices and reducing the profits of enterprises,"

Take the cement industry for example. It has been a key sector in the government's past efforts to eliminate overcapacity. But production has not slowed. In 2009 capacity stood at 800 million tons, but at the end of 2012 the figure rose to 2.9 billion tons, with 75 percent actually being used. Owing to the overcapacity and intensified competition among companies in excess capacity, the 25 listed cement companies, including BBMG, are suffering profit declines. Some of them even partially suspended production because of huge losses.

Is China having Capital Outflows?

According to the Wall Street Journal, "The flow of funds out of Asia  anticipating higher U.S. interest rates has not yet hammered China as badly as some of its neighbors. That’s largely because China imposes broad controls on capital, limiting foreign investments in stocks, bonds and property as well as the money Chinese investors can send overseas".But those controls are not watertight, and recent data suggests that capital is leaving the country. In July, China’s banking system had a second straight month of foreign-exchange outflows, with net foreign currency sales totaling 24.5 billion yuan ($4 billion). That means banks were net sellers of dollars, an indication of money leaving the country.

"The expectation of higher rates in the U.S makes it less attractive to hold funds in foreign currencies, including the yuan, changing the dynamics of currency hedging for companies and investors. If China’s exporters decide to keep their earnings in dollars rather than convert them into yuan, that reduces banks’ foreign-exchange purchases".
  "China’s currency, which trades within a narrow band set by the central bank, has yet to be shaken by these outflows. The country runs a trade surplus, which means it is not reliant on foreign funding to pay for its imports. That puts it in a stronger position than India or Indonesia, whose currencies have been pushed significantly lower in recent weeks.

  China also suffers if its more vulnerable neighbors in Asia hit a speed bump, as that hurts an increasingly important market. China exported $135 billion to Southeast Asia in the first seven months of the year, compared with $200 billion to the U.S. and $188 billion to the European Union".

Precious Metals Prices 2.55 p.m. Eastern Time

Gold Price Futures      3 months  US$   1,396.18

Silver Prices Futures   3 months  US$      23.97

US New single-family houses sales fell -13.4% in July

NEW RESIDENTIAL SALES IN JULY 2013
Sales of new single-family houses in July 2013 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 394,000, according to
estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
This is 13.4 percent (±14.5%)* below the revised June rate of 455,000, but is 6.8 percent (±18.6%)* above the July 2012
estimate of 369,000.
The median sales price of new houses sold in July 2013 was $257,200; the average sales price was $322,700. The
seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of July was 171,000. This represents a supply of 5.2 months at the current sales rate.

Source: US Census Bureau

FDI increased in China last month

Investment inflows into China quickened in July, the government said on Friday, suggesting foreign firms' confidence in the world's No.2 economy is holding up despite slowing growth.

China drew $71.4 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI)in the first seven months of 2013, up 7.1 percent from the same period of 2012, the Commerce Ministry said.

In July alone, China attracted $9.4 billion in FDI, up 24.1 percent from a year ago, quickening from the 20.1 percent pace in June, the fastest in more than two years, although the amount was lower than June's $14.4 billion.

The ministry said FDI inflows into the manufacturing sector in the first seven months fell 2.4 pct from a year earlier, while investment in the service sector rose 15.8 pct.

China aims to lure more FDI in advanced manufacturing to help move its industry make more sophisticated, high-value products.

Source:  Reuters

Japan aiming to help increase bluefin tuna

Japan aims to take the lead in working out an international plan to help bluefin tuna stocks in the Pacific Ocean recover and implement it in 2015, a senior Fisheries Agency official said Thursday.

Masanori Miyahara, deputy director-general of the agency, announced the policy at a meeting of some 340 representatives of the fisheries industry, calling on them to help regulate bluefin tuna stocks in the Pacific.

The plan is aimed at increasing spawning bluefin tuna stocks, which fell to a record low in 2010. It is expected to set a target year and call for regulating annual catch quotas.