Yuan Eclipsed in Beijing Talks by Europe, North Korea

By Bloomberg News

May 26 (Bloomberg) -- U.S.-China talks set up primarily to head off bilateral disputes focused much of the past two days on threats to global stability, as Europe’s debt crisis and military tension on the Korean peninsula overtook the agenda.

About 200 U.S. officials yesterday wrapped up meetings in Beijing as the euro’s decline to an eight-year low against the yen and a 4.7 percent plunge in the won overshadowed sparring on trade and China’s control of its exchange rate. The external distractions, both financial and geopolitical, prompted talk of closer cooperation between what will likely be the world’s two largest economies by year end.

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U.S., China Sidestep Yuan as Europe Dominates Talks

By Bloomberg News | May 25, 2010

May 25 (Bloomberg) -- China and the U.S. focused their first day of talks in Beijing on joint efforts to prop up the world’s economy in the face of a European sovereign-debt crunch that pushed off a showdown on the yuan’s value. 

Officials “spent quite a bit of time discussing the European debt crisis,” Chinese central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said at a press briefing. The nation’s currency policy is being “touched upon” at the talks, he said. 

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Europe’s Debt Crisis Casts a Shadow Over China

May 17 2010 | by Keith Bradsher | www.nytimes.com

HONG KONG — The pain of the European debt crisis is spreading as the plummeting euro makes Chinese companies less competitive in Europe, their largest market, and complicates any move to break the Chinese currency’s peg to the dollar.

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PetroChina Takes First Steps to Acquire Scotland’s Oil Refinery

 www.businessweek.com | March 07, 2010

March 5 (Bloomberg) -- PetroChina Co., the nation’s biggest energy producer, started taking initial steps in its acquisition of Scotland’s only oil-processing plant that would give the Hong Kong-listed company its first European refining operation.

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What future for Repsol, if YPF is sold?

www.reuters.com | July 3, 2009 3:55pm

The news that Repsol YPF has been approached by Chinese companies seeking to buy or take interests in the majority of its upstream assets is something of a mixed blessing for the Spanish group.

On the one hand, Repsol has been trying for years to extract itself from the horrible mess of Argentine politics that embroils YPF, and the prospect of a well-funded buyer that is not too concerned about short-term returns coming along to pay a good price for the unwanted business seems like a godsend.

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CNPC to bid $17 bln for Repsol YPF's Argentinian unit: report

www.reuters.com | July 2 2009

(Reuters) - China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), the country's largest oil company, plans to revive a $17 billion bid for the Argentinian unit of Spanish oil major Repsol-YPF, the South China Morning Post reported on Thursday, citing sources.

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CNPC, PetroChina eye Latin American oil holdings

www.chinaeconomicreview.com | April 14 2008

China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and its listed subsidiary PetroChina have expressed interest in the US$10 billion-worth of South American refineries and upstream assets which may be put up for sale by Spanish oil company Repsol YPF, the South China Morning Post reported. PetroChina and its state-owned parent, which operate an equal joint venture for overseas acquisitions called CNPC Exploration, have not said whether contact has been made with Repsol. But sources close to the matter say the current US$10 billion sale is a modified version of a US$20 billion deal that CNPC Exploration tried to arrange on two occasions last year, only to see Repsol back out. Repsol, the world's fifth-largest oil and gas company, owns three refineries in Peru and Brazil , has oil and gas development rights in eight South American countries and also distributes natural gas in the region.

962 confirmed cases of HFMD with several deaths reported in Kunming

By : Kunming | Updated: 2010-05-11

The number of confirmed cases of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) cases in Kunming has been increasing recently. Up to May 2, there are 962 confirmed cases have been reported merely in Kunming Children's Hospital, and severe cases have increased markedly.

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China Politburo Signals No Policy ‘U-turn,’ Merrill Lynch Says

February 22, 2010, 09:34 PM EST

Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) -- China may refrain from interest- rate increases until the fourth quarter after the Communist Party’s Politburo reiterated a “moderately loose” monetary policy, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch said.

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Bank of China, Construction Bank Start Curbing Credit

By Bloomberg News

Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Chinese banks have begun restricting new loans, responding to a push by regulators to contain credit after a surge in lending in the first half of this month.

Bank of China Ltd. has stopped extending new corporate loans in the Shanghai area, except for clients who have repaid earlier borrowings, said a person familiar with the matter who declined to be identified. China Construction Bank Corp.’s branch in the city has been told to screen applications for personal loans and mortgages more carefully and to stop new lending once a monthly quota is met, another person said.

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Contrarian Investor Sees Economic Crash in China

by David Barboza
Friday, January 8, 2010

provided by the New York Times

James S. Chanos built one of the largest fortunes on Wall Street by foreseeing the collapse of Enron and other highflying companies whose stories were too good to be true.

Now Mr. Chanos, a wealthy hedge fund investor, is working to bust the myth of the biggest conglomerate of all: China Inc.

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Goldman Makes ‘Call of Decade’ by Promoting BRICs

By David Wilson

Dec. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s forecast that Brazil, Russia, India and China would eventually eclipse the Group of Seven countries economically has been described as “the biggest market call of the decade.

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Chinese Demand Will Keep The Boom Going For Copper And Fertilizer In 2010

Dec. 29, 2009

In general, 2010 should award basic materials companies with stronger demand for their products, and cost-cutting measures should continue to drive profitability. Producer discipline will be critical to maintaining pricing and profitability in certain industries, however, given relatively low capacity utilization. Weather will also have important implications for how 2010 shapes up for coal and agriculture companies.

While many factors are pointing in the right direction for basic materials companies in 2010, longer-term headwinds include capacity expansions, which could cause oversupply, and demand shifts due to environmental concerns. And of course, Chinese demand saved many commodities in 2009, so a favorable 2010 depends on continued strength from that country.

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The Mega Trends are back

Such numbers impress you, at least at first glance. In 2015 50 percent of European new car registrations electric or hybrid cars should be. As early as 2025, only those vehicles will be produced. It maintains a study by the University of Applied Sciences Gelsenkirchen. Fund manager Thomas Bauer cited this analysis is happy, because he firmly believes that electric mobility will be the next big mega trend. Since June 2009 he bought the Absolute Future Mobility Fund Only shares of companies that are directly or indirectly involved in the industry.

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