2015-07-31

Fully Automated Factory in Dongguan Increases Productivity 162.5%, Cuts Defects By 80%

Tech Republic:Chinese factory replaces 90% of humans with robots, production soars
There are still people working at the factory, though. Three workers check and monitor each production line and there are other employees who monitor a computer control system. Previously, there were 650 employees at the factory. With the new robots, there's now only 60. Luo Weiqiang, general manager of the company, told the People's Daily that the number of employees could drop to 20 in the future.

The robots have produced almost three times as many pieces as were produced before. According to the People's Daily, production per person has increased from 8,000 pieces to 21,000 pieces. That's a 162.5% increase.

The increased production rate hasn't come at the cost of quality either. In fact, quality has improved. Before the robots, the product defect rate was 25%, now it is below 5%.

Average Worker Needs 85 Years of Savings to Buy Home In Shenzhen


iFeng: 距离买房你还需要多少年?

China's Coming For the Short Sellers

Reuters: China watchdog extends pursuit of short sellers to HK, Singapore - sources
China is pressing foreign and Chinese-owned brokerages in Hong Kong and Singapore to hand over stock trading records, sources said, extending its pursuit of "malicious" short sellers of Chinese stocks to overseas jurisdictions.

...It is common for regulators to request information from their overseas counterparts that may aid investigations at home. But it is highly unusual for the CSRC to seek information from offshore and international brokers directly, one source in Hong Kong said.

...The sources said the CSRC was focusing on trading positions taken through both the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect trading link and via offshore-listed products that track mainland stocks, including index futures and exchange traded funds (ETFs).

"There have been a number of questions over the past two weeks. They are going after any type of trading activity that has a reference to China," said an executive at an international brokerage based in Hong Kong.

One source at a mainland brokerage in Hong Kong said they had received enquiries over the phone directly from the CSRC seeking evidence of "naked shorting" - when an investor tries to profit from falling prices of a given stock without actually owning the shares necessary to complete the transaction, a practice that is restricted in most markets.

"We immediately said we have no clients doing 'naked shorting,' but they didn't believe us. They asked for our records on trades through the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and records of short-selling index futures via QFII and RQFII."

Bloomberg: China Market Manipulation Probe Targets Spoofers After Crash
Spoofing has become the latest target in China’s campaign against stock-market manipulation after a $3.5 trillion selloff.

The practice, which involves placing then canceling orders to move prices, is suspected in 24 accounts on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, the China Securities Regulatory Commission said on its microblog. The bourses have restricted the accounts and regulators are investigating program traders, who have recently had an “obvious” impact on the stock market, the CSRC said.

China’s focus on spoofing follows a probe of “malicious” short selling, part of the government’s unprecedented effort to shore up investor confidence after a 29 percent tumble in the Shanghai Composite Index from its June high. Spoofing entered the popular lexicon this year after U.S. prosecutors said a London trader’s use of the strategy contributed to the flash crash in May 2010, when American equities briefly lost almost $1 trillion of value. The Shanghai Composite sank 8.5 percent on Monday, its biggest rout since 2007.

“The public isn’t happy about the market plunge so the regulator needs to take some actions as a response, and that’s part of the government’s plan to prop up the market,” said Zhang Haidong, the chief strategist at Jinkuang Investment Management in Shanghai. “Whether it’ll be effective remains to be seen.”

...Spoofing “works on the way up and the way down, so it’s interesting it’s only a problem when it causes equity prices to fall,” Every said. “I don’t think this changes the fundamental dynamic that price-to-earnings ratios are unrealistically high in a slowing economy where there are concerns over profits.”
This applies in more ways than one:

Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

Breakdown of Law and Order in Europe

Europe is coming apart, as nations cannot control their borders and point fingers at each other for a migrant crisis that exists solely because they refuse to defend their borders. French protests have added to the chaos and turned Calais into a warzone of lawlessness.

Express: Calais goes UP IN FLAMES: Migrants fight to get into UK as ferry workers block harbour

“For lorry drivers trying to get to the UK it’s like a warzone. You’ve got people who have made in many cases very long and dangerous journeys to try to get to the UK who will stop at nothing to try to get on board.

“We recognise it’s a humanitarian crisis and a complex global situation and that these are human beings, but drivers’ lives are being put at risk by people who are so desperate they have no concern with their own safety and welfare and probably even less for the safety and welfare of the drivers.

“We are very, very concerned about the safety of our drivers and we fear it’s only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured or killed.”
Migrants have already made it to Europe, why do they keep going to the UK? They aren't refugees, since refugees stop once they get across the first safe border.

Guardian: The Calais migrant problem: a continual drip of poison in Anglo-French relations
French public opinion is deeply sensitive to the impact on Calais and the recent migrant deaths. No one knows this better than the Socialist interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, who was MP for Cherbourg, which has its own migrant problems along the coast. With the far-right Front National’s Marine Le Pen running in regional elections in the newly expanded Calais region this winter, the Calais question is likely to dominate local French politics all year.
The odds of the EU political project surviving are shrinking. If the EU does survive, it might be because UKIP, National Front, AfD, Law and Justice, Sweden Democrats, Northern League, Finns, Fidesz, et al are the majority parties.

Return of the Market

Now is your last chance to resign from your high profile job at a central bank.
Thailand: Bye Bye Baht If Bank Of Thailand Cuts Rates Again
How independent is the Bank of Thailand really? The central bank may be tempted to cut rate again to encourage growth. “Drag from mainstream Asia and European demand for goods is outweighing the positive impact from Chinese tourists and goods demand from Frontier Indochina,” wrote Teather. This is not a consensus view according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg, however. Most expects the central bank to stay put.

Chinese Want North American Real Estate


Juwai.com

More Governments Cancel 9070 Policy

The 9070 policy was implemented by the central government in 2006. It says 70% or more of real estate developments must be made up of 90 sqm or smaller apartments. Nanjing was even tougher with a 9050 policy.

July 29, Nanjing Land Bureau hang out seven plots, three plots of residential properties with the cancellation of the "9050" dwelling size limit.

Nanjing is not the first country to cancel housing supply of copy hard targets city.

By the 21st Century Business Herald reporter to incomplete statistics, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Qingdao, Sichuan, Jiangxi, Henan, Fujian and other provinces and cities over 10 explicitly canceled the housing supply dwelling specification limits.

Honorary Vice President of the HS Zhu, one opinion, "9070" is no hard and fast rules to optimize the real estate market, to market the units, one of the measures decided buyers, also in line with current trends.

It should be noted that the market has begun to show different dwelling area of ​​housing options to Shanghai, for example, according to the China Index Research Institute, 2014, 90-120 square meters Unit volume accounted for 33%, replace 70-90 square meter apartment Transacted, becoming the largest proportion of units traded.
This shift was expected earlier this year, see China Begins Round 3 of Housing Rescue, Market Deregulation

iFeng: 楼市调控再去行政化:多地解禁“9070政策”

2015-07-30

Chinese Insurance Companies Buying Overseas Real Estate to Hedge Yuan Depreciation Risk


iFeng: 对冲人民币贬值预期风险 保险公司加码海外地产
Chanson capital Executive Director Shen Meng told the 21st Century Business Herald reporter said that under the "RMB devaluation expectations and future domestic investment product yield is not ideal backdrop, insurance companies choose to invest in overseas earnings and stable real estate, can be better managed insurance funds."

China Rushes More Funds to Market

China's PPT was rushing to deploy 120 billion yuan of capital before 9 AM, and WMP funds directed into the stock market is believed to be 200 billion yuan.

200 billion financial products will become the maintenance of stability force

From today's news perspective, the approval of China Securities Regulatory Commission, China Securities Industry Association yesterday also issued a "OTC securities business record management", the formal implementation since September 1, 2015. The original "private securities company product record management" abolished from the date of implementation of this approach.

According to the previous arrangement Securities Association, the Securities Industry Association in August began to accept securities from outside the company access to information systems evaluation and certification applications. "OTC securities business record management" means that external access to information systems evaluation and certification are under way.

According to a number of brokerage mechanism is expected, since early June, waiting for an external system the size of the record of financial products reached about 200 billion, an evaluation and certification and approved by the market, the market will become another force.
I would not be a buyer of a PPT WMP.

iFeng: 1200亿“国家队”基金今日9点前火速成立
iFeng: 国家队援军何止1200亿定制基金 场外2000亿整装待发

Now It's A Financial Crisis; Most Important Goal For Investors: Survive

Below is written by Guan Qingyou, executive director of Minsheng Securities' research institute, and researcher Zhu Zhenxin, after sitting through the recent Politburo meeting at Beidaihe.

2015 is the year China is face to face with the financial crisis. In 2009, the government launched a 4 trillion yuan stimulus. In 2012. it rescued the real estate market. In 2014, it used the stock market to rescue the economy. Now, it faces a real financial crisis. After the 626 Earthquake (June 26 market crash) stock market crisis, the Chinese economy is gradually feeling more pressure.

We can help themselves in the past, the future is not the same as we can? We believe that: first, the results may no different, that is to say, the Chinese economy can once again saved the day, because, as a not fully market-oriented economy, China has no reason to market disorder crisis erupted. Second, this process is far from simple imagination, decision-makers must not be taken lightly, because this is not the same. In the past we have sufficient policy space, infrastructure, real estate, export, stock market, you can add one by one lever, but now they have gradually been overdrawn, plus lever next subject seem yet to come. Finally, if you want to save the day, you may need a different extraordinary measures in the past, which may be QE, there may be more daring measures.

For decision-making is, before the various contradictions and dilemmas: to make anti- inflation (pig cycle driven by CPI upward), but also anti-deflation (PPI overcapacity led to downward), both to wide currency, falling interest rates, insurance growth, but also stable currency, stable exchange rate , risk prevention. On the market, although Earthquake has gradually gone, but the alarm is far removed. For investors, under a gentleman does not stand Weiqiang, when the future is unclear, the most important thing is to survive.

iFeng: 政治局会议释放四大信号:与金融危机正面决战

Political Revolution Comes to America Via Immigration Issue

In 2012, I wrote: Immigration restrictions coming in the United States
Immigration restriction will be one of the key issues that delivers a true outsider politician into power. The only thing surprising about it will be how late it arrives and possibly how sharp a break with current policy it makes. Politicians continue to overwhelmingly hold the extreme "peak social mood" view, a position that was extreme in and of itself at peak social mood, but becomes insanely extreme politically as social mood declines. They are very far away from public opinion, leaving a gaping hole for the first ambitious politician who decides to make immigration restriction an issue.

In 2013: Immigration Amnesty Takes Its Last Breath
One of things I've repeated on immigration is that the U.S. is proceeding as if this is still the year 2000, at the peak of social mood. The tide has been turning politically, but they continue to act as if nothing has changed. Here we see President Obama and NY Senator Schumer assuming they can get more for their side, effectively killing a deal in the House. The House Republicans are the stumbling block on immigration reform and if social mood had crept more into DC, they would refuse any deal and simply wait it out, since their side is gaining support year after year. Instead, a deal was on the table and the pro-amnesty side killed it because it wasn't good enough. Now with Obama weak due to Obamacare and the 2014 election suddenly looking good for the GOP, this may have been the last shot at immigration reform on pro-amnesty terms.

Last year I wrote Immigration Issue Set to Explode in America; Prepare for Political Volatility:
UKIP was a distant warning shot. The defeat of Eric Cantor was a much closer shot. Few if any politicians have stepped up to advocate an immigration restriction policy. They have nearly all taken the easy road of bashing President Obama for inaction. This leaves an opening for an ambitious politician.
That last link goes to a story on Donald Trump.

The mainstream of both political parties is still tut-tutting about Trump. They think immigration restriction of any kind, including the deportation of illegal aliens, is an unacceptable position. They will go to their political graves on this issue. The United States is on the verge of catapulting past Europe and Australia on the immigration issue, squeezing a change that took 15 years in those countries into a single election.

The political mainstream still has no idea about immigration because the media and government suppress information on the topic. Majorities of almost every single group in America want immigration reduced, yet if you asked most people what the polls say, they'd say Americans favor immigration. The polls are a literal fabrication based on leading questions, the data show that restricting immigration is the winning political position.

The national question, 2014
The only two subgroups with positive IEQs are Asians and foreign-born residents living in the US (read immigrants), and there is of course a lot of overlap in these two categories. Perhaps uniquely among major contemporary political issues, there is a pronounced divide between old (black and white) America on the one hand and new (Asian and Hispanic) America on the other.
The IEQ is the "immigration enthusiasm quotient." Every other group is neutral or wants immigration reduced.

This is no surprise to myself or anyone who digs into the data: Internal Poll Shows Donald Trump Generating Strong Support Among Minority Voters – “LANDSLIDE”
“It’s still hush-hush, but enough mouths are moving to make it credible. It apparently started with some Florida numbers by the leading candidate down there. They had been warned their numbers were slipping and the campaign decided to confirm. They received more than confirmation. What they came back with were numbers that elevated Donald Trump’s support among minorities beyond anything they thought was possible. This initiated an order of three more internal polls of other battleground states and the results were very similar – Donald Trump is making significant gains across the board with minority voters. In just two months he has done what Republicans have been crying about doing for the last several years. It’s remarkable. It also means the media, who likely already knows about the polling data, will be throwing everything they can at the Trump campaign to topple it once and for all. They cannot allow a candidate who is overturning all of the established rules of what a Republican is and isn’t. Democrats want him gone. Republicans want him gone. The only ones who appear to want him to stay is a growing number of supporters representing a surprisingly large percentage of the American public.”
Donald Trump isn't a political genius. I believe his line about Mexico not "sending their best people" was basically a gaffe, but like UKIP in the UK, Trump isn't a dummy. He's tapped into the winning issue of the 2016 campaign and this election is now Donald Trump's to lose unless another major candidate pushes further to the right on immigration.

A Democrat is already moving right, socialist candidate, Bernie Sanders, who can read a poll:
Ezra Klein: You said being a democratic socialist means a more international view. I think if you take global poverty that seriously, it leads you to conclusions that in the US are considered out of political bounds. Things like sharply raising the level of immigration we permit, even up to a level of open borders. About sharply increasing ...

Bernie Sanders: Open borders? No, that's a Koch brothers proposal.

Ezra Klein: Really?

Bernie Sanders: Of course. That's a right-wing proposal, which says essentially there is no United States. ...

Ezra Klein: But it would make ...

Bernie Sanders: Excuse me ...

Ezra Klein: It would make a lot of global poor richer, wouldn't it?

Bernie Sanders: It would make everybody in America poorer —you're doing away with the concept of a nation state, and I don't think there's any country in the world that believes in that. If you believe in a nation state or in a country called the United States or UK or Denmark or any other country, you have an obligation in my view to do everything we can to help poor people. What right-wing people in this country would love is an open-border policy. Bring in all kinds of people, work for $2 or $3 an hour, that would be great for them. I don't believe in that. I think we have to raise wages in this country, I think we have to do everything we can to create millions of jobs.
Bernie Sanders is to the right of Trump on immigration, if he follows up these statements with policy. With Hillary's campaign mired in scandal, it could be that two immigration restrictionists face off in 2016.

Meanwhile, in a development that has no connection to Trump, but is connected to political discontent, the young and Internet savvy right-wing is beginning its assault on the mainstream GOP. The end of Boomer dominance is at hand and the ascendance of the Generation X and Y is beginning. It heralds a shift so far to the right that it cannot be evaluated on the scale of years or decades, but centuries. It's beginning with a bit of humor though:

‘Cuckservative’ — the conservative insult of the month, explained
‘CUCKSERVATIVE’ IS A GLORIOUSLY EFFECTIVE INSULT THAT SHOULD NOT BE SLURRED, DEMONISED, OR RIDICULED
Thus, “cuckservative” can mean many things. It could mean conservatives who are afraid of social exclusion and kowtow to the liberal media establishment. It could mean conservatives who play the left’s game of identity politics, accusing their internal opponents, such as Donald Trump, of being racist or sexist or rapey for spurious or opportunistic reasons.
Cuckservatives are the right-wing politicians who shoot at their own side, implement policies the base hates and engage in self-destructive policies such as mass immigration, which guarantees the destruction of America's right-wing as it exists today.

The entire right-wing is beginning a major rightward shift in a youth driven movement that has been percolating on the Internet for the better part of a decade. I touched on the movement in 2013: Rise of the New American Right Leaking Into Mainstream; What is Neoreaction?
The movement has no central core, and the article correctly notes that there's cross pollination between game blogs that help men meet, date and have successful relationships with women (by throwing out all the feminist ideas); scientists who study taboo subjects such as the biological basis for human traits such as intelligence; technology entrepreneurs and workers who are thinking of and building libertarian systems (Bitcoin being a recent and popular creation); the old paleoconservative right and libertarian right, where Pat Buchanan and Ron Paul both find little love from establishment Republicans; and through the medium of the Internet, where it is now possibly to read books by the losers of history (the critics of democracy). The latter point is important because even if one doesn't agree with neoreaction, it is digging up lot of ideas left for dead that are not even debated anymore. This makes the movement very well read and its opposite mostly unread, relying on power instead. Neoreaction is an elite movement, and it was only yesterday that I linked to Blame Rich, Overeducated Elites as Our Society Frays.
Neoreactionaries aren't fueling the current push, but their ideas are in the background of the movement. A major political realignment has been underway for more than a decade across the developed world, but it was slow in Europe and "hidden" on the Internet in America, so people ignored it or had no idea it existed. What's about to happen in America will make it clear to all.

Fanya Collapse Could Embroil Banks

FT: China protests over Fanya liquidity freeze could spread to banks
Online notices indicate the products were marketed through Bank of China branches in Aksu, Xinjiang, and in Hangzhou, a prosperous city in the Yangtze Delta. The products were also marketed through other banks, according to material from Fanya Metal Exchange’s website and former salespeople.

Chinese bank branches will sometimes handle deposits for unaffiliated financial products or allow them to be marketed on premises without officially endorsing them. Former salespeople for Fanya investment products described the banks as third-party custodians.

That distinction is not always clear to retail investors. In some past cases when wealth management products gone awry, regulators have insisted that the bank accept some responsibility. Bank of China declined to comment.

The Fanya Metal Exchange’s use of normal banking channels to market its products could mean its troubles have broader systemic effects, if banks are held responsible by regulators.

“We can’t comment on Fanya because they are not under our jurisdiction,” the Yunnan securities regulator said on Tuesday. Asked about the redacted report, the regulator said it was “normal information release by us”.

Seeds of New Housing Bubble Sprouting

Only six months ago, China was worried about falling home prices and deflation. Deflation is still a concern at the higher stages of production, which for central planners, calls for money printing. Already we're seeing the problem of money printing as a solution: the money isn't spread evenly throughout the economy, but instead is flowing into a nascent housing bubble in first-tier cities.

Beijing's supply-demand in housing has been permanently imbalanced. For a brief period last year, supply outstripped demand. Now demand is outstripping supply once more, threatening out of control price rises again. Sales in June hit a 17-month high.

Second quarter housing supply from 45 projects (not including public housing projects) came to a little over 12,000 apartments, down 50% from 2014. Sales were over 15,000 units. In July, there were about 3800 new homes; sales are 6400 units thus far.

There is real concern prices could start taking off.

iFeng: 京住宅成交创新高 供需不平衡房价或将上行

This next article says the second half will see a rate cut and two RRR cuts, quoting Zhu Haibin, chief China economist at J.P. Morgan.

iFeng: 下半年或迎一次降息两次降准 楼市或有大变

Less discussed are soaring rents. The apartment I was renting in Beijing was 2600 a month in 2011. I believe it is now over 4000 a month. That's not atypical for the area.

Central planners look smart when things are going well because the economy's natural momentum does most of the work. When balancing on a beam, or spinning a basketball on your finger, you use very little effort when in equilibrium. Once you start losing your balance, you get farther and farther out of equilibrium and must add more and more energy to return, or find a new equilibrium. Most of the time, the new equilibrium in on the floor, at rest.

ChiNext vs Nasdaq 2000 Still Truckin'

2015-07-29

Another Market Related Death

A fund manager suffering from depression was pushed over the edge by the market.
Caixin: Investor Angry at Gov't Role in Stock Market Rout in Apparent Suicide
A fund manager who apparently jumped to his death from a high-rise in downtown Beijing suffered depression and was angry the government intervened in the stock market rout, people who knew him say.
Liu Qiang, a 36-year-old fund manager at Ruilin Jiachi, an asset management firm, jumped to his death from a building near busy Jianguomen Street, people who knew him well said.

News about his death surfaced on July 24, when a post that he jumped off a building two days earlier appeared on the social media accounts of investors and people working in finance. It is unclear who posted the first message.

On July 27, a lawyer from Beijing Bailun Law Firm issued a statement on behalf of Liu's relatives that said Liu actually died on July 21. The death was due to "personal reasons" that had nothing to do with the fund he managed and the recent stock market fluctuations, the statement said.

Napier Gets It: China Must Sell Treasuries, U.S. Rates Up, U.S. Dollar Up, Yuan Tumbles

The ultimate ironic denouement for the dollar bears: China dumps treasuries and USD soars.

ZH: Russell Napier: What Happens When Markets Realize China Is A Forced Seller Of Treasuries
So could the liquidation of US Treasuries by EMs, in an effort to defend their exchange rates, also push up Treasury yields? This was the forecast in the May 2011 paper and it was very wrong. It was wrong because the Fed was an aggressive buyer of Treasuries, but the Fed is not currently in the marketplace.

Today the yield on Treasuries is set by the actions of foreign central bank activity and the global private sector. The Solid Ground has long wondered how US Treasury bulls in the private sector would react if they knew in advance that the second largest owner of Treasuries, the PBOC, was a forced seller of Treasuries. Such compelled selling would be obvious before US markets opened each morning as downward pressure on the RMB exchange rate in Asia forced the PBOC to liquidate foreign currency assets to defend the fixed exchange rate. Would even Treasury bulls stand in the way of such a large and predictable liquidation? If they didn’t then the second phase of The Great Reset would come to pass and the decline of EM external deficits would force tighter monetary policy in both EM and DM.

PBOC liquidation of Treasuries to support the RMB exchange rate would not be prolonged. Both the US and China would recognize the dreadful dynamics inherent in such a policy if it did indeed push Treasury yields higher. Very soon China would be given the permission to devalue its exchange rate and the nature of the pain to be endured by the global system would be of a somewhat lesser and somewhat different nature. It would, however, still be a deflationary adjustment.
The depreciation is coming. The poetic Austrian justice target is 8.28 yuan to $1. A 10% depreciation isn't huge and that only takes the yuan to about 6.8 from current levels. Something north of 7 is the minimum.

Ministry of Land and Resources Sees Land Supply Rising in 2H, Govt Will Use Investment to Boost GDP

Thanks to a recovering market, the government sees land supply picking up in the second half. Cities have been restricting land sales to prime properties in order to keep prices and confidence elevated.

"With the easing of China's macroeconomic stabilization, to the good trend of steady further development, driving effect of real estate on stable economic growth increased in the first half through construction sites and pre-approval of the project landed in the third and fourth quarter, second half volume will increase land supply. And in the case of weak consumption and export growth, investment is still a reliable means of steady growth in the first half, China's major infrastructure projects focused on land use approval by the stamina to play in the second half, pulling efficient investment and promote further economic stabilization and recovery. "Department of Homeland mention the land market in the second half when stimulating effect on the economy he said.

However, the Department of Homeland differentiation outlook for the national market does not deny that the MLR respect, at present, four-tier cities real estate market to digest inventory-based, difficult to pick up the land market in the short term, the second half, the adjustment of economic structure will continue , monetary easing is expected to impact on the environment, family policy to boost the economy's effect gradually appear, there will be more urban land market ushered in the transformation period, overall premium moderating upward, but among cities both volume and price changes in supply and demand game or are there will be more obvious differentiation trend.
The government will use its old tricks to boost the economy in the second half of the year, and lower-tier cities may need a miracle when it comes to land sales as differentiation becomes even clearer in the second half.

iFeng: 国土部:土地市场温和上行 下半年供应量加大

Miracles happen most ev'ry day
To people like you and me,
But don't expect a miracle
Unless you help make it to be, so...

You hope and I'll hurry,
You pray and I'll plan
We'll do what's necessary 'cause
Even a miracle needs a 5-year plan

You love and I'll labor,
You sit and I'll stand
Get help from our next-door neighbor 'cause
Even a miracle needs a 5-year plan

We'll help our Chairman to make our dreams come true,
But I can't do it alone, so here's what we're gonna do

You hope and I'll hurry,
You pray and I'll plan
We'll do what's necessary 'cause
Even a miracle needs a 5-year plan

We'll help our Chairman to make our dreams come true,
But we can't do it alone, so what are we gonna do?

You wish and I'll whittle
You drip while I dry
Let's all try to help a little 'cause
Even a miracle needs a 5-year plan

Currency Devaluation Coming

Bloomberg: China to Allow Wider Yuan Trading Range, State Council Says
China will allow the yuan to trade in a wider range against the dollar, the State Council said, without giving a timing or scope for the potential adjustment.

Flexibility will be increased, the cabinet said in a statement Friday that focuses on supporting the nation’s trade after an index of factory activity fell to a 15-month low. The exchange rate will be kept at a basically stable level, the State Council said. The yuan traded in Hong Kong fell the most in almost three weeks on Friday, and its one-month implied volatility surged to the highest since July 14.

The onshore yuan in Shanghai, where moves are limited to 2 percent on either side of a daily fixing, weakened the least in emerging markets this year as the People’s Bank of China seeks global reserve-currency status at an IMF review in November. While a wider trading range would allow market forces a bigger role, it could provide room for depreciation and help exports.
Offshore yuan can trade freely. Chinese exporters can withhold U.S. dollars and exchange them for yuan in Hong Kong, or simply sit on them if they expect yuan devaluation. Where possible, Chinese could also find ways to take U.S. dollars out of China and exchange them for yuan in Hong Kong at the higher rate. With the capital account opening further for an SDR push, if traders want to take CNH lower, they can trigger U.S. dollar outflows from China. Imagine the Chinese herd, which poured into gold in 2011 and into stocks in 2015, pouring into U.S. dollars.

CNBC: A flexible yuan: The last thing China needs?
Ordinarily, wider trading bands are theoretically neutral on a currency. But in China's case, history reveals that wider bands do lead to a weaker currency, Mizuho explained. It pointed to 2012 and 2014, when the central bank last widened the trading band that sparked broad depreciation; 2014 for example saw the currency end the year with a more than 2 percent loss.

In regard to timing, Citi expects the band widening to happen after November, but warns it may be fast-tracked if the dollar spikes following a September U.S. interest rate hike.

The market isn't pricing in any trouble.

Reuters: Buy-and-hold investors help bond duo defy China volatility
China Merchants Holdings International attracted orders of $2.3 billion for $700 million of bonds with maturities of five and 10 years, while South Korea's Shinhan Bank made its debut in the offshore renminbi market with a 4.2 percent 1.2 billion renminbi three-year print.

Both were oversubscribed and are now trading above par.

...G3 and high-yield bankers said there were a number of deals in the pipeline, but until there was a semblance of stability out of China it would make deals difficult. At the same time, however, issuers looking to raise funds before the traditional summer lull may be running out of time.

WSJ: China’s Easing Makes It Cheaper to Raise Cash at Home
Beijing is hoping to further develop its local bond market in coming months, with an aim to allowing greater foreign participation. Such a development, coupled with lower onshore interest rates and tighter monetary policy in the U.S., could eventually lure more Chinese companies to issue bonds at home, said Standard Chartered’s Ms Liu. But it will take time.

“The U.S. dollar bond market is much deeper and issuers can raise more debt with longer duration,” she added.

2015-07-28

China Exports One Japan of Steel in First Half; First Output Drop in 20 Years

Yes, China measures its steel exports in nations, exporting one whole Japan in the first half of 2015. Total production fell as well, for the first time in 20 years. Production was 410 million tons, a drop of 1.3% from 2014.

As for exports:
Data show that the first half of 2015, China exported 52.4 million tons of steel, up 27.8 percent, while World Steel Association on July 22 announced Japan's crude steel output in the first half was 52.6 million tons almost the same. In the first half China literally "exported a Japan."
iFeng: 中国粗钢产量20年来首降 上半年钢企出口了一个日本

Bloomberg: World’s Top Steelmaker Says Output Waning as Demand Stumbles

PPT Buys 21 Stocks Via CITIC, But Uncertainty Still Increasing

PPT Buys
iFeng: 国家队继续扫货 中信三营业部昨日上榜21股

but the brokers say uncertainty is increasing.

iFeng: 券商:不确定性因素仍在增加 A股整体疲弱或成型

and Hong Kong now blamed for the sell-off.

ZH: Chinese Stocks Rise After Government Injects $100bn Into Sovereign (Rescue) Fund; Sell-off 'Blame' Shifts To Hong Kong

Town Beats Party Secretary Over Land Taking


Not a lot to the story. There were about 50 people on each side battling it out over land takings.

iFeng: 山东:村支书与村民两方百人械斗现场(1/3)

Farmer Loses Everything, Now Owes As Much as He Invested


ChiNext vs Nasdaq 2000 Still Looking Good


H-shares haven't been joining in the recent selling. The H-share average discount of about 45% has been fairly steady the past few days.

Another Metals Bust in China

Quartz: Amer International might gobble up Fanya Metals Exchange for $5 billion—and placate some angry investors
Amer International Group, a little-known Chinese private company that makes cable and copper products, is in discussions with Fanya Metals Exchange about a $5 billion buyout that could rescue the beleaguered metals exchange—and potentially placate thousands of angry investors.
Chinese investors in Fanya who may have lost over $6 billion have been protesting for days to try to spur the Chinese government to bail them out, as Quartz has previously reported.

Bamboozled Chinese investors may have lost billions on a mysterious metals-trading scheme
At issue is an investment called Ri Jin Bao, a financial product guaranteed by Fanya that promises retail investors annualized returns as high as 13.7%, and the right to withdraw funds at any time. Those funds have been frozen since April, when Fanya said it ran into “liquidity problems,” according to Caixin (link in Chinese). A reported 40 billion yuan ($6.4 billion) owed to 220,000 investors nationwide has been frozen.
“I think Fanya breached a unilateral contract when selling Ri Jin Bao,” one of the protesting investors told Metal Bulletin. “It’s unfair for us.”

Why did hundreds of thousands of individual investors sink millions of yuan into a derivative product linked to indium, bismuth, and other metals few have ever heard of? The answer highlights how Chinese government regulations make it hard for middle-class households to safely grow their savings. It also reveals how easily China’s out-of-control borrowing creates wealth from nothing—and how quickly that wealth can collapse.

...Strangely though, Fanya consistently offered double-digit premiums over prices offered on the Chinese spot market. This became particularly salient after the global financial crisis, when demand for solar applications using indium slowed.

The rise of Fanya appears to have affected prices to the degree that it “became an alternative source of demand for metal that otherwise would largely have been used in high-tech applications,” says Alex Harrison, editor of Metal Bulletin. “Some producers preferred to deliver to Fanya at its prices rather than the levels prevailing in the spot market. In effect producers used the price but consumers didn’t, sticking instead to formulas tied to reporting agencies’ prices.”
Investors paid inflated prices for metals, while consumers of the metals obtained it at spot.
Retail investors aren’t the only ones who profited from Fanya’s scheme. The platform allowed producers to buy and sell simultaneously, according to Metal Bulletin—effectively letting suppliers create their own demand.

This setup did more than just allow canny producers to pocket the difference between the spot price and Fanya’s premium. In the time between the sale to the exchange and the repurchase of that same pile of indium, they could use a warrant guaranteeing their right to buy that indium back in the future as collateral for short-term bank loans.
Where have I heard this before?

Mining.com: Chinese rare earth metals exchange to pay $6.4bn owed to investors
The bourse, which owes investors the equivalent of US$6.4bn, said it plans to pay them off by buying back some metals on a regular basis.
Good plan. Let's look at how rare earth producers are faring.
If there's no buyout, it may take a long time for investors to get their money back.

Stay Away From New Funds

Warns the Economic Observer. Generally a good call for most funds, but interesting timing.

次新基金?请暂时回避

2015-07-27

Economic Observer Asks: Is SOE Reform Just Hype?

The main takeaway: investors are simply chasing stocks because they think there will be big merger and takeover premiums for some SOEs, but there's no evidence that SOE reform will be particularly profitable for SOEs in the short-term because the goal of reducing competition (shuttering steel mills, for example) doesn't fully solve the problem and may even hinder economic reforms by creating powerful monopolies:
But the market for the central enterprise integration tide still about to carry out a large area of ​​concern. Insiders believe that the competent authorities to avoid competition through mergers, but can not really eliminate competition. "After a competitive industry of central enterprises merge their competition still exists, but from the outside it, to solve the overcapacity does not help." Even has a central rate of powerful monopolies, with the merger tide formed super monopoly, or will hinder China's Market-oriented reform process.
Is there any profit for shareholders?
This tide before the merger and reorganization of the executive-led, investors do not seem to care about the company's prospects, only focus on the pursuit of the merger premium. SOE reform became the concept of speculation in the capital market. Efficiency of the company after the merger could enhance the international competitiveness of whether there will be increased if the consolidated corporate governance will be more transparent, and will improve the company whether the system? This series is the most worthy of concern was forgotten. Still can not answer the above question, why such a reform would be favored by the capital markets? SOE reform can be simply reduced to market speculation?

CSRC Investigates More Stock Platforms

Retuers: China regulator probes two more stock trading platforms
China's securities regulator is investigating two more firms that run stock trading platforms to check they are in compliance with regulations, it said late on Monday.

Shanghai Mingchuang Software Technology Ltd, or MECRT, and Zhejiang Hexin Tonghuashun Network Information Ltd, are being investigated, the China Securities Regulatory Commission said on its microblog Weibo feed.

June Real Estate Investment By Province: Central China Slows

More charts after the jump.

Rumor Mill: HOMS Will Only Allow Sell Orders on July 28; CSRC Trapped in A-Shares; ¥1 Trillion in Bailout Funds Remain

Reuters: China state-owned margin lender returns market-steadying funds early

Reuters: Main shareholders of 8 Chinese firms including China Railway Erju under probe

ZH: There Is No Exit: Why China's Plunge Protection Is Here To Stay

As for the HOMS rumor, first a little background:
WSJ: China’s Hundsun Freezes Stock Platform Accounts Amid Scrutiny
Hundsun Technologies Inc., a financial software company backed by Chinese billionaire Jack Ma, announced it isn’t accepting new accounts on a trading platform that has drawn scrutiny from regulators looking into China’s recent equity market turmoil.

Hundsun will also stop additional funds from going into existing accounts on the cloud-computing order-management system called HOMS, which is used as a stock trading platform, the company said in a filing Thursday with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The effective freeze on new activity on HOMS comes after officials from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the industry watchdog, went Monday to the Hangzhou-based company’s offices to “verify related leads” and ensure that the company was implementing the agency’s directives.

Official data show HOMS had a market share of nearly 90% in a gray market that provides credit to small businesses and retail investors to purchase shares on China’s markets using borrowed funds. The system was widely used by peer-to-peer, or P2P, lenders, an industry of online platforms directly linking people who need loans to potential lenders.
On Monday, a rumor spread saying HOMS would only take sell orders on July 28.

Chinese coverage here.
iFeng: 恒生电子辟谣:HOMS系统未被关闭端口

Finally, all is well. China's PPT has another 1 trillion yuan to spend.

iFeng: 沪指暴跌国家队会否再出手 尚有万亿资金可用
Previously, the stock market crash of bailout drama, the company repeatedly shot gold card, replace Huijin became the capital of a new brother.

In the opinion of some analysts, plunged into play when the margin has become the largest market makers, after a successful bargain-hunting, with the rebound in the market a lot of money income, a rough estimate at least floating profit of 30% to 50% , the future of its holdings Or quit when every action affects the market trends.

States Securities researcher Xiao Shijun told the "China Times" reporter, said the margin the company is a high-profile appearance at the time of the market crash, the main task is to stabilize the market, to solve the liquidity crisis, the market is more vulnerable, securities holdings and gold company Exit every move will increase the volatility of the market, therefore, the short term margin company greater impact on the market.

Xiao Shijun pointed out that a comprehensive international point of view, short-term bailout funds will not soon quit, a longer period of time. Of course, it's exit can be flexible, such as rallies reduction, or is transferred to the pension margin use to keep doing, but will choose exit point in the market steadily upward, the market confidence, outside the capital increment Obviously, when trading activity carried out. "Of course, at this time, the impact of margin is very small companies out of the investors still have to pay close attention to determine the core elements of the market, the fundamentals of the market."

Securities released a report that, according to published reports, CSF is eligible for margin commercial bank credit scale is about 2 trillion yuan , as of July 13, more than 17 mainland commercial banks lent a total company margin of nearly 1.3 trillion yuan. Meanwhile, the Bank actively assist the company in accordance with market needs through margin lending, issuing financial bonds, mortgage financing, loan refinancing and other means to obtain sufficient liquidity.

According to public information, as of July 17, the size of margin stability maintenance companies use to sell more than 1 trillion yuan of funds. Maintenance of stability using funds from three aspects, first certified gold company stock pledged to broker self in the form of 260 billion yuan, followed by the five largest fund companies to buy 200 billion active fund shares, the third is certified gold company through 7 month opened a securities account to the securities market directly to buy assets. Meanwhile, there are 21 brokerage firms invested more than 120 billion yuan to buy blue chips ETF.

June Industrial Production in Northeast China

Shanxi is shown separately below. It is technically not in the northeast, but its economy is similarly dependent on heavy industry and resource extraction (plus real estate development), in this case coal.

China's Financial System In One Picture


ZeroHedge breaks down China's stock market margin financing in The Complete Guide To China's CNY 4 Trillion Margin Doomsday Machine
An umbrella trust is set up like a CDO. The senior tranche is sold by banks to clients who receive a fixed payout (like a coupon payment), only instead of CDS premiums (in the case of a synthetic structure) or cash flows (from a cash structure), the ‘coupon’ payments are generated by equity investments in the subordinated tranches, which are used by brokerages to skirt margin restrictions. In other words, the guys holding the senior tranches are financing the stock trades of the guys in the junior tranches.
Trust products are also sometimes marketed in supermarkets, shopping centers and street corners to mom and pop savers, the very same group of people who are borrowing from these trusts to buy stocks.

The conclusion from BofAML:
The key risk to our view is that the government may be prepared to take on substantially all the leverage, in which case, we expect RMB or growth to come under pressure.

The Chinese stock market is a microcosm of the Chinese economy. What happened in the past year is the post-2008 period on fast forward. The stock market is far from the largest of China's problems—but maybe it is the straw that break the camel's back.

At the end of the day, there are only two ways to resolve massive credit inflation. One is deflation, punishing the incompetent more than the competent:
Liquidate labor, liquidate stocks, liquidate farmers, liquidate real estate...it will purge the rottenness out of the system. High costs of living and high living will come down. People will work harder, live a more moral life. Values will be adjusted, and enterprising people will pick up from less competent people.
The second choice is to save the incompetent with currency devaluation, and punish the savers.

Currency devaluation is coming. Although it is the logical outcome of a massive credit inflation, "no one" expects a major devaluation in the yuan. Here are the geniuses at the Federal Reserve looking ahead 5-years:

The Slump Returns, On Schedule With Nasdaq 2000 Analog

A-shares sold off much more than H-shares. H / A Share Discount List

2015-07-25

13th 5-Year Plan Is Coming

A possible mixed bag. It sounds like local governments will still be actively involved in growing GDP, but fiscal and tax reform could go a long way to freeing up the economy.
"The government should shift from economy the government more service-oriented government, the government must change the incentives so that government play a more balanced and more effective role in economic and social development." Said Chi Fulin.

..."How to better deal with the relationship between government and the market, will be 'Thirteen Five' planning process needs to focus on grasping the problem." Xu Lin said.

In fact, "China's five-year plan has been the emphasis on economic planning, social planning is even lagging behind." During the two sessions this year, Chi Fulin, also told reporters that China is in a crucial period of economic transformation and upgrading, the transformation of government functions is not yet fully in place.

"Not the public service as a local priority, but still the GDP growth, the expansion of investment as the primary goal." He said deputy governor, told reporters that only in "Thirteen Five" plan by setting binding targets, like catch as catch people's livelihood and economic development, in order to ensure that the government honor its commitment to the people.

...Do not rule out "Thirteen Five" plan will also involve other issues, such as environmental protection and ecological civilization construction. But the director of the China Research Center 施正文 tax law in an interview with reporters focuses suggested that the "Thirteen Five" period, should be promoted as soon as possible "fiscal and tax reform," clearly define the powers of governments at all levels to implement the financial resources to match.

iFeng: 十三五规划强民生重平衡 北戴河会议或定调下一个5年

The Diplomat: How the Next 5 Years Could Make or Break China's 'War on Pollution'

I could see them passing on the issue due to concerns about growth, or let the rebalancing economy take care of the issue as coal mines and steel mills shut down. If China does make major strides in cleaning up its economy in the next five years, it may be due to a much sharper slowdown, which is why they'll be smart and put a bold target in there. If the economy slows, call it "quality GDP" because the air and water are cleaner. If they miss the target and GDP growth is faster, the people get richer.

Speaking of environment, one way to boost short-term GDP and clear the air:
PV Mag:China eyes further PV target increase in 13th five-year plan

CBR: Understanding China’s 13th Five-Year Plan
Meanwhile, a January 12 editorial by former NDRC head and current Director of the National Energy Administration Zhang Guobao indicates that the 13th FYP will focus on one key challenge: continuing China’s economic growth at a relatively fast past and maintaining “healthy development.” Zhang said that ambitious reforms laid out in November 2013’s third plenum will also be reflected in the plan, which seeks to double average annual incomes by 2020 from 2010 levels. Experts say these goals should be attainable if China continues to grow at a steady rate of 7 percent, and others note meeting the goals would be challenging that any growth target under 6.5 percent, suggesting the central government set an average annual GDP growth target of 6.8 percent in the 13th FYP. Other areas of focus Zhang suggests will be carried over from the current FYP include growing domestic demand, upgrading industrial infrastructure, and reforming the country’s energy pricing structure.

It is likely that China will continue to expand central government debt to support emerging industries, according to Zhang’s editorial. He argues that China should continue to adopt a liberal monetary policy and invest in areas such as healthcare, elder care, and education, despite the piling up of government debt. Zhang also says that China should continue to invest in the manufacturing sector, even as it tries to bolster the country’s growing services sector.

What about local plans?

Local governments are also in the process of planning for respective local FYPs to correspond with the central government plan. Local government plans, while often rolling out later than their central counterpart, often have more specific economic targets and goals that impact the local business environment and incentive programs.

Many local governments have different processes and timelines for putting together their respective FYPs. While local development reform commissions (DRC)—government-sponsored think tanks for local leadership—have already entered the official drafting process in cities like Shenzhen, in cities such as Shanghai, they will not start until March. In Guangzhou, DRC officials began collecting public comments in September 2014, a process that will continue through September 2015.

5 Signs Housing Market Turning

1. Mortgages broke 1 trillion yuan for the first time in 1H

As of the end of June this year, the balance of mortgage loans 12.64 trillion yuan, an increase of 17.8 percent growth rate 0.2 percentage points higher than at the end of the previous quarter, 4.4 percentage points more than the growth rate of all loans.

2. Shenzhen banks have nearly exhausted their lending quotas
According to Southern Metropolis Daily reported July 23 two mortgage business from Shenzhen, a large amount of state-owned banks was informed, at present due to the amount of tension, the two branches off for mortgage lending stagnated. Shenzhen, a state-owned bank Credit grassroots client manager, told reporters on the South are, because the amount of stress, whether it is at present the bank handedly building or used floor not committed lending period.

In addition, a larger market share in the mortgage amount of state-owned banks, in succession after the first home loan down payment% to 40% interest rate adjustments. Currently the Bank of China, Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank and other state-owned banks, the first suite of loan interest rate has been floating 5-10%. But despite the increase in the down payment and interest rates, still unable to meet market demand and supply, some state-owned banks in the current loan business loans no credit status.

3. Housing data is improving, inventory is falling
In addition, according to Bureau of Statistics data show that housing sales area grew by 4.5%, commercial business premises selling area increased by 3.5%. Commercial sales of 3.4259 trillion yuan, an increase of 10.0%, the growth rate increased 6.9 percentage points. Among them, the residential sales increased 12.9%. This is by far the first positive growth since January 2014.

4. Capital is flowing out of equities and into property
"Overall, the flow of money out of the stock market the housing market has begun to show signs of, or will become another driving force to boost the development of the housing market. "

5. Land supply is down, will prices rise?
In fact, in the correlation between the land market and the property market, we can not explain who is responsible for the result, they mutually interact with each other to advance prices.

iFeng: 五大信号预示楼市即将巨变 下半年房价难跌

2015-07-24

High First-Tier Home Prices Are A Warning Sign

Amid the optimism about rebounding home prices comes this warning.

In fact, there are several noteworthy phenomenon. First half real income growth was 7.6%, significantly lower than the growth rate of house prices; the second is the first half national GDP growth rate of 7%, far lower than the actual growth rate of home prices; third, in the first half the hundred cities land transfer totaled 702.1 billion yuan, down 35.5 percent; wherein land transfer in Beijing and other 10 major cities nationwide totaled 254.98 billion yuan, down 47.5 percent, both the quantity and the selling price of land has not increased significantly year on year. These data suggest the home price rise lacks of economic support. Thus, Bejiing-Shanghai-Guangzhou-Shenzhen and other cities housing prices rising too fast is not unrelated with developers and investment speculators colluding to lift them.

On the surface, it seems there's no connection between first-tier city home prices and second- and third-tier cities, some people will even throw out that Changsha has seen prices decline for three straight years. However, a deeper investigation is worrisome. One, rising housing prices will exacerbate the impulse to sell land, resulting in excessive waste of land resources, so that the industrial economic adjustment will be more difficult in these areas, the economic restructuring will be prolonged, leading them to rely on local land finance while ignoring the real economy. Two, it will make a number of second- and third-tier capital cities imitate the first-tier cities, the development of the real estate economy will generate the old idea of quick money, developers and investors caught unconsciously in the trap of keep housing prices stable and strong, this approach may also lead to investment and speculation funds to re-enter the property market, so that the real economy suffers even more "blood loss." For example, since June, Xi'an, Lanzhou, Qinghai, Henan and other places have taken to improve mortgage funding, allowing buyers to make lower down payments, reducing the deed tax and giving financial incentives to settle, these concessions and bailout measures stimulate and activate the property market in order to achieve stable high prices.

In addition, Beijing-Shanghai-Guangzhou-Shenzhen and other cities housing prices will mislead the central government, so that decision-makers mistakenly believe that the real estate market will become more healthy, and now give the right incentives might act as if they've "skillfully deflected the problem" positive effect. In particular, it may shift the center of economic policy focus, mistakenly believe that economic restructuring and development, and strategic structural adjustment and development of real estate economy, are not contradictory, so that the previous years real estate regulation efforts will all be flushed down the drain.

In this regard, I believe that the emergence of housing prices is not terrible, terrible is the face of rising house prices miscalculated the economic situation of macroeconomic decision-making; housing prices appear not to fear, fear the place will be caught in land depend not escape; house prices rise not worry, you can worry is afraid to stabilize prices in the right way and do not want to develop the real economy.

For now, governments at all levels have a ton output capacity of courage and determination, mind to come to regulate the development of the real estate market, housing prices artificially high profits too effective abatement bring many hazards, long-term thinking in order to serve the development of the real economy, carefully plan The steady development of the real economy. Only in this way can promote the healthy development of China's economic transformation and upgrading.

iFeng: 几大现象证明:一线城市房价高是危险信号

The Beginning of the End

Cycle up, cycle down.
Bigger than Greece, bigger than China (or at least one of the most significant parts of the China story) is the massive shift occurring in global currency reserves. Long story short: they’re being depleted, rapidly. Especially the reserves of emerging market sovereigns.

In a highly unusual development, emerging-market FX reserves have been falling steadily since the middle of last year. The IMF’s COFER figures, the gold standard for FX reserve data, show that emerging-market reserves have dropped for three successive quarters, from a peak of USD 8.06trn at end Q2 2014 to USD 7.5trn by end Q1 2015. COFER data are not yet available for Q2, but we have been able to build an estimate from already released second-quarter national data. Our bottom-up estimate of around USD 6.9trn at the end of Q1 captures 92% of the IMF’s emerging-market aggregate. By our estimates, emerging-market reserves continued to fall in Q2, albeit marginally, by USD 21bn or so.

Q2’s modest fall brings the drop-off in emerging-market reserves to USD 575bn since the middle of last year. Looking at a longer run of COFER data from 1995 shows how unusual recent developments are. Even in the jaws of the global financial crisis, emerging-market reserves only dropped for two quarters before snapping back vigorously. Emerging-market reserves have not fallen on such a sustained basis in at least 20 years (Chart 2).
Most dollar bears thought the greenback would die first and die alone, maybe with a few other developed countries, but they ignored the credit bubbles and debt accumulated in China and other emerging markets. The last days of the dollar are unfolding, but the emerging market exit from the U.S. dollar system will not be voluntary or planned. Countries will sell off their dollar reserves amid a great U.S. dollar bull market attempting to prevent currency collapses at home. At the end of this phase, collapse or not, they will own very few U.S. dollars and the greenback will be extremely overvalued. The U.S. debt market will be a lonely giant as much of the world's debt markets go up in smoke due to currency devaluation. Then it will be America's turn.

FT: The greatest sustained EM reserve slump in 20 years

Chemical, Metal, Liquid Fuel Prices Broadly Lower

NBS publishes price changes for commodities every 10 days. The report shows price changes over the past 10 days. Below I show the % change over the past 20 days.

Original reports:

流通领域重要生产资料市场价格变动情况(2015年7月11-20日) and  流通领域重要生产资料市场价格变动情况(2015年7月1-10日)

Related: China July factory activity falls to 15-month low

Means of Production changes in market prices ( 2015-06-30 to 2015-07-20)
Product name Unit Price (yuan)   Change(%)
 
First, black metal        
Rebar (Phi 16-25mm, HRB400 ) T 1983.8   -7.4%
Wire (Phi 6.5mm , HPB300 ) T 2119.8   -5.6%
Ordinary plate ( 20 mm , Q235 ) T 2123.2   -5.4%
Ordinary hot-rolled sheet ( 3mm , Q235 ) T 2198.7   -7.7%
Seamless Steel Tube ( 6,20 * 219 # ) T 3117.3   -5.9%
Angle ( # ) T 2500   -3.0%
Second, the non-ferrous metal      
Copper ( # ) T 40983.4   -3.5%
Ingots ( A00 ) T 12322.8   -2.4%
Lead ingots ( # ) T 13265   -0.4%
Zinc ( # ) T 15605.5   -0.3%
Third, chemical products      
Sulfuric acid ( 98% ) T 414.2   4.9%
Caustic soda caustic soda, 32%) T 580.8   -2.3%
Methanol (Excellence in goods) T 220.94   -4.2%
Benzene (petroleum benzene, industrial) T 5266.7   -9.5%
Styrene (one product) T 9541.7   -7.8%
Polyethylene ( LLDPE 7042 ) T 9544.8   -2.8%
Polypropylene ( T30S ) T 8579.6   -5.2%
Polyvinyl chloride ( SG5 ) T 5440.8   -2.5%
Butadiene rubber ( BR9000 ) T 10002.5   -11.2%
Polyester filament yarn ( FDY150D / 96F ) T 7687.5   0.5%
Fourth, oil and gas        
Liquefied natural gas ( LNG ) T 3803.2   -1.3%
Liquefied petroleum gas ( LPG ) T 3694.1   -0.7%
Gasoline ( 97 # ) T 8210.9   -3.0%
Gasoline ( 93 # ) T 6817   -7.2%
Diesel ( # ) T 5217.5   -3.8%
Paraffin wax ( 58 # and a half ) T 7392.9   -0.1%
Five coal        
Anthracite ( wash block number) T 895.8   0.0%
Common mixed coal ( 4500 kcal ) T 330   0.0%
Shanxi mix ( 5000 kcal ) T 360   -1.2%
Shanxi high-grade ( 5500 kcal ) T 415   0.0%
Datong mixed coal ( 5800 kcal ) T 470   -1.1%
Coking coal ( 1/3 coking coal) T 560   0.0%
Coke (metallurgical coke) T 734.9   -2.7%
Six non-metallic building materials    
Composite Portland cement ( PC 32.5 bags) T 244   -2.2%
Ordinary Portland Cement ( PO 42.5 Bulk) T 249.6   -1.5%
Float glass ( 4.8-5mm ) T 1112.2   -3.0%
Seven, agricultural        
Rice ( Japonica rice ) T 4400.6   0.0%
Wheat ( GB third ) T 2382   -0.5%
Corn ( maize second yellow ) T 2330.1   -0.4%
Cotton (lint, white cotton three ) T 13167.9   0.0%
Pigs ( outside three yuan ) Kilogram 17.4   10.1%
Soybeans ( soybean ) T 4158.2   0.3%
Soybean meal ( crude protein content ≥ 43%) T 2847.1   9.4%
Groundnut ( peanut oil ) T 7733.3   0.0%
Eight of agricultural production        
Urea (small granule) T 1763.6   -3.0%
Fertilizer (potassium sulfate compound fertilizer) T 2814   0.0%
Pesticides glyphosate, 95% of the original drug) T 19387.5   -1.1%
Nine, forest        
Wood-based panels ( 1220 * 2440 * 15 mm ) Zhang 51   0.0%
Pulp (bleached chemical pulp) T 4543.8   -2.0%
Corrugated (high-strength) T 2586   -0.1%