1.Israel and India move toward free trade pact
Economic relations between Israel and India are set for a significant upgrade in the coming months. Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz met with his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee in Washington DC on Friday, and the two men agreed to prepare the ground for a free trade agreement (FTA) between their two countries. Negotiations on a financial protocol will begin in November.
2.State budget enjoys NIS 1B surplus in September
According to Yedioth Ahronoth, the surplus beat predictions of a deficit to that effect. Analysts believe September's surplus was the result of higher tax revenue. Figures mean State deficit unlikely to exceed 4% at year's end .
3.Israeli chutzpah a hot commodity in China
Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer's recent visit to China was highlighted by an unexpected surprise. The city of Shenzhen, which he visited, declared it regards Israel as a country with which it would like to explore technological cooperation, after initiating a seminar calling Chinese companies to invest in Israel. Not even the United States or South Korea were singled out in this way.
Shenzhen is not alone. The hi-tech fair held in Tianjin this year showcased the Israeli flag, which is the only foreign flag to appear in the event's website.
4.Chinese co in talks to take over Makhteshim
China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina) and Koor reached a tentative understanding on a deal under which ChemChina will buy all the public's shares in Makhteshim, and ChemChina will also buy 17% of Makhteshim from its parent company Koor. The transaction will effectively value Makhteshim at approximately $2.72 billion (That's "Billion", not "million)!
Comment: China continues to purchase raw material sources around the world as part of of their diversification, while Israel's Foreign currency reserves grow to 66 billion in Sep. This is the first I have heard of such a large Chinese investment in Israel. Clearly, Iran does not bother them.
5.Jerusalem ranked among top 10 cities in world
Now it's official: The city of Jerusalem has been ranked as one of the world's top 10 attractive traveling destinations. In massive online poll launched by popular travel site Trip Advisor, City of David chosen one of world's top attractive traveling destinations - before London, Istanbul and Venice. Capital described as having 'profound cultural and historical significance'
6. It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters - Epictetus (philosopher)
H
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
There is no rush like a gold rush
The dye is cast. Three thousand years of history is shouting from the rooftops and making its way into our living rooms. The rush is on.
Does it really matter that we have all these primitive thoughts? After all what is it that the barbarians knew that we don't? Every system in history was based on the gold standard, and when most empires removed the gold content from their coins, replaced them with lesser metals and then proceeded headlong into mediocrity.
How did all of this get started? Once upon a time some fellow came up with this idea which he named a bank. He was prepared to take in all types of gold and silver, lock it all away in a safe place and issue a certificate stating that he was willing to exchange that certificate for gold at any time or place. That, ladies and gentleman, was your first currency note with a gold standard.
How did all of this get started? Once upon a time some fellow came up with this idea which he named a bank. He was prepared to take in all types of gold and silver, lock it all away in a safe place and issue a certificate stating that he was willing to exchange that certificate for gold at any time or place. That, ladies and gentleman, was your first currency note with a gold standard.
As time went by, we invented the telephone, TV, motor vehicles and computers. The brilliance of mankind knew no boundaries. The powers that be landed a man on the moon. Imagine that. Confidence was brimming, and gathered further strength with the collapse of communism. So then along came another fellow by name Nixon and convinced us (who needed convincing?) that as long as we had the almighty American Dollar, who needs a gold standard. After all, a nation's economic power is measured by the strength of its currency, and the dollar had swept all before it. Basically, the power to create money had been removed from the limitations of a gold standard and placed in the hands of Congress and The Federal Reserve. Like placing a cat in charge of the milk. Simple but true.
It has often been said that there is a thin line between self esteem and arrogance. Somewhere along the way that line was crossed.
So self esteem changed to arrogance and then greed was added to the mixture. Central banks had no need of this non-yielding asset and sold their gold, in hindsight, at ridiculous prices and replaced it with goverment debt. Everybody was coming to the party. Euphoria drowned out the solitary voices of warning. Who were these people trying to interrupt our party? Humanity had developed past this primitive ideology. Quiet! Great minds with great theories are at work here.
Do not interfere. Everybody has a home, a car and a dog to prove it. Sweet talking politicians joined in the celebrations.
Fast forward to today. Central Banks have ceased gold sales. The developing economies are now part and parcel of the same family. None of them are buying the American dream. There is a manouvering for power and new candidates are raising hands. Diversification is the name of the game. Gold is on the rise,and the once mighty US Dollar is in decline. We ask ourselves what we have done to future generations, while politicians try to hang onto power by the
skin of their teeth.
Uneasiness takes hold as the markets dictate a new order, and show us that we are human, after all. History is repeating itself whilst we observe in high definition or even in 3D. Nothing glitters like gold. This was correct for centuries, and it is correct today. Despite claims to the contrary, gold remains the only "Honest Currency".
H
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Market GPS (2)
Statement: The only way to pay off the massive US debt and stimulate the economy is to devalue the American dollar.
And so you ask why? Lets look at what might happen....
1.The most obvious conclusion is that it lessens the debt paid to foreign countries. Example: Japan purchases US treasury notes at a certain value (x). So when they eventually sell the notes, they receive the devalued dollar (y) which has less buying power for the Japanese. This has been going on for decades, and the only question is... for how much longer?
2.The biggest fear in the administration is the forbidden word "deflation". A synonym for an even more deadly word. DEPRESSION. There is no solution to deflation, which creates huge unemployment and everything that goes with it. So they will continue to print paper money until prices begin to rise.
3.A falling USD creates the following scenario(s).
A.All commodities are denominated in USD, therefore their price will rise. A rising price of, say a barrel of oil will cause the energy sectors on stock markets to rise. The same goes for gold, copper and, basically all assets denominated in US Dollars. This in turn will reverse the flow of funds from the markets and create rising markets. Rising markets will draw investment, and investment creates employment. Profits rise and therefore more taxes collected and so on....
B.All imports to the US will rise in price, creating inflation (most desired). Inflation creates a movement of funds out of cash and into assets like real estate, jewellry, furniture and anything else of value. This also reverses the flow of funds from different markets, and everybody from Wallmart to Apple to Google benefits. Wall Street rises and fear and worry are on the decline.
C.Exports become more profitable and industry goes back to work.
So right now, this appears to be working, albeit, slowly. Markets are up. Gold is jumping, commodities are on the rise and "quantitive easing" will continue. What a great expression that is. Invented by economists and politicians to separate themselves from the man on the street, while appearing to be knowledgable. Somebody would think they had invented the wheel! It means "printing of paper money".
So if everything is so good, then what's the catch?
1.This can only work if the world continues to accept the USD as the reserve currency. As we know, a country's economic power is measured in the strength of its currency. China is definitely manouvering to take over world economic leadership. They have time and patience. They are also quietly diversifying their currency reserves....but that's a story for another day.
2.As long as the devaluations are slow, the danger appears minimal. However, a sharp quick drop by the dollar will create uncertainty and all the good work will be undone.
3.Loss of confidence in US treasuries would cause yields to rise, and another bloated market would be in danger of deflating.
So, not so easily done. The only sure thing is that the printing machines will continue, and you can take that to the bank!
Check out http://stockcharts.com/charts/gallery.html?$USD
H
And so you ask why? Lets look at what might happen....
1.The most obvious conclusion is that it lessens the debt paid to foreign countries. Example: Japan purchases US treasury notes at a certain value (x). So when they eventually sell the notes, they receive the devalued dollar (y) which has less buying power for the Japanese. This has been going on for decades, and the only question is... for how much longer?
2.The biggest fear in the administration is the forbidden word "deflation". A synonym for an even more deadly word. DEPRESSION. There is no solution to deflation, which creates huge unemployment and everything that goes with it. So they will continue to print paper money until prices begin to rise.
3.A falling USD creates the following scenario(s).
A.All commodities are denominated in USD, therefore their price will rise. A rising price of, say a barrel of oil will cause the energy sectors on stock markets to rise. The same goes for gold, copper and, basically all assets denominated in US Dollars. This in turn will reverse the flow of funds from the markets and create rising markets. Rising markets will draw investment, and investment creates employment. Profits rise and therefore more taxes collected and so on....
B.All imports to the US will rise in price, creating inflation (most desired). Inflation creates a movement of funds out of cash and into assets like real estate, jewellry, furniture and anything else of value. This also reverses the flow of funds from different markets, and everybody from Wallmart to Apple to Google benefits. Wall Street rises and fear and worry are on the decline.
C.Exports become more profitable and industry goes back to work.
So right now, this appears to be working, albeit, slowly. Markets are up. Gold is jumping, commodities are on the rise and "quantitive easing" will continue. What a great expression that is. Invented by economists and politicians to separate themselves from the man on the street, while appearing to be knowledgable. Somebody would think they had invented the wheel! It means "printing of paper money".
So if everything is so good, then what's the catch?
1.This can only work if the world continues to accept the USD as the reserve currency. As we know, a country's economic power is measured in the strength of its currency. China is definitely manouvering to take over world economic leadership. They have time and patience. They are also quietly diversifying their currency reserves....but that's a story for another day.
2.As long as the devaluations are slow, the danger appears minimal. However, a sharp quick drop by the dollar will create uncertainty and all the good work will be undone.
3.Loss of confidence in US treasuries would cause yields to rise, and another bloated market would be in danger of deflating.
So, not so easily done. The only sure thing is that the printing machines will continue, and you can take that to the bank!
Check out http://stockcharts.com/charts/gallery.html?$USD
H
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Market GPS
We often fall into the trap of telling the markets what to do, instead of listening to what they, the markets, are telling us. To be able to listen and analyse correctly what they are saying, is quite the challenge. (Sort of reminds me of the game of golf). In order to analyse correctly, we need to accept that markets move in trends, mostly long term trends. Recognition of a trend is the secret to intelligent investing. Easier said than done. Not everybody is a Buffet or Gates, so I look for different indications and then try to recognise the trend (s). Interpretation of these indicators are difficult and thats why we have different "expert" opinions. I will take a shot at it and lets see what happens.......
1.The banks all claim to have massive liquidity and are ready to make loans, but according to them, there is no demand for these loans. Nonsense. The banks all have unknown amounts of possible bad debts, and while this situation continues, they will not be making loans. An indication of when the economy is turning the corner,will be when banks initiate credit. (And believe me, they know how to do this).
2.Because of the trade imbalance between Western economies and the developing world, a currency war is in progress. In order to be competitive most countries are either devaluing their currency or preventing their currency from strengthening. The only "Honest" currency is gold. Gold is not a paper currency that can be printed. Supply and demand of the metal is worldwide and cannot be manipulated by individual (and not so honest) governments and central bankers. The price of gold is an indicator of the true value of paper currencies (and the dishonesty of politicians who arrogantly claim that gold has no intrinsic value, while at the same time vie for power by creating budget deficits). Gold has been in an upward long term trend for many years.
3.The demise of the debt bubble has created a huge hole in the world economy. There are different estimations of how deep this hole is. The US administration is trying to fill this hole by printing paper money (debt) at the rate of a trillion dollars a year. The debt is now so huge that the ONLY way to repay it, is by repaying with devalued dollars (less valuable). As the US currency devalues, prices of commodities and assets denominated in USD (metals, agriculture, energy etc.) will rise, having a domino effect on markets.
So, two more major indicators are the USD measured against a basket of currencies (check www.kitco.com) and the Dow Jones Index of stocks.
In future posts, we will try to analyse these, and other indicators, to try and get an idea of what the markets are telling us.
H
1.The banks all claim to have massive liquidity and are ready to make loans, but according to them, there is no demand for these loans. Nonsense. The banks all have unknown amounts of possible bad debts, and while this situation continues, they will not be making loans. An indication of when the economy is turning the corner,will be when banks initiate credit. (And believe me, they know how to do this).
2.Because of the trade imbalance between Western economies and the developing world, a currency war is in progress. In order to be competitive most countries are either devaluing their currency or preventing their currency from strengthening. The only "Honest" currency is gold. Gold is not a paper currency that can be printed. Supply and demand of the metal is worldwide and cannot be manipulated by individual (and not so honest) governments and central bankers. The price of gold is an indicator of the true value of paper currencies (and the dishonesty of politicians who arrogantly claim that gold has no intrinsic value, while at the same time vie for power by creating budget deficits). Gold has been in an upward long term trend for many years.
3.The demise of the debt bubble has created a huge hole in the world economy. There are different estimations of how deep this hole is. The US administration is trying to fill this hole by printing paper money (debt) at the rate of a trillion dollars a year. The debt is now so huge that the ONLY way to repay it, is by repaying with devalued dollars (less valuable). As the US currency devalues, prices of commodities and assets denominated in USD (metals, agriculture, energy etc.) will rise, having a domino effect on markets.
So, two more major indicators are the USD measured against a basket of currencies (check www.kitco.com) and the Dow Jones Index of stocks.
In future posts, we will try to analyse these, and other indicators, to try and get an idea of what the markets are telling us.
H
Bloomberg and Russell
1.Forbes magazine, Sept 7 "Barack Obama is the most anti-business president in a generation, perhaps in American history. Thanks to him the era of big government is back. Obama runs up taxpayer debt not in the billions but in the trillions. He has expanded the federal government's control over home mortgages, investment banking, health care, autos and energy."
2.From Thomas Friedman in the op/ed section of the International Herald Tribune, "In recent years, I have often said to European friends: So, you didn’t like a world of too much American power? See how you like a world of too little American power — because it is coming to a geopolitical theater near you. Yes, America has gone from being the supreme victor of World War II, with guns and butter for all, to one of two superpowers during the cold war, to the indispensable nation after winning the cold war, to “The Frugal Superpower” of today. Get used to it. That’s our new nickname. American pacifists need not worry any more about “wars of choice.” We’re not doing that again. We can’t afford to invade Grenada today. "
3.Are they abandoning ship? Peter Orszag, White House Budget Director, resigned in June. Christina Romber, chairman of the president's Council of Economic Advisors, left in early September. Larry "the disaster" Summers is leaving, going back to Harvard (is there any way of shorting Harvard?). Next reported to be departing is Rahm Emanuel, Obama's chief of staff.
4.How about this one? Both the Congressional Office of Management and the Treasury list a total shortfall of $4.5 trillion coming due during the next 12 months. And this shortfall is supposed to be paid off with less than half a trillion dollars. The national debt of the US is above $13 trillion, a sum few people can even comprehend. With short rates now at zero, the US is having trouble handling its incredible mountain of debt. But what happens if rates start to climb? We're talking about the national debt compounding and pushing the US towards economic bankruptcy.
5. The Financial Times: Europe’s central banks have all but halted sales of their gold reserves, ending a run of large disposals each year for more than a decade. The shift away from gold selling comes as European central banks reassess gold amid the financial crisis and Europe’s sovereign debt crisis.
COMMENT: These so-called economists and central bankers were all selling massive amounts of gold over the last decades at dirt cheap prices. So much for the G20. My 12 year old daughter also knows how to sell cheap and buy expensive.
6.Don't ever become a pessimist......a pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun - and neither can stop the march of events - Robert A. Heinlein (Writer).
H
2.From Thomas Friedman in the op/ed section of the International Herald Tribune, "In recent years, I have often said to European friends: So, you didn’t like a world of too much American power? See how you like a world of too little American power — because it is coming to a geopolitical theater near you. Yes, America has gone from being the supreme victor of World War II, with guns and butter for all, to one of two superpowers during the cold war, to the indispensable nation after winning the cold war, to “The Frugal Superpower” of today. Get used to it. That’s our new nickname. American pacifists need not worry any more about “wars of choice.” We’re not doing that again. We can’t afford to invade Grenada today. "
3.Are they abandoning ship? Peter Orszag, White House Budget Director, resigned in June. Christina Romber, chairman of the president's Council of Economic Advisors, left in early September. Larry "the disaster" Summers is leaving, going back to Harvard (is there any way of shorting Harvard?). Next reported to be departing is Rahm Emanuel, Obama's chief of staff.
4.How about this one? Both the Congressional Office of Management and the Treasury list a total shortfall of $4.5 trillion coming due during the next 12 months. And this shortfall is supposed to be paid off with less than half a trillion dollars. The national debt of the US is above $13 trillion, a sum few people can even comprehend. With short rates now at zero, the US is having trouble handling its incredible mountain of debt. But what happens if rates start to climb? We're talking about the national debt compounding and pushing the US towards economic bankruptcy.
5. The Financial Times: Europe’s central banks have all but halted sales of their gold reserves, ending a run of large disposals each year for more than a decade. The shift away from gold selling comes as European central banks reassess gold amid the financial crisis and Europe’s sovereign debt crisis.
COMMENT: These so-called economists and central bankers were all selling massive amounts of gold over the last decades at dirt cheap prices. So much for the G20. My 12 year old daughter also knows how to sell cheap and buy expensive.
6.Don't ever become a pessimist......a pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun - and neither can stop the march of events - Robert A. Heinlein (Writer).
H
Friday, September 24, 2010
Connect the Dots (2)
The saga continues....
Most Sophisticated Malware Ever Targets Iran
A computer worm is drawing awed respect and fear from security researchers, even as they wonder how and why it was created.
Four things about Stuxnet are particularly noteworthy, according to experts consulted by ComputerWorld. One, it appears to be the most sophisticated malware anyone has ever seen. Two, because of that, researchers do not believe it could have been created by a private group. They think it's the handiwork of a nation-state. Third, it could control real world machinery, like, say, a power plant. Fourth, it appears to have targeted Iran.
Add all that up and you come to this realization: Stuxnet is a targeted, apparently untraceable weapon.
"What we're seeing with Stuxnet is the first view of something new that doesn't need outside guidance by a human - but can still take control of your infrastructure. This is the first direct example of weaponized software, highly customized and designed to find a particular target," he said. "The implications of Stuxnet are very large, a lot larger than some thought at first... It's the type of threat we've been worried about for a long time."
On July 17, 2009 WikiLeaks posted a cryptic notice:
Two weeks ago, a source associated with Iran’s nuclear program confidentially told WikiLeaks of a serious, recent, nuclear accident at Natanz. Natanz is the primary location of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. WikiLeaks had reason to believe the source was credible however contact with this source was lost. WikiLeaks would not normally mention such an incident without additional confirmation, however according to Iranian media and the BBC, today the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Gholam Reza Aghazadeh, has resigned under mysterious circumstances. According to these reports, the resignation was tendered around 20 days ago.
A cross-check with the official Iran Students News Agency archives confirmed the resignation of the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization.
According to official IAEA data, the number of actually operating centrifuges in Natanz shrank around the time of the accident Wikileaks wrote about was reduced substantially .
On 07. July 2009 the israeli news-site ynet-news.com posted a lengthy piece on possibly cyberwar against the Iran nuclear programm. Intriguingly, even contaminated USB-Sticks were mentioned. In retrospect, the piece sounds like an indirect announcement of a covert victory to allies and enemies.
We live in an interesting world, don't we.....One wonders what is happening at this moment in time (???)
H
UPDATE: Foxnews http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/09/26/worm-affects-computers-irans-nuclear-power-station/
Most Sophisticated Malware Ever Targets Iran
A computer worm is drawing awed respect and fear from security researchers, even as they wonder how and why it was created.
Four things about Stuxnet are particularly noteworthy, according to experts consulted by ComputerWorld. One, it appears to be the most sophisticated malware anyone has ever seen. Two, because of that, researchers do not believe it could have been created by a private group. They think it's the handiwork of a nation-state. Third, it could control real world machinery, like, say, a power plant. Fourth, it appears to have targeted Iran.
Add all that up and you come to this realization: Stuxnet is a targeted, apparently untraceable weapon.
"What we're seeing with Stuxnet is the first view of something new that doesn't need outside guidance by a human - but can still take control of your infrastructure. This is the first direct example of weaponized software, highly customized and designed to find a particular target," he said. "The implications of Stuxnet are very large, a lot larger than some thought at first... It's the type of threat we've been worried about for a long time."
On July 17, 2009 WikiLeaks posted a cryptic notice:
Two weeks ago, a source associated with Iran’s nuclear program confidentially told WikiLeaks of a serious, recent, nuclear accident at Natanz. Natanz is the primary location of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. WikiLeaks had reason to believe the source was credible however contact with this source was lost. WikiLeaks would not normally mention such an incident without additional confirmation, however according to Iranian media and the BBC, today the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Gholam Reza Aghazadeh, has resigned under mysterious circumstances. According to these reports, the resignation was tendered around 20 days ago.
A cross-check with the official Iran Students News Agency archives confirmed the resignation of the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization.
According to official IAEA data, the number of actually operating centrifuges in Natanz shrank around the time of the accident Wikileaks wrote about was reduced substantially .
On 07. July 2009 the israeli news-site ynet-news.com posted a lengthy piece on possibly cyberwar against the Iran nuclear programm. Intriguingly, even contaminated USB-Sticks were mentioned. In retrospect, the piece sounds like an indirect announcement of a covert victory to allies and enemies.
We live in an interesting world, don't we.....One wonders what is happening at this moment in time (???)
H
UPDATE: Foxnews http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/09/26/worm-affects-computers-irans-nuclear-power-station/
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Supply and Demand (2)
For the last thirty years and more, the major world shortage has been energy. This has been leveraged into a political and military weapon that has changed the face of the world. There is even a faint (or not so faint) suspicion that the war(s) in Iraq might have been for this reason. Now we have a new material that appears to be one of the next generation shortages. Anybody ever hear of Rare Earth Metals? Until recently I had never heard of this group of metals, so I investigated and the first thing that caught my eye was a quote....
Late-former leader Deng Xiaoping once said: "The Middle East has oil, China has rare earths".
A significant article from the Australian Business edition of the Wall Street Journal. While the West wrestles with its debts and deficits. China systematically builds it power. China thinks in a different time frame -- like decades, not years.
3.Although China has the resources and refinery capacity to produce enough lanthanum, terbium, neodymium and dysprosium to satisfy a global demand that is rising at 10% per year, its rare earth export allocation for the whole world this year is expected to be about 38,000 tonnes - less than the quantity required by Japan alone.
4.China's rising strength in rare earth supply and its apparent willingness to use that as "a 21st-century economic weapon" have triggered what government sources in Tokyo told The Times was an invisible tsunami of panic in Japanese industry, which in turn has called on the Government to fight its corner with Beijing. Japan, which imports nearly 100 per cent of its rare earths from China, sees the group of elements as a probable battleground for future trade wars.
5.Toyota and other big carmakers are hurrying to secure alternative supplies in Vietnam and Malaysia. Mines in the United States that were forced out of business by price wars may be brought back into use. Yet many industry observers believe that Beijing may engineer a global supply crunch before any serious rival sources become available.
COMMENT:While the US is spending $trillions in an effort to thwart the primary bear trend, China is systematically buying up the world's resources from oil to farm land to rare-earth metals to gold.
GOODBYE OIL and HELLO RARE EARTH METALS
To be continued.....
Late-former leader Deng Xiaoping once said: "The Middle East has oil, China has rare earths".
A significant article from the Australian Business edition of the Wall Street Journal. While the West wrestles with its debts and deficits. China systematically builds it power. China thinks in a different time frame -- like decades, not years.
1.CHINA has triumphed in a 15-year quest to become the "ultimate monopolist" in the supply of rare earth metals - a dominance that industry experts say could give Beijing control over the future of consumer electronics and green technology.
2.Industry sources believe that with China dramatically cutting its annual rare earth export quotas, the time may be rapidly approaching when it will be impossible for any company to produce a wind turbine or hybrid electric car outside the communist country.
After a long, relentless campaign of price wars and export quota reductions, more than 95 per cent of the global supply of rare earth metals - a group of 17 "lanthanide" elements employed in hundreds of technologies ranging from mobile phones and BlackBerrys to lasers and aviation - is produced by China.
After a long, relentless campaign of price wars and export quota reductions, more than 95 per cent of the global supply of rare earth metals - a group of 17 "lanthanide" elements employed in hundreds of technologies ranging from mobile phones and BlackBerrys to lasers and aviation - is produced by China.
3.Although China has the resources and refinery capacity to produce enough lanthanum, terbium, neodymium and dysprosium to satisfy a global demand that is rising at 10% per year, its rare earth export allocation for the whole world this year is expected to be about 38,000 tonnes - less than the quantity required by Japan alone.
4.China's rising strength in rare earth supply and its apparent willingness to use that as "a 21st-century economic weapon" have triggered what government sources in Tokyo told The Times was an invisible tsunami of panic in Japanese industry, which in turn has called on the Government to fight its corner with Beijing. Japan, which imports nearly 100 per cent of its rare earths from China, sees the group of elements as a probable battleground for future trade wars.
5.Toyota and other big carmakers are hurrying to secure alternative supplies in Vietnam and Malaysia. Mines in the United States that were forced out of business by price wars may be brought back into use. Yet many industry observers believe that Beijing may engineer a global supply crunch before any serious rival sources become available.
COMMENT:While the US is spending $trillions in an effort to thwart the primary bear trend, China is systematically buying up the world's resources from oil to farm land to rare-earth metals to gold.
GOODBYE OIL and HELLO RARE EARTH METALS
To be continued.....
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