China is the promised land for our revenue-challenged tech heroes: 1.2 billion consumers, economic growth several times that of the US, and companies splurging on IT. Layer the “cloud” on top, and China is corporate nirvana: a high-growth sector in a high-growth country. Or was nirvana, now that the NSA’s hyperactive spying practices have spilled out.
China
Cracks In China’s Construction Bubble (But It’s Not Going To End)
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Cracks In China’s Construction Bubble (But It’s Not Going To End)
China’s phenomenal construction bubble, driven by local governments that must keep their economies growing, no matter what the costs, and funded by state-owned megabanks, has led to an equally phenomenal misallocation of capital, overbuilding, waste, ghost cities, empty shopping malls, and now an epidemic of shuttered luxury department stores.
Even the CEO Of China’s Largest Appliance Manufacturer Gets Cold Feet
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Even the CEO Of China’s Largest Appliance Manufacturer Gets Cold Feet
China’s property and infrastructure bubbles, nurtured by limitless borrowed money, are still swelling up beautifully. Service industries are also growing. But hot air has been hissing out of manufacturing. Now Zhang Ruimin, CEO of China’s largest appliance maker Haier Group, put his finger on the problem. And it doesn’t look good for manufacturing in China.
The Systematic, Unrelenting Deterioration Of Japan’s Trade
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The Systematic, Unrelenting Deterioration Of Japan’s Trade
The all-out effort by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to print money, stir up inflation, devalue the yen, blow asset bubbles, and pile on even more government debt – a newfangled religion called Abenomics – is bearing fruit. But the primary objective, creating a trade surplus to crank up the real economy, is failing miserably.
Big Pharma’s Lurid Tactics Under Fire In China – And In The US
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Big Pharma’s Lurid Tactics Under Fire In China – And In The US
At first, it was just multinational drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline that allegedly paid bribes in China, including “sexual bribes,” to “government officials, medical associations, hospitals and doctors,” by using travel agencies as conduit. For a total of $489 million. Now more big drugmakers are on the hot seat for the same crimes in China – and in the US.
The Big Four Central Banks Muddy The Same Sea Of Liquidity, And Then There’s China
by Lee Adler • • Comments Off on The Big Four Central Banks Muddy The Same Sea Of Liquidity, And Then There’s China
Contributed by Lee Adler, of The Wall Street Examiner. The Fed, ECB, BoJ, and BoE all deal with the same banks. Of the Fed’s 21 Primary Dealers, its sole counterparties, only seven are US domiciled. Three are Canadian, eight are European, including three British banks, and three are Japanese. All of them are major players in Europe and Japan.
The “Chinese Dream” Come True: Gobbling Up Assets Overseas
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The “Chinese Dream” Come True: Gobbling Up Assets Overseas
The “Chinese dream” is the dream of the whole nation and also of every individual Chinese, explained Fu Ying, chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. The slogan had been coined by President Xi Jinping after he’d ascended to the throne of the Communist Party. It would benefit the world, she said. But for the richest Chinese, it has already come true.
Industry Insider: Creative Destruction And Opportunity In The Bloodied Solar Industry
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Industry Insider: Creative Destruction And Opportunity In The Bloodied Solar Industry
Next Shoe To Drop: Shoddy Solar Panels From China
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Next Shoe To Drop: Shoddy Solar Panels From China
The solar-panel price war waged by state-subsidized Chinese companies killed a slew of manufacturers worldwide. Now, much of solar-panel manufacturing takes place in China. To stay alive, they cut costs – and corners. Defects are ballooning. And “cheap” solar panels suddenly get very expensive. A cruel twist for an already threatened industry.
Germany Fires Shot In China-EU Trade War … At Brussels
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Germany Fires Shot In China-EU Trade War … At Brussels
The solar-panel industry, once fattened by taxpayer subsidies and false hopes, has been in a death spiral around the world. In the US, a slew of photovoltaic standouts like Solyndra went under, taking billions of subsidies and investor capital with them. In Germany, it has been just as brutal. Even large companies are licking their wounds.