The US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are costing nearly double the amount previously thought, according to a report, War At Any Price?, by the Joint Economic Committee of the US Congress. (Press release here – pdf) It says “hidden costs” have pushed the total to about $1.5 trillion – nearly twice the requested $804 …
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Category:9 Regions
The real sub-prime losses – $ 150 – 450 billion. Now, can you say recession?
The real extent of the credit delusion in the US is now beginning to be recognised. The hidden losses among financial houses are being uncovered. While a few banks, like Goldman Sachs, might try to defer recognition of the losses till 2008 so that the news doesn’t hit their share price, analysts from Bernanke to …
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China seeking stakes in more global investment businesses
The FT reports that China’s $61.5 billion social security fund has held talks to acquire ownership stakes in Carlyle Group, KKR and TPG. It’s unclear how far along any of these discussions are, but China has already acquired positions in both The Blackstone Group and Bear Stearns. This further supports the view that China (and …
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US housing depression, wealth erosion and consumption recession
This linked economic review by Van Hoisington and Lacy Hunt (shared by John Mauldin) makes for another very sobering analysis of the outlook for the US economy. Some of the choice passages include: In the last twelve months, real U.S. imports of goods rose a minuscule 0.5 %, down from the 8.5% growth rate in …
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Money wins over humanity, by a wide margin
Humanity’s interest in raising the poor and destitute from the threshold of survival is insignificant. But our interest money, even the virtual money crated by trading opinions in the stockmarket, remains supreme. Whether Boston or Bombay, money, that metaphysical asset, seems to feed our souls. It took minutes for the top guns to swing into …
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China to invest in Africa’s biggest bank
China’s largest bank, the state-run Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, announced plans to acquire a 20% stake in Africa’s biggest bank, Standard Bank, for US$5.5 billion. If approved by South African regulators and ICBC shareholders, the deal would lead to the creation of a US$1 billion private equity fund that will be established by …
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Oil, Asia, Asset Managers
McKinsey released this useful research on the world of money, pertinent to investors, asset managers and strategic planners. The New Power Brokers: How Oil, Asia, Hedge Funds, and Private Equity Are Shaping Global Capital Markets McKinsey reviews petrodollar investors, Asian central banks, hedge funds, and private equity and their increasingly important role in world financial …
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As the US slows, will Asia and the world follow?
While I expect China and India to weather the slow down in US consumption reasonably well, perhaps even benefiting from a relief of inflationary pressure, others are more sanguine about the central role the US economy still plays in the global economy. This linked article, A Subprime Outlook for the Global Economy, by Stephen Roach …
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At last, well spent Iraqi reconstrcution funds on power from China and Iran
It is welcome news that Iraq is working with Chinese and Iranian businesses to expand the country’s power infrastructure. Shanghai Heavy Industry of China will build a $ 940 million, 1,300 MW plant and Sunir of Iran will build a $ 150 million, 160 MW plant. Together they will increase Iraqi electricity generating capacity by …
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Consumers enforce organics in US, because the government won’t
Acting on behalf of organic food consumers in 27 states, class action lawsuits are being filed in U.S. federal courts in St. Louis and Denver, against Aurora Dairy Corporation. The suits charge Aurora, one of the nation’s largest organic dairies, with consumer fraud, negligence, and unjust enrichment concerning the sale of organic milk by the …
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