Knowledge is Power: Failed Banksters Edition

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1.  BEIJING, April 11 — China’s government has pledged to create 1 million jobs for college graduates in the service outsourcing industry in five years.China to create 1 mln service outsourcing jobs for graduates

2. Obama Stakes His Fortunes on Failed Banksters Now that we have a rough idea how President Barack Obama and his lieutenants plan to prop up insolvent financial institutions using taxpayers’ money, we’re left with a more difficult question: Why?

3. The employment picture still looks bleak.U.S. markets: What recovery?

4.South American real estate: Sun spots Real estate may be cooling here, but it’s heating up way south. Despite plummeting real estate prices worldwide, not everyone’s willing to give up on this traditional investment. Some are setting their sights down south, buying up properties in popular hot spots such as the Dominican Republic and Saint Lucia.

5.Is this the real thing, or just another Bear Market rally? So far, we’ve had 4 runs of about 20% each.Bear Market Rally ?

6.While US and European banks went into meltdown, India’s banks reported healthy profits. Many applaud the country’s liquidity policy for helping avoid the West’s pitfalls, but does this hamper the country’s capital requirements?India avoids financial meltdown

7.As US lawmakers discuss the creation of their own system of auto trade-in subsidies, critics of the scheme here in Germany are questioning the motivations of decision-makers in Berlin.US considers adopting German-style car-scrapping subsidy

8. LONDON–How bad are things in Britain?

Not long ago, the Church of England put out two new prayers to provide solace for those who have been laid off. “Hear me as I cry out in confusion” is a line from the “Prayer on Being Made Redundant” offered to the country’s two million unemployed. Britain’s boom now a bust

Update: The Callan Periodic Table

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The Callan Periodic Table of Investment Returns from Callan Associates is widely used by investors to compare performance of various market indices. Recently I found the Callan Chart that lists the Best and Worst Performing Indices from 1985 to 2004. To access this chart click on the image below:Callan Chart Annual Returns – The Best and Worst Performing Indices from 1985 to 2004:

Click to Enlarge

Callan Chart Annual Returns 1985 to 2004

Related Charts:
1. For Top 10 Emerging Markets in 2008,
The Top 5 Best and Worst Performing Countries Chart
Go here.

2. For The Callan Periodic Table of Investment Returns for 2008 click here.

3. For The Callan Period Table of Investment Returns (1988-2007),
Callan’s – Equity Return of Developed Markets Chart
Go here.

4. The Callan Period Table of Investment Returns (1983-2002)

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Callan-Chart-1983-2002

5. The Callan Period Table of Investment Returns (1984-2003)

Click to Enlarge

Callan-Chart-1984-2003

Charts: Economic Crisis Impact of East Asia and Pacific Countries

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This month, World Bank released the “Battling the forces of global recession” , an economic update for the East Asia and Pacific Region report. The following are some interesting charts from this report that show the effects of the current global recession on these countries :

1. Industrial Production

Taiwan is the worst affected country in terms of industrial production.On a year-over-year basis it fell by over 40% in January. Since Taiwan is mainly an export-driven electronics manufacturing hub, it is heavily impacted due to the fall in demand for these consumer discretionary items in the developed world. China has a small positive growth probably due to domestic demand for industrial goods.

2.Exports Relative to GDP

Singapore and Hong Kong top the list as they are the mostly trading hubs involved in exporting goods to other countries.

3.Impact of Commodity Price Declines

As the graph shows, economies that are more dependent on commodities are affected more than the ones whose economies are mode diversified. For eg- Malaysia is a significant exporter of rubber and palm oil.

4. Non-Performing Assets

The non-performing loans of financial institutions are relatively low when compared to the western countries. It is under 2% in Korea and China which is very good.

5. Equity Prices

The stock prices of emerging markets fell more than the developed markets late last year.However they have recovered much faster and are now leading the developed market indices.Countries such as China and India are up over 25% from recent lows.

The Top 25 Housing Markets for 2009

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Despite the housing market crash in many states, there are markets which are holding up well. A few of these markets are not only strong but are actually projected to show an increase in home values in 2009, as per a report by Housing Predictor, an independent real estate markets forecasting site.

The Top 25 Housing Markets for  2009 are:

Top Housing Markets 2009
Source: http://www.HousingPredictor.com

The above table shows that the states of Montana and North Dakota dominate the list with Montana holding five positions and North Dakota with four positions. Both these states have relatively low unemployment rates in the 5% to 6% range. In addition,banks in these states were very conservative in their lending during the housing bubble times and did not offer many of the risky loans such as Alt-A mortgages.

According to the report, Billings,MT has one of the strongest job markets in the country followed by Fargo,ND. Not surprisingly none of the cities from the bubble markets of  California, Nevada, Florida, etc. made it to the rankings.

Knowledge is Power: Obama The Economic Magician Edition

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1.Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics–FEER Editor Hugo Restall reviews Yasheng Huang’s timely critique of China’s brand of capitalism.

2.The German government has launched a takeover bid for the bank Hypo Real Estate by offering shareholders €1.39 per stock. If they refuse, Berlin has the right to expropriate them under a new law.Berlin Launches Hypo Real Estate Takeover

3.Policies aimed at easing home-loan terms for troubled borrowers may not be as effective in preventing foreclosures as more-direct aid to homeowners, Federal Reserve economists found. Fed Economists Say Mortgage Changes May Do Little to Prevent Foreclosures

4.The U.S. budget deficit surged in March as tax payments by companies and individuals dropped and the government spent more to rescue banks and revive the economy. U.S. Budget Gap Swells to $192.3 Billion as Recession Reduces Tax Revenue

5. Failing economy creates a nation of part-timers- Recession’s main victims are full-time workers: Almost 80,000 of them lost their jobs last month

obama-magician.jpg6.Where did all the money go? This is a question that has been posed more than a few times since the financial world crashed down around our ears.

Is Obama the economic magician for the ultimate con trick?