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Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: maceng2 who wrote (64799)	3/25/2007 4:54:11 AM
From: maceng2	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

Rover gets new lease on life in China By Geoff Dyer in Shanghai and John Reed in London Published: March 23 2007 21:11 \| Last updated: March 23 2007 21:11 ft.com A relic from Britain’s recent industrial past will gain a new lease of life in China next week with the launch of the two new cars based on MG Rover models. Nanjing Automobile, the Chinese company that bought the assets of MG Rover in 2005, will begin production on Tuesday of a four-door saloon derived from the Rover 75 and a convertible sports car destined for the Chinese market similar to the iconic MG TF model. ADVERTISEMENT The launch of the Nanjing vehicles will set up an unusual competition in China involving former British cars because its saloon will be up against a similar car launched last year by Shanghai Automobile, which also acquired some of the rights to the Rover 75 model before the UK company went bankrupt. Nanjing Automobile is also due to begin producing MG TF roadsters at its Longbridge plant in Britain by late May or early June, with the cars’ retail launch planned in Britain for August or September. The company hopes to build up a network of 50 or more dealers in the UK, and will begin selling cars in continental Europe in spring of 2008, a UK-based spokesman for the Chinese company said yesterday. Nanjing will produce about 1,000 to 1,500 of the cars this year, he said, as it seeks to build up inventory in preparation for the cars’ re-entry to European markets next year. The relaunch of the Rover-based models is the latest example of a strategy adopted by a number of Chinese companies – buying well-known but struggling global brands and applying Chinese ambition and low-cost manufacturing to revive them. As their labour costs rise and their currency becomes more expensive, Chinese companies are eager to develop their own brands and many see acquisitions as an attractive short cut. The most high-profile example is Lenovo, which bought the personal computer business of IBM in 2005 and is trying to turn the Lenovo name into China’s first hi-tech global brand. Nanjing Auto will launch the new models on Tuesday – the company’s 60th anniversary – and will also demonstrate how it re-assembled parts of the old Rover production line in two new factories in eastern China. Yet while the launch of Rover-based cars in China might appear like another stage in the passing of the industrial baton to Asia, the competition between the two companies is also rooted in Chinese provincial rivalries. Nanjing and Shanghai are the two most important cities in the lower Yangtze region, one of China’s industrial heartlands, and both local governments have invested heavily to try to build strong car companies. While Shanghai Auto has been one of the success stories of the fast-growing Chinese market – its joint ventures with Volkswagen and General Motors have a 19 per cent market share – Nanjing’s partnership with Fiat is one of the industry’s also-rans, securing less than 1 per cent of the market last year. Nanjing surprised many analysts by entering the bidding for MG Rover against Shanghai Auto and it now finds itself several months behind its local rival in launching its version of the Rover 75. “To be frank, compared to Shanghai Auto, their chance is relatively small,” said Yale Zhang, an analyst at industry analyst CSM Worldwide. Shanghai Auto, like Nanjing, plans to export its saloons to Europe eventually. Brilliance Jinbei Automobile, another Chinese manufacturer, began shipping its BS6 saloon car to Germany this month and is planning a European sales launch in April. While the collapse of Rover represented a defeat for British manufacturing, the allure of British class still appears to be attractive in marketing. Nanjing has been promoting the origins of the MG name as “Modern Gentleman” – not the Morris Garages it originally stood for. Meanwhile, Shanghai Auto has been marketing its Rover-based cars as the “first choice of the British royal family”.

To: maceng2 who wrote (64799)	3/25/2007 9:24:10 AM
From: Haim R. Branisteanu	Respond to of 116555

Clueless Babble - Dollar Gains This Week After Surprise Increase in Home Sales By Ye Xie - March 24 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar gained versus the euro this week, rebounding from a two-year low, as signs of a recovering housing market reduced speculation the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates. The U.S. currency touched its lowest since March 2005 after the central bank removed a reference to ``additional firming'' in its statement following a policy meeting this week, signaling it's open to either lowering or raising borrowing costs. The dollar erased all its losses after an industry report showed sales of previously owned homes unexpectedly rose. bloomberg.com Did not know that recovery is defined as more sales at lower prices but supposedly to explain the unwinding of one sided trades is also a good justification. On the same time FED Governor Frederic Mishkin is preparing the market for lower FED rates in front of very slowly but stubbornly rising inflation Fed's Mishkin Says Inflation Will Gradually Drop to 2 Percent By Vivien Lou Chen - March 24 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Governor Frederic Mishkin, the newest member of the central bank's board, said inflation is poised to recede only ``gradually'' given the recent rise in fuel and energy prices. The Fed's most closely watched measure of inflation should slow to about 2 percent from the current 2.25 percent, Mishkin said during a speech in San Francisco. Moving it below that would be difficult without a shift in monetary policy, he added. bloomberg.com All I know is that carry traders sell the low yielding currency to buy the high yielding currency how those two articles mach true market action is beyond me. Therefore most financial reports today are random babble