Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : True face of China -- A Modern Kaleidoscope -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: hui zhou who wrote (3713)	7/16/2008 1:58:25 PM
From: RealMuLan	Respond to of 12464

All my deferred income is in a money market like fund called "Stable Value" fund, return is a little >5%. So far it is better than all other choices<g> And I don't think we have the ibond choice. Here is a site talk about the dif. bet. stable value and money market funds ssga.com

To: hui zhou who wrote (3713)	7/16/2008 2:16:05 PM
From: RealMuLan	Respond to of 12464

[it is kind of weird. With the advanced US technology, why the US gov. can only provide the data of 12 months old?]--"Many financial institutions in Asia have been relatively unscathed so far by the global credit crisis, mostly because they have kept away from risky subprime-mortgage securities that are slamming big Western financial firms. But deepening problems in the global financial markets, combined with soaring energy and commodities prices, are gradually putting pressure on Asia's economies, hurting banks' overall balance sheets and reducing demand for loans. 'It's really hard to say Fannie- and Freddie-backed securities are risky,' says Kristine Li, a bank analyst for KBC Securities in Tokyo. 'So the selloff reflects concerns about overall operations of Japanese banks, not just their debt exposure.' In Tokyo on Tuesday, shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, the nation's second-largest bank by market value, fell 6.1%, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, the largest bank, declined 5.3%. While Asian banks largely kept away from riskier securities, many had poured money into debt issued by Fannie and Freddie, which are seen as fail-safe investments because of an implicit guarantee from the U.S. government. Among Japanese banks, Mitsubishi UFJ appears to be by far the largest holder of securities issued by Fannie, Freddie and other U.S.-government-related entities (so-called agency debt), with 3.3 trillion yen ($31 billion) as of March 31. In all, Japanese investors owned $229 billion of such debt as of June last year, making the nation the second-largest overseas holder of agency securities after China with $376 billion, according to U.S. Treasury Department data. Sumitomo Mitsui held 220 billion yen of agency debt, and Nippon Life Insurance had 2.5 trillion yen. It isn't clear how much of that debt is from Fannie and Freddie specifically. Elsewhere in Asia, Taiwan banks, whose exposure to Fannie and Freddie is estimated at more than 600 billion New Taiwan dollars (US$19.7 billion), were among the worst performers Tuesday. Cathay Financial Holding shares sank 7%, and Shin Kong Financial Holding dropped 6.8%. These companies claimed to hold bonds issued by Freddie and Fannie. Taipei's benchmark stock index fell 4.5%. Additional losers in the region included Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, which fell 4.3% in Hong Kong, South Korea's Woori Finance Holdings, which sank 5.8%, and India's ICICI Bank, which fell 8.7%" chinese.wsj.com

To: hui zhou who wrote (3713)	7/16/2008 9:31:49 PM
From: RealMuLan	Respond to of 12464

GM has been on naked short list for 7 days, so thanks to SEC new enforcement of shorting rule, today has a big short squeeze, up 17% buyins.net SPWR has been on the list for 100 days, and these several days really has a good squeeze buyins.net stockcharts.com

To: hui zhou who wrote (3713)	7/16/2008 10:00:29 PM
From: RealMuLan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12464

So this is why oil price had the worst 1-hour decline in 17 years<g> The rumor is the US gov. is going to start Price control on gas and heating oil. Marching forward toward socialism<g> news.hexun.com

To: hui zhou who wrote (3713)	7/16/2008 11:33:49 PM
From: RealMuLan	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 12464

[$30 billion is a big number for China, but it is significantly lower than the June 2007 number ($376 billion) floating around the Internet, so this is a big comfort]--Bank of China may hold huge US debt (China Daily/Agencies) Updated: 2008-07-17 09:20 chinadaily.com.cn Bank of China Ltd may own about $20 billion of debt issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, representing two-thirds of total holdings among the six largest Chinese banks, according to CLSA Ltd. The Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae investments would amount to about 2.6 percent of total assets at Bank of China, the nation's third-biggest, CLSA analysts said yesterday in a note to clients. That compares with 0.09 percent at larger Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC), they said. ICBC may have $1 billion of securities linked to the two beleaguered US home loan companies, while China Construction Bank Corp, the second largest, may have $7 billion of such holdings, according to the report. China CITIC Bank Co may own $1.4 billion of agency debt, CLSA said. The government-sponsored companies tumbled on Tuesday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading as investors lost confidence in Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's plan to shore up their finances. Moody's Investors Service reduced the lenders' financial strength ratings, saying credit losses may jeopardize dividend payments on preferred shares. As most Chinese banks classify the holdings as available-for-sale or held-to-maturity, they are unlikely to book a loss on their income statements, and declines in bond prices in July won't affect first-half earnings, CLSA said.