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Non-Tech : Kirk's Market Thoughts -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hawkmoon who wrote (264)	12/9/2013 6:31:27 PM
From: Kirk ©	1 Recommendation Recommended By Hawkmoon Respond to of 26528

Good question. If I was a CFO trying to stash several tens of billion in China, I'd be tempted to have the Chinese bank I deposit the money at buy US Treasuries to eliminate any currency hedging costs. Or perhaps buy USTs directly via a Chinese or HK broker. In both cases, I'd already be in dollars. Also, if bringing that money back to the US turned up the velocity of M1/M2, then it would probably more than offset any currency liquidity issues..... many times over.

To: Hawkmoon who wrote (264)	12/10/2013 12:05:28 PM
From: Kirk ©	1 Recommendation Recommended By Hawkmoon Respond to of 26528

Here is an interesting story from my Seeking Alpha feed along the lines of your concern GM continues to vacillate over Aussie operations. GM ( GM) hasn't yet decided whether to end production in Australia after 2016, the carmaker said today as it kept up the pressure on the country's government to provide more aid to the industry. The comments are in contrast to a report on Sunday that said that GM planned to halt manufacturing in Australia, where the company has been hit by the strong Aussie dollar. "Devereux said it cost $3,750 more to build a car in Australia than at GM's other plants in Asia, and that gap would have to shrink with the help of government assistance and further cost-cutting in order to keep the operations open."

To: Hawkmoon who wrote (264)	12/11/2013 11:31:01 AM
From: Kirk ©	1 Recommendation Recommended By Hawkmoon Respond to of 26528

Another story with more details GM to end Australian production in four years. GM ( GM) intends to follow in Ford's ( F) footsteps and halt manufacturing in Australia by 2017. GM will take pretax charges of $400-$600M in Q4, while 2,900 workers will lose their jobs. The carmaker said the decision was due to the strong Aussie dollar, the high cost of production, and the small and fragmented domestic market. GM's move will leave Toyota ( TM) as the last major car manufacturer in Australia, although the latter might now also leave. About 2,900 employees will lose their jobs at the automaker’s plants in South Australia and Victoria, according to a statement released hours after GM said Dan Akerson will step down as chief executive officer. Local carmakers have been hit by an Australian dollar that surged almost 50 percent against the U.S. dollar from 2009 to 2012, making exports uncompetitive and boosting the appeal of imports. Holden’s departure may drive out the last remaining carmaker Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) and further damage a manufacturing sector that has shrunk to 7.1 percent of Australia’s economy from 29 percent in 1960. I wonder how much of this is due to plunging commodity prices.