ONE-TWENTY TWO: Trading Financial Markets
Exploring the poetry in financial markets for students of money and economy since the year 2000.
China Noses Ahead as Top Goods Producer – CNBC/Financial Times China has become the world’s top manufacturing country by output, returning the country to the position it occupied in the early 19th century and ending the U.S.’s 110-year run as the largest goods producer. (tags: China economy manufacturing)
China’s Shanghai Composite Index plunged during most of 2008, bottoming at the end of October after a 68% loss. You could be excused for being unaware of the slow-moving crash at the time given all the hype about the summer Olympics in Beijing and the building excitement about investing in China as an “escape” from … Read more
The World Steel Association (worldsteel) forecasts for 2010 confirm my earlier view that steel demand (and production) most likely bottomed this year and some kind of recovery is underway. Worldsteel’s forecasts indicate that demand for steel in 2010 will return to 2008 levels after contracting in 2009 by 8.6%: “The World Steel Association (worldsteel) is … Read more
This past earnings season for solar companies was a general disappointment if measured by stock performance after the earnings releases although the season started with a bang when Sunpower (SPWRA) issued surprise guidance and generated a one-day, 29% pop in price. I wanted to review the conference calls of all the major, publicly traded solar … Read more
First Solar (FSLR) wasted no time in securing a deal from China. One day after announcing the arrival of senior Chinese government leaders from the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, FSLR announced that it had secured a major contract in Inner Mongolia. This 2 gigawatt desert solar power plant is exactly … Read more