Can US Stocks Rise Still Despite Buyers' Strike?
Are companies flush with high-yield bond proceeds buying back stock no matter what? There's an interesting article over at MarketWatch that brings up all sorts of questions about what really bu…
Showing posts with the label Casino Capitalism
Leave Banking, Hawk Cryptocurrencies for a Living
There's plenty of these already--with boatloads more to come. Manias in the business world are nothing new. In the technology realm, we've had any number of these already like the dot-com boo…
South Korea, Where Speculators Short EU Stocks, HK$
Beware the Seoul speculator whose derivatives trading causes disorder elsewhere in the world. There's an interesting illustration of financial globalization in how derivatives trading in South K…
Note: In China, Green Means a Falling Stock
Those stocks are green in the PRC... because they're falling . The third column shows changes on the day. These past few days have been rough for global stock markets, but especially so in mainla…
Like Pakistan's...or Zambia's? China's H-Shares
How the mighty have fallen: a few months ago, Bloomberg noted that Hong Kong-listed stocks were even cheaper than Taliban-infested Pakistan's on a price/earnings ratio basis. As you can see abo…
Did China Get Its $234B Worth in Stock Intervention?
OK, so the title is a bit of a trick question insofar as the intent of official actors in intervening in stock markets was not to make money but to calm investor sentiment. Still, we are in the dark …
Avast, Computers! PRC vs. Algorithmic Trading
The rather spectacular fall of the Chinese stock markets midyear--after the PRC acted as a cheerleader in driving it up, it must be said--prompted an official witch hunt for scapegoats. Western brok…
Do Computers 'Taming' Volatility Make it Worse?
'I'm sorry Dave, volatility...must...be...controlled.' The story of computers or robots doing their masters wrong when they were supposed to work to the benefit of humanity has a very lon…
Novelty Acts: Western Hedge Funds in China
Cushy whitefella hedge fund types are prolly right in avoiding possible PRC re-education for speculation. As I write, I am listening to the debut album of Col. Bruce Hampton (Ret.) and the Aquarium …
Hong Kong's Stocks: Now Cheaper Than Pakistan's
Islamabad or bust: HK stocks can now be bought more cheaply than Pakistan's. Having a powerful economy in your orbit, Big Brother style, has its benefits and drawbacks. For the longest time, the …
Stockmarket Crash Clash: PRC vs US 'Market Manipulators'
Dazed and confused by PRC stocks...must be those Westerners doing evil things. Here's another news flash from the clash: To no one's real surprise, foreign devils [ gweilo ] stand accused of …
The $483B Mystery Man Out to Save PRC Stock Markets
The only picture on file of Nie Qingping, the $483B Man. When I was a wee lad (a young boy in British-speak), I used to watch episodes of The Six Million Dollar Man about an astronaut crippled durin…
The West: Punishing PRC for '$483B' Stock Market Intervention
Shenzen, where the finest stocks state funds can buy are traded. Nobody knows for certain how much the PRC has sunk into propping up its faltering stock markets. The FT totted up the figures and sai…
Nothing Works: Top 10 Stupid Tricks to 'Save' PRC Stocks
Dontcha worry; more official "help" is on the way. Or maybe you should worry a lot more because of it. The recent retirement of comedian David Letterman has deprived humanity of two outsta…
PRC Stock Plunge as Western Conspiracy + Bet Yer House
Easy come, easy go: Welcome to the Shanghai bourse, world's biggest casino. The death spiral in Chinese stocks continues, with the Shanghai Composite whose chart is above dropping another 5.77% o…
Will the Party 'Save' China's Imploding Stock Markets?
Fried chicken...or fried rat? That's the real question about what's in Chinese stocks. There's been a silly controversy about a customer who found a rat-shaped piece in a KFC order. As i…
Leaving London: HSBC Returns to Hong Kong?
The once and future home of HSBC? It may seem odd that the "Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation" or, more broadly, HSBC Holdings is headquartered in Canary Wharf, not in Hong Kong or…
More PRC Zaniness: HK Market Cap Surpasses Japan's
Is Hong Kong now in thrall to China's stock market bubble? Let me reconstruct this bubble-tastic story for you that's transferred from China to Hong Kong now: With China's economic growth…