Saturday, June 6, 2009

Can We Trust Economic News Out of China?

The echo surge in commodity prices is supposed to be coming largely from Chinese demand. EBR remains skeptical that China is doing especially well, given that exports are flat on their back. From Naked Capitalism today is support for that in an article detailing declining electricity demand there (click on link to read the brief article).

In February, the L. A. Times ran an article detailing the immense amount of overbuilding in Beijing in commercial real estate in recent years. They built more office space in just a few years than exists in all of Manhattan. Most is empty. If you have not, consider clicking here and reading the article.

It's hard enough to know what's really going on in one's own country. When the engine of marginal world demand for oil and copper is supposedly out of a totalitarian country far away, and when we have recent scars from the deceptions that have been revealed in former icons of American capitalism that lied through their teeth, how are we supposed to risk/invest our money based on stories coming out of China?

I feel safer and "smarter" having purchased an almost 5% zero coupon U. S. Treasury bond with a 15 year maturity, which I did yesterday, than risking my hard-earned money on what may be lies out of Asia.

Copyright (C) Long Lake LLC 2009

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