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Showing posts with label china. Show all posts
Showing posts with label china. Show all posts

Tuesday 1 March 2016

China

This came to me via Steve G1KQH:-

See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQNurSUNNs0 .

Any slowdown in China matters to the West.

Friday 5 February 2016

Kaifeng Scroll

There has been a fascinating TV programme narrated by Michael Wood about the history of China. I was particularly interested in the Kaifeng scroll  of the Sung dynasty.  Nearly 1000 years ago a Chinese artist created a massive scroll showing the capital city (of 1 million people even then) in immense detail. The scroll has been recreated with moving people and animals in a museum in Shanghai.

See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kRA9it9bKk .

Whatever your views on China today, it certainly has a rich history, much if it unknown in the West.

Tuesday 24 November 2015

Made in China

Today is my wife's birthday and one of her presents was a Cath Kitson 3-tier cake stand for the table. Even this is marked "Made in China". Surely suppliers can source this from the UK? It is just 3 slabs of plates, a few screws and some wood.

In the end this "Made in China" rubbish has to end. The wealth of the UK depends, in the end, in adding value and making things. They must make huge profits on this stuff. A few pence more to source from the UK would mean a few pence less profit. So?

We are addicted to goods made abroad, mostly in China. Ultimately this cannot go on for ever. The sooner we make things here again the better.

Sunday 25 October 2015

The UK and China

The wooing of China bothers me. This last week we have bent over backwards to "love" China. I guess this is a move to get inward investment, exports and help with our nuclear power plants. At the same time China is carrying out a sabotage job on UK manufacturing (partly of our own making) and soon we will have no industry left at all, with all our manufacturing in China or its neighbours.

No, I have the feeling this is not in our best interests at all.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34626936 .


Monday 21 September 2015

China

Today I heard the Chinese are selling a rip-off of the RaspberryPi called the OrangePi.

Before long, all our consumer and professional goods will be "Made in China". China is still a low cost manufacturing area and we are happy for them to have low wages and sweat-shop working conditions which would not be accepted here.

We complain about their pollution yet are happy to pay low costs for underpants, fridges and everything. Nothing, it appears, is made in the West.

As the Chinese get richer they will expect better working conditions and will refuse to be sweat-shop fodder. When this time comes China will become another Japan. No doubt, we will look to other countries with sweat-shops and low costs: we are addicted to low costs.

In the end this cannot be compatible with "living within our means". Our low costs for borrowing will end and we will catch a cold. The only answer, in the longer term, is to bring back manufacturing to the West and pay realistic prices. The writing is writ large on the wall. China is gradually ruining the West and we are all fools to be so taken in. Sadly, it is very hard to fight.

Thursday 3 September 2015

China and the FTSE 100

Despite the bad times in China that are rocking markets around the world, the UK FTSE 100 share index is currently up 2.11%. It seems like it wants to recover lost ground but is being held back.

My own view is that what is happening in China is deadly serious and we are heading for another huge crash that, especially for the average Chinese, will make the Wall Street Crash of 1929 seem tame. This could result in revolution in China and real turmoil over there. We will not come out of this unscathed. The world is just shutting its eyes and pretending it is "business as usual". It is not! 

The age of low cost imports from China is gradually ending and the world has to adjust. No doubt sweat shops in other poorer countries will replace China, but personally I hope it means more real manufacturing in the EU and USA.  At the moment almost everything you buy is "made in China".

Tuesday 1 September 2015

More spooking by China

This afternoon the FTSE 100 share index is down by around 3.5%. The main reason is weak economic data from China. The markets are getting clear signals that China's economy is far from healthy and this is well and truly spooking the markets. It could still fall further in later trading.

Thursday 27 August 2015

More on the climbing FTSE 100

The FTSE 100 share index here in the UK recovered further today, presumably based on better short-term news out of China.

UPDATE 2004z:  The FTSE 100 ended the day well up, climbing 3.56% on the day.  People seem to think the crisis in China is over. Think again.  As they say, "we ain't seen anything yet". Batten down the hatches we are all in for a very rough ride. This will make 1929 look like a walk in the park.

Tuesday 25 August 2015

FTSE 100 recovering?

It is too early in the day to be sure, but at the moment the FTSE 100 index is well up on the dramatic falls seen yesterday.

China is still spooking the stock markets around the world. Investors are worried by the slower growth in China and are wondering if its engine is losing steam and the impact this will have on the world. Lots of us are dependent on China as big pension funds may have invested heavily in China.

Wednesday 12 August 2015

China - should we worry?

In a word yes.

China is changing. Many are getting richer and are expecting a better life. Exports have struggled more lately and soon China may become too expensive, just like Japan became many years ago. Many of the investors in China are the Chinese people themselves. The Chinese government is trying to manipulate the market but the stock markets in China are in turmoil. If China catches a cold we will all know about it. Yes, we should be worried, but I am not sure what we can do. It may not be too long before the words "Made in China" are a thing of the past. We have grown used to low cost products made in China, but for how much longer?

The Chinese have devalued their currency twice in 2 days to help exports, but are they fighting a losing battle?

Wednesday 8 July 2015

China - worse than Greece?

We should be afraid of what is happening in China. There, stock market losses are huge in the last month and these will affect China and the West. The article linked shows parallels with the 1929 Wall Street Crash. Worrying. With Greece and China the world is facing another financial crisis.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33440565 .

Sunday 21 December 2014

Conditions in Chinese factories and their supply chains

Last week, BBC's Panorama programme did a frightening documentary on factories used by Apple in China and on their tin supply chain in Indonesia. If such poor conditions are used by Apple, many other products will be produced in even worse conditions. As a user of Apple products I am appalled.

See Panorama, Apple's Broken Promises .

Of course, we in the West milk the low costs that such poor working procedures/conditions permit. With time, conditions will improve and the West will look to other low cost manufacturing areas for our low cost products. Sadly, our greed feeds this process.

Frighteningly, other products we buy are probably made in places that are far worse. By buying these products - most consumer goods in the West are now made in China - we are complicit. Slowly things will get better in China. Then we'll seek out other low cost areas of the world to do our dirty work.

In the past we have blamed China for pollution but at the same time we expect it to make goods we want at ridiculous prices. It s our wish for more and more consumer goods at stupid prices that encourages the Chinese to slash wage costs and make workers work like slaves. In the West we would not allow it.

Saturday 6 December 2014

USA and UK growth and debt

The BBC News reports that the US economy is growing at a greater rate than expected and that the number of jobs created has averaged 241,000 a month this year. They say the USA economy powers the world. It all depends on whether or not an economy really can live on debt.

It seems to me that both the USA and the UK economies depend on debt to exist. This is not sustainable. Every nation has to live within its means or ultimately wither. When nations like China will no longer buy government IOUs (gilts) the game is up. The debt game cannot go on for ever. In reality, we all know this.

We no longer rule the world. We no longer have an Empire to exploit. We live in a new world order and the sooner we wake up to this the better for us all.  Up to now, the UK has always paid those it owes money to on-time. There may come a time when it cannot or the pound will be devalued and people will no longer want to buy our debt.

See http://www.dmo.gov.uk/index.aspx?page=gilts/about_gilts .

Sunday 30 November 2014

Hong Kong

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30267026 .

The recent political unrest in Hong Kong could just fizzle out or result in one of 2 outcomes: firstly the Chinese could clamp down hard on Hong Kong along the lines of Tienanmen Square or secondly it could result in yet more liberalism. China is still dangerous and I fear the former:  don't rattle their cage too much.

Next week, my brother and his wife visit HK to see their daughter, husband and their child. I hope they steer clear of the troubles.

After all.since 1997 HK has been a special region of China with its repressive regime and one party rule.   Interestingly, the one party system seems to have done China plenty of good economically.