The bullz have gone into hiding today. All Ords -1.4% led down by Consumer Discretionary, Financials, Miners and REITS, all -1.6%. There are no green sectors and Gold is the best off, flat.
Wall Street Claims Ignorance
The government propaganda minions in the financial media have done it again this week, claiming that the flattening trend of new unemployment claims is a sign that the economy is improving. Are they too stupid or too clever to report the real reason that claims are coming down? That is that if millions fewer people [...]
The bearz were out in force today. The 5-day chart indicates a consolidation at the lows however on the daily chart we're now in a support area so it's each-way bet time..
All Ords closed -1.3% with REITS taking the honours, -2.1% followed by Consumer Discretionary -1.6% and Financials/Miners -1.5%. Gold fell the least, -0.2%.
Not quite as gloomy in Asia: China and Honkers -0.5%, India flat and Nikkers -0.9%.
We haven't even come close to a housing bust. Heard a couple of financial guys on ABC radio the other night saying " do we honestly think we're going to be the only country not to have one?" They said there's 6 million empty bedrooms in Oz due to people buying too-large homes. [Where have we heard that before?] They're expecting mega-fallout as interest rates rise.
Asia Considers Capital Controls as Inflows Threaten Recovery
Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Asian policy makers are studying capital controls to limit “hot money” inflows that may stoke asset bubbles and force their currencies to appreciate.
Officials from India, South Korea and Indonesia are among those who have expressed concern over the funds flooding into their markets, prompting gains in stocks, real estate and other assets. Taiwan last week banned foreign investors from placing funds in time deposits on concern about currency speculation.
Asia is leading the world’s recovery from its deepest recession as demand for the region’s goods improves. Policy makers are concerned that stronger currencies will stymie the potential rebound in exports and encourage capital inflows that may bring instability to financial systems and spur inflation.
“Concerns about hot money inflows are not surprising given the outperformance of Asian equity and real estate markets over recent months,” said Mitul Kotecha, head of global foreign- exchange strategy at Calyon in Hong Kong. “If Asian central banks act on these concerns, it will have important implications for currencies in the region and may slow or put a break on the sharp appreciation trend that has been in place.” http://www.bloomberg...6...08kuY&pos=4
I watched a snail crawl along the edge of a straight razor. That's my dream; that's my nightmare. Crawling, slithering, along the edge of a straight razor... and surviving
Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) -- The Bank of Japan kept interest rates near zero and raised its economic assessment even as government pressure for it to fight deflation intensified.
Governor Masaaki Shirakawa and his colleagues held the overnight lending rate at 0.1 percent, the central bank said in a statement today in Tokyo. The release came hours after Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan warned about the danger that falling prices pose to Japan’s recovery from its worst postwar slump.
The divergence in judgment on the economic outlook indicates tensions may escalate between Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s government and the central bank. By highlighting deflation, politicians are sending signals to the bank that it should increase its purchases of government bonds, analysts say.
Discounts by retailers from Aeon Co. to Fast Retailing Co. are helping push down consumer prices, which slid 2.3 percent in September, a seventh drop. The central bank said last month it expects them to keep sliding through fiscal 2011.