Jim Rogers started trading the stock market with $600 in 1968.In 1973 he formed the Quantum Fund with the legendary investor George Soros before retiring, a multi millionaire at the age of 37. Rogers and Soros helped steer the fund to a miraculous 4,200% return over the 10 year span of the fund while the S&P 500 returned just 47%.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Beijing Wary As Food Prices Jump



Food prices are soaring high in Beijing. People are spending more money on food, while their salaries have remained stagnant. Here's more.

The number one topic in Beijing's markets these days is not property, but runaway food prices.

For most Chinese citizens, food costs make up a big part of their overall expenses.

In many households, food takes up as much as 40 percent of spending budgets, and a 10 percent jump in overall food prices has cut deeply.

In larger cities like Beijing, prices for some basics like rice, cooking oil and vegetables have doubled in the past few months.

Meantime, residents point out, salaries have stayed stagnant.




[Ms. Zhang, Beijing Resident]:




"There is nothing here that has not increased in price. Carrots are up to 5.3 yuan, they used to be 1 yuan for 500 grams."

"How do we bear it? We can't bear it, our salaries are too low... it's not bearable."

Consumer prices rose to a 25-month high in October, led mainly by the food component.

Some residents like Ren Liangchuan, have even sought relief in neighboring Hong Kong.

[Ren Liangchuan, Beijing Resident]:




"It's definitely a bit cheaper, a lot of people think it is cheaper than the mainland. Also, there are more types of brands and that is an advantage."

China is threatening price controls, but has so far stopped short of naming actual measures.

This is partly because Chinese farmers benefit from higher prices.

Independent economist Andy Xie says Beijing risks unrest if prices are not contained.

[Andy Xie, Independent Hong Kong-based Economist]:




"Normally social crisis in China tends to start with inflation because the low income Chinese are savers and inflation tends to erode the value of their bank deposits. That causes social panic. What do I think? It's that it's showing up that people are hoarding household goods and that is a sign of social crisis."

At the current 4.4 percent, inflation is still well below early 2008 peaks.

But Beijing was surprised by the latest data, and some observers say officials are moving to show it's aware of the situation, and ready to act, if necessary.

U.S. vs China

Nov. 19 2010 |Discussing the new cold war brewing between the United States and China, with CNBC's Eamon Javers, and Ted Truman, Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Pimco sees growth disappointing, Ireland key trigger

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Mohamed El-Erian, CEO and Co-CIO, Pimco said that economic growth looks very disappointing. He sees Ireland to be the key trigger in the short term

Jim Rogers : The currency crisis has been going on for a while

Jim Rogers :...The currency crisis has been going on for a while. It did not start this week. It has been happening for a while. It started with, maybe depending on how you want to look at it, with Iceland or Latvia or many other countries who have been having problems, and the currency crisis is continuing and is going to get worse. This is not the end. Over the next year or more, we are going to see more. So prepare yourself.....
Jim Rogers "the 19th century was the century of the UK , the 20th century was the century of the US , the 21 st century is going to be the century of China "
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