Read the latest interims.......just make sure that you are sitting down.

Gone in short again.

Chinese inflation data sparks overheating fears

By Sean O'Grady, Economics Editor
Published: 12 December 2007

Inflation in China has reached its highest level for more than a decade, fuelling fears that the Chinese economy, now a major engine of global growth, may be overheating badly.

Chinese growth is estimated to be 12 per cent this year, and the IMF says it will account for a greater share in world growth next year than the US.

The country's trade surplus also swelled last month, again an indicator of the potentially unsustainable pace of growth. China is making slow progress in normalising its external account, seen as one of the key imbalances in the global economy. Should Chinese growth falter, the world could be tipped into recession.

Consumer prices rose 6.9 per cent in November from a year earlier, after climbing 6.5 per cent in October, more than economists expected. As in the West, much of China's inflationary spike was down to higher prices for food, oil and other commodities, as the world struggles to sate China's rapacious appetite for the raw materials of industrial growth.

However, unlike the West, food accounts for about a third of consumer price inflation in China; so this global phenomenon is affecting the country's population more severely. Tough measures to crack down on inflation could puncture the property and stock market bubbles, and jeopardise China's new role as the engine of world growth.

The authorities in Beijing moved swiftly yesterday to try to cool the economy. Regulators told banks to tighten lending into the booming real estate market, pointing to the painful experience of previous Asian property bubbles and the US sub-prime crisis. State-owned companies will be required to pay dividends of up to 10 per cent of their profits to the Government, restraining what officials call "excessive" growth in fixed-asset investment.

Economists expect China to raise interest rates this month. China's one-year lending rate is at a nine-year high of 7.29 per cent after five increases this year.

Mark Williams at Capital Economics said: "There is certainly a lot of noise coming fromBeijing at the moment about limiting credit growth, and today's measures are part of it. Unfortunately, attempts to limit thevolume of lending are easilycircumvented."

China's trade surplus climbed 14.7 per cent to $26.3bn (12.9bn) in November compared to a year earlier; a slowdown in shipments to the US has been offset, so far, by exports to the EU. The surplus continues to boost China's economy and to create inflationary pressures.

Right on the button PT.

i think GF (and Peter and myself) is right, but am still away and too difficult to monitor

Wondered what had happened to you Cyn. Missed my morning laugh.

Will watch with interest as my MDX continues to bring home the bacon.

MDX? .... what's that? ..... pig farming?

Kitos well done on mdx, ive noted its fast rising SP over the last few weeks.

Id personally lop the top if you were in at a much lower price. Cant tell how these markets are going to go, but down for sure medium to long term.

Well done again.

sola short doing pretty well.

short doing nicely, very nicely. 335p on the cards?.

not sure ..... chart below shows sp sitting on 50 dma with 25 dma only a little below ..... given that even in a bear market, prices do not collapse in a straight line, a general bounce may be in the offing

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latest RNs (below) is certainly encouraging for SOLA and there is already a sharp upward spike this morning, interestingly exactly from (one of) the point where i pointed out that support might come in .... i still suspect that 200 dma will prove too stubborn, so perhaps a time to short when it gets there


ReneSola Ltd, which manufactures silicon wafers for the solar PV industry, said recent signing of contracts will help the company to meet the growth plan for 2008.

The company said it has signed a contract with JA Solar Holdings Co Ltd to supply 600 megawatts of wafers over five years commencing in the second half of 2008.

ReneSola also said it has signed tolling production contracts with leading global PV companies to process an additional 500 tonnes of polysilicon to be delivered in 2008, and it has also entered into contracts to procure over 1,000 tonnes of feedstock for 2008.

I am new to shorting. Which is the best site to use for shorting smaller companys. Some of the ones I have looked at only list larger companys.

Equally, if it breaks 200dma coinciding with a rally on FTSE, it could arguably be a long... keeps making higher lows...

Having made quite a bit long and short, my preference now stays on the long side. Generally I think we'll see improvements in the sector as a whole and also considering going long on Jetion, JHL.

Sticking firmly with the short.

I notice the management of sola give an update but dont inform investors just how the new tax increases and employee laws coming into affect 1/01/2008 will affect margins. Not so sure these tolling arrangements are positive either, as it means sola becomes more reliant on any paticular supplier and suppliers raw material cost, as there isnt a true spot market for silicon. If silicon prices fall mid to later in 2008 (as predicted) sola could find itself in a real hole.

cyners thanks for the TA above, im on xmas hols now over in spain so its a bit difficult getting to a terminal.

Looks like an inverse head and shoulders with a target of 505-510p .

brave call .... 200 dma needs to be pierced first, and with some sustained impetus

Dil, your a brave man.

with sp just nudging back through 200 dma, it will be interesting to see if that is just a tease or for real