I get a strong suspicion that too many people are too overweight in Chinese stocks now. The reason for this is that after posting the China Tax and China Labour Law changes on a number of sites, there has been absolutely no response at all on most. High profile names ignore the posts, nobody commenting at all, either pro or against.

It therefore suggests to me that lots of people are presently very overweight in China stocks, they have got caught with the market weakness, and are now holding at a loss - waiting to sell any rise.

If, and its only an "if", the market weakness continues, and more and more of these people are trapped into China plays - you can foresee, imv, a lot of weakness coming into that sector, as more and more give up and bail out.

Quite remarkable that so many got duped into buying "China" as a safety against US/EU credit fears and recessions - only to now find its not as safe as they thought, and China stocks are also falling.

My own suspicions were that the China stock dream would go into breakdown and start its fall once the 2008 Summer Olympics had passed and the government can afford the luxury of upsetting lots more people and not caring about "face" during the Olympics that the world will be watching.

Is there another boom left in them before the Olympics comes and goes ? Will the boom not happen as its sold into ? Will they all meakly fade now and continue to do so ? Will they just keep on booming and not fall back again ?

Please discuss !!

China stocks have been falling off, and its no surprise really, in this market, and with so many questions now being raised in and about China and its ongoing problems and outlook.


http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2008/03/06/afx4744206.html

China Feb inflation likely to reach new high, prompt rate hikes - Goldman Sachs

03.06.08, 11:28 PM ET

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - Goldman Sachs said it expects inflation in China to reach a new decade high in February on the back of rapid money supply growth, prompting authorities to hike the reserve requirement ratio and interest rates.

In a note, Goldman Sachs (nyse: GS - news - people ) said it expects February's consumer price index (CPI) to rise 8.5 pct year-on-year, up from an 11-year high of 7.1 pct in January.

It said severe snowstorms across much of the country in January and February are partly to blame, but the main driver of the increase is money supply growth, which will likely keep prices at elevated levels in the near-term.

'While we believe the snowstorm may have contributed to the high February reading, we believe that the high and rising inflation rate has been mainly driven by rapid money supply growth,' Goldman Sachs said.

'As a result, we expect CPI inflation to remain high at elevated levels in the near-term even after the temporary weather-related impact dissipates,' it added.

It noted that Premier Wen Jiabao's report to the National People's Congress stated that containing inflationary pressures is the most urgent task in economic policymaking. As such, policies are likely to become more decisive after the parliamentary session closes on March 18.

'There is a likelihood for a hike in the reserve requirement ratio and interest rates in the coming days,' Goldman Sachs said.

China is due to release February CPI data on March 11.

Goldman Sachs added that the producer price index, due out on March 10, is also likely to have risen in February, reflecting supply constraints, transport bottlenecks and strong demand growth in several key commodities, notably coal and steel.

The brokerage said it expects PPI inflation to rise to 6.9 pct year-on-year in February from 6.1 pct in January. The PPI is likely to accelerate further in the coming months, it added.

Money supply M2 will probably show a slight moderation to 18.5 pct from 18.9 pct in January, but sequential momentum remains robust, Goldman Sachs said.

Meanwhile the trade surplus could narrow to 17 bln usd as import growth remains strong and exports gradually slow. Goldman Sachs said the year-on-year growth of exports is likely to be very low at 10 pct, largely due to a high base from last year.

January and February export growth will be robust at 19 pct, the note said.

'While the high volatility in recent export data makes it difficult to gauge the true underlying trend, we believe the slowdown in exports growth will be a gradual process,' it said.

Other data will likely show that fixed-asset investment remains strong. Goldman Sachs said it expects February FAI to grow 26 pct year-on-year.

Nominal retail sales growth is forecast at 20.5 pct and 21.5 pct in January and February, respectively, on the back of higher inflation, the note said.

It added that industrial production is likely to grow at 16.0 pct in January and February, compared with 17.4 pct in December 2007.

Retail sales, industrial production and FAI will be announced on March 12, 13, and 14, respectively.

February money and credit data can be released any time during next week.

http://www.itpro.co.uk/news/174921/vietnam-the-next-hub-for-offshoring.html

Vietnam - the next hub for offshoring?

Posted by Nicole Kobie at 12:17PM, Thursday 6th March 2008

An industry expert has predicted that Vietnam will overtake India and China for offshoring in the next four years.

Vietnam could potentially overtake India and China as a site for outsourcing by the year 2012, an industry expert has said.

At a forum on doing business in the region this week, Paul Smith, the managing director of recruitment and software firm Harvey Nash, said the country will become the most desirable place for outsourcing services - including IT - in the next few years.

"The duopoly India and China have long enjoyed within IT outsourcing is fast coming to an end - and rightly so. With deregulation, accession to the WTO and UN Security Council as well as significant overseas IT investment, Vietnam is becoming the outsourcing destination of choice for international business, not simply the poor relation," Smith said at the forum.

"Vietnam has always offered a highly skilled labour force and low costs, but this coupled with economic expansion, political stability and diplomatic acceptance means the decision ........................


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http://www.elpasotimes.com/business/ci_8422615

China's competitive edge at risk amid rising costs

Associated Press

Article Launched: 03/02/2008 12:00:00 AM MST


SHANGHAI, China -- The teddy bears selling for $1.40 in Shanghai's IKEA store may be just about the cheapest in town, but they're not made in China -- they're stitched and stuffed in Indonesia.
The fluffy brown toys reflect a new challenge for China: Its huge economy, which has long offered some of the world's lowest manufacturing costs, is losing its claim on cheapness as factories get squeezed by rising prices for energy, materials and labor.

Those expenses, plus higher taxes and stricter enforcement of labor and environmental standards, are causing some manufacturers to leave for lower-cost markets such as Vietnam, Indonesia and India.

Costs have climbed so much....................................

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What about VOF.ON AIM.

Not me PP ..... i have a long record of warning eveyone off Chinese stocks though for a different reason .... my only Chinese stock is SOLA on which I am now short again

Not keen on funds like that Baylis.


Another potential "short in the making" is ETC. Its just starting to get a little pumped up now, its a yet to turn profitable "travel agent" in China. Now, whilst their figures for 2008 might show growth due to Olympics etc..........now that inflation is biting they should start to struggle in 2009. So just watching it, hoping it gets hyped and bloated, and then, its another nice potential short for next year.

China inflation now getting out of control....... ?? Get those Olympics out of the way and there should be some really nasty shocks coming, that will bite and bite perhaps......


http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-03/10/content_6523382.htm

China's producer prices up 6.6%, highest in 3 years

(Agencies/chinadaily.com.cn)

Updated: 2008-03-10 14:15


China's producer prices, a key inflation indicator, rose 6.6 percent year-on-year in February, the fastest rate in more than three years, suggesting consumers face more sharp price, according to data reported Monday.

Beijing is trying to rein in inflation that rose to 7.1 percent in January, the highest level in 11 years. Economists expect February's inflation rate, due to be announced Tuesday, to rise as high as 8.5 percent after snowstorms disrupted transportation and wrecked crops, causing temporary shortages of food and raw materials.

A Bank of China report said February's CPI could be as high as 8.3%. And a National Development and Reform Commission official said the consumer price index would be higher than that in January, but "be lower than a two-digit figure."

Producer prices, which measure the cost of goods as they leave the factory, rose 6.6 percent in February over the year-earlier period, the National Statistics Bureau reported. It was the highest level since December 2004.

The six-month-old spike in consumer prices has been driven by food costs and blamed on shortages of pork and other items. But Monday's data suggested pressure for across-the-board price rises is mounting as factories and households compete for resources amid a boom that saw China's economy grow by 11.4 percent last year.

February's producer price rise was driven by a 37.5 percent jump in the cost of basic oil products and a 29.6 percent rise for some steel products, the statistics bureau reported. Prices of food-related raw materials rose by 11 percent.

China is trying to boost food production to ease shortages and has been nudging up interest rates, hoping to cool growth without causing the economy to tip into an abrupt slowdown.

State-set prices of gasoline, electric power and some other consumer necessities were frozen in September. In January, food producers were ordered to get official approval for any price increases.

Fertilizer prices also have been frozen to protect farmers.

But steel mills, factories and other producers must pay market prices for coal, iron ore and other raw materials.

Economists have warned that leaving price controls in place too long could add to inflation pressures by discouraging farmers and others from raising production, which would ease shortages and lower prices.

China suffered power shortages in February when the country's worst snowstorms in decades caught utility companies without adequate coal stockpiles after they cut purchases due to controls that barred them from passing on the rising cost to consumers.

Steel mills and factories cut back production, and the government was forced to organize emergency shipments of thousands of trainloads of coal to power plants.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/10/business/10chiecon.php


Chinese trade surplus down sharply in February

ReutersPublished: March 10, 2008

BEIJING: China reported a big drop in its trade surplus on Monday as imports surged and exports sagged, but economists were wary of reading too much into the data because of distortions from the timing of the Lunar New Year.

Of more immediate significance, they said, was that the price of goods leaving factories rose 6.6 percent in the 12 months to February, the fastest rate in more than three years and pointing to a leap in consumer prices when figures are issued on Tuesday.

Premier Wen Jiabao, in his annual report to Parliament last week, declared the fight against inflation to be his top economic priority despite clouds over the outlook for global growth.

The trade surplus for February shrank to just $8.56 billion from $19.5 billion in January and $23.8 billion a year earlier, the customs administration said.

Economists, who had expected a surplus of $21.9 billion, explained away the forecasting error by pointing to the vagaries of the calendar: factories shut down at different times each year depending on the timing of the Chinese New Year.

Today in Business with Reuters
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Fierce winter weather also disrupted production and shipment schedules this year, further clouding the picture.

"Taking January and February together certainly makes much more sense than taking the February figures on their own. So that would imply export growth has slowed a little bit and import growth has picked up a little bit, which is the trend we expect for the year as a whole," said Paul Cavey, an economist at Macquarie Securities in Hong Kong.

What that means is that China's politically contentious surplus is finally growing more slowly and may even have peaked.

Imports rose a striking 35.1 percent in February, lifted by record-high crude oil prices and a growing bill for commodities and raw materials.

Exports, by contrast, increased just 6.5 percent from a year earlier.

Zhu Jianfang, chief economist at Citic Securities in Beijing, suspected that weakening U.S. demand due to the still-spreading credit crisis was to blame.

Exports were still likely to grow by more than 15 percent in 2008 despite government policies to push up the value of the yuan and to penalize export industries that use large amounts of energy and cause pollution, Zhu said.

But he added: "Imports will grow much faster than exports this year as China needs to import more to increase domestic supply and fight inflation."

February's producer price report, released by the National Bureau of Statistics, suggested the battle against inflation would be a long one.

The 6.6 percent increase was up from 6.1 percent in the 12 months to January and a touch above economists' forecasts of 6.5 percent. It was the highest rate since December 2004.

Wholesale food prices rose 11 percent in February from a year earlier.

Soaring food bills have been the culprit for the spike in consumer prices, already at an 11-year high, but many economists are worried that inflation will ripple through the economy because China's monetary policy settings are too loose.

"This will contribute to a rise in consumer inflation. The pass-through from agricultural prices to processed food prices will continue. Inflationary expectations are also on the rise, and expectations can change consumer behavior," said Jun Ma, chief China economist at Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong.

Economists polled by Reuters expect Tuesday's consumer price index data to show an annual increase of 8 percent, up from 7.1 percent in January, as the impact of snowstorms that disrupted transport and energy passes through the supply chain and pushes up food prices in particular.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/ap/20080311/tbs-as-fin-eco-china-inflation-6th-ld-wr-618743b.html

China's inflation jumps to nearly 12-year high, raising risk of unrest before Olympics

By JOE McDONALD,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday,

March 12

BEIJING - China's inflation surged to a nearly 12-year high in February, the government said Tuesday, squeezing exporters and adding to the threat of unrest ahead of the Beijing Olympics.


The 8.7 percent rise in the consumer price index over February 2007 was driven by a 23.3 percent jump in food costs, the National Bureau of Statistics reported. Price rises for some individual goods were even more dramatic: Pork was up 63.4 percent and vegetables 46 percent.

Communist leaders worry about a possible backlash in a society where the poor majority spend up to half their incomes on food. Bouts of high inflation in the 1980s and '90s sparked protests.

"I think there's a high risk of popular demonstrations," said Robert Broadfoot, managing director of Political and Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd. in Hong Kong.

Premier Wen Jiabao said last week taming inflation was Beijing's top priority and set a target of 4.8 percent this year_ a goal that analysts said looked unrealistic after Tuesday's announcement.

Deutsche Bank raised its forecast for full-year inflation from 6.4 percent to 7.2 percent. Morgan Stanley raised its forecast by two full percentage points to 6.5 percent.

"Stronger expectations of higher inflation could lead to stockpiling and panic buying, which may lead to an inflation spiral," Deutsche Bank economist Jun Ma said in a report to clients.

Non-food inflation stayed low in February, with prices up 1.6 percent from the year-earlier month.

But wholesale data reported earlier show pressure for across-the-board price rises is growing. The cost of basic oil products jumped 37.5 percent in February while that of steel products was up 29.6 percent. Food-related raw materials rose 11 percent.

Such increases are squeezing exporters that have been hammered by a steady rise in China's currency, the yuan, over the past 2 1/2 years that has made their goods less attractive abroad.

Some factories in the export-driven southeast have closed, wiping out thousands of jobs. Others are struggling to stay competitive with foreign rivals by switching to new products.

Rising prices for iron ore and other materials will squeeze company profits, raising doubts about their growth prospects, said Jing Ulrich, JP Morgan's chairwoman for China equities.

"The beneficiaries of higher inflation remain the resource suppliers _ many of which are outside China," Ulrich said in a report.

Prices began to climb in mid-2007 due mostly to shortages of pork, China's staple meat, and grain.

Authorities froze prices of gasoline, electricity and other basic goods in September and said inflation should fall once the autumn grain crops were harvested. But instead of easing, the inflation rate has risen steadily in recent months.

The government responded by ordering food processors in January to get official approval for any price hikes. Fertilizer prices were frozen to protect farmers and curbs imposed on grain exports to increase supplies in domestic markets.

February inflation was China's highest since May 1996, when prices rose by 8.9 percent, according to Goldman Sachs. It was up sharply from January's percent 7.1 percent rate.

Economists say inflation should stay high possibly as late as May before it begins to ebb.

Beijing has raised interest rates repeatedly and is trying to boost food production to ease inflation pressure amid a boom that saw economic growth rise to 11.4 percent last year.

Those efforts were hampered when the worst snowstorms to hit China in five decades blanketed the south in January and early February. The snows wrecked crops, killed farm animals and paralyzed shipping. Prices of meat and vegetables soared in snow-hit areas.

Rapid growth in the total pool of money available for credit also added to pressure for prices to rise, Goldman economists Yu Song and Hong Liang said.

Inflation should stay high "even after the temporary weather-related impact dissipates," they said in a report.

Song and Liang said they expect Beijing to respond by raising interest rates, curbing bank lending and allowing the yuan to rise faster. That could help to cool inflation by narrowing China's swollen trade surplus and reducing the amount of cash flooding into the economy.

___

After the disgusting and disgraceful behaviour of the Chinese government now killing Tibetans overtly, and not just covertly now, I must say well done to Richard Gere.

The whole world should boycott the Chinese Olympics. Its the only way to get these arrogant power crazy people to understand the world does not accept their behaviour in Tibet, or their sponership and protection of the Burmese junta.


http://www.reuters.com/article/sportsNews/idUSN1444309320080315

Olympics boycott if China mishandles Tibet: Gere

Fri Mar 14, 2008 9:52pm EDT

powered by SphereBy Paul Eckert, Asia Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China should suffer a boycott of its cherished Beijing Olympics if it mishandles protests in restive Tibet, Hollywood actor and Tibetan activist Richard Gere said on Friday.

Gere, a close follower of the Dalai Lama and chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet, stressed that neither the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader nor the ICT advocates a boycott of the Summer Olympics.

But he said it was his personal opinion that it would be "unconscionable" to attend the Beijing Games if China failed to deal peacefully with unrest in the Himalayan region -- protests that have turned to riots and already claimed several lives.

"I've not been pro-boycott, but I think if this is not handled correctly, yes we should boycott. Everyone should boycott," Gere told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Gere, a Buddhist for some 25 years, said he was grieving for "my bothers and sisters" in Tibet but "sad for both sides" in a dispute has that simmered and occasionally exploded since China annexed Tibet in 1950.

"As educated, as sensitive as the Chinese are, why they've misread the Tibetan situation from the very beginning is beyond me," he said.

"It's just so foolish and short-sighted. Everything that they want is destroyed in moments like this," said Gere, referring to the Chinese quest for international respect and recognition they seek in hosting the Olympics.

Gere's Tibetan contacts have all described the uprising as spontaneous, he said, adding that he did not believe the marches were linked to the Olympics. Continued...................

http://www.forbes.com/home/columnists/global/2008/0324/030.html

Companies, People, Ideas

China's Inflation

Carl Delfeld 03.24.08, 12:00 AM ET

In addition to recent blizzards, a different kind of storm is brewing in China: inflation. The key component of the Chinese economic growth story has been its ability to keep prices low and top-line sales growth high. It has never been about profit margins. Thus the ability of China to serve as a giant global manufacturing platform was a boon for leaders in Beijing as well as for export markets like America, which viewed lowcost Chinese imports as a way to keep a lid on inflation.

But the deflationary impact of China on world markets is now turning into an inflationary red flag with important implications for global investors. Wages have started rising rapidly, energy prices remain high and food demand is exploding. Fresh evidence emerged in February as Chinas National Bureau of Statistics said that inflation jumped to an 11-year high of 7.1%. Rising inflation is forcing Chinese manufacturers to try to defend their slim operating margins by raising prices for exported components, which, in turn, will compress multinational margins, since it is difficult in a weak economy to pass on higher input prices (such as energy, components and raw materials) to consumers in markets like Japan, the U.S. and Europe.

Just take a look at recent reports by Japan Inc.s big exporters. Canon, the worlds biggest digital camera maker, warned that earnings this year will fall short of market expectations. Sonys 5% operating margin goal was also recently revised downward. So what does all this mean for investors in the Asia-Pacific region?

First, avoid the large exporters of consumer products such as the already mentioned Sony and Canon, which are being squeezed by lower global demand and higher input and component prices. A stronger yen has not helped either.

For your Japan allocation, take a look at the Tokyo Stock Exchanges second section for smaller listed Japanese companies that are more domestically oriented and are trading at very attractive valuations. Rather than try to pick some specific companies, why not use the shotgun approach with the WisdomTree Japan SmallCap Dividend (DFJ) exchange-traded fund. The fund holds roughly 500 stocks, and assets are widely diversified. Industrial and consumer cyclicals are the top sector weights at 28% and 25%, respectively.

Second, lean toward countries that are net exporters of commodities rather than net importers like China. A good choice would be the iShares MSCI Brazil (EWZ) exchange-traded fund. Brazil recently passed China as the top-weighted country in the MSCI Emerging Markets index.

In addition, Chinas inflationary trend will create substantial opportunities for other emerging market countries to gain a competitive edge and pick up the slack. The recent disappointing IPO of Vietnams largest brewery, Sabeco, could provide investors with a great opportunity when the company begins trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange. Vietnams hot market has cooled considerably this year, and it will be interesting to see how the market values Sabecos shares. Critics point to a too-high minimum price as the primary reason the IPO was undersubscribed.

In India, take a look at some export-oriented companies that have already weathered the impact of a strong rupee. I agree with India specialist Atyant Capitals suggestion of Gokaldas Exports ($5.38, 532630), which has revenues of $250 million and a market cap of $185 million. Wage inflation in China, coupled with an appreciating currency and reduction in export subsidies, will give companies like Gokaldas Exports significant pricing power. Blackstone recently purchased a controlling 50% stake in the company, then upped it to 68%. Investors should also target quasi-monopoly companies that can perform well in an inflationary environment because of both pricing power and a product or service whose demand is inelastic. Indonesias Telekomunikasi Indonesia PT ($1.03, TLKM) and the Philippines PLDT ($69.67, TEL) are two excellent choices.

Lastly, instead of focusing on the downside of rising energy and commodity prices, consider the flip side of higher demand for cleaner alternatives such as geothermal energy. This means more business for Ormat Technologies ($43.69, ORA), which operates throughout the world from Nevada to the Outback and recently signed an agreement for a project in Indonesia. Its topline revenue has grown at an annual average rate of 41%, and its stock price has come down from a near 52-week high of $58.

Inflation is the cruelest tax of all, but smart investors can soften the blow to their portfolios.

Carl Delfeld represented the U.S. on the Asian Development Bank board and heads the global investment advisory firm Chartwell Partners. He is editor of Chartwell Advisor Global ETF Report ( www.forbesnewsletters.com/chartwell).

Hi Papalpower, I can see you are working hard to crush chinese shares like SOLA, WCC, ACH, FTO, etc with the above articles.

hyleo ..... an unwarranted snipe at PP ...... he is merely publishing articles .... whether you or anyone else chooses to agree or disagree with the sentiments is very much a free choice ...... personally, i have different reasons for disliking chinese-controlled stocks, which do not need repeating yet again.

a more interesting comment could be shown in a graph, perhaps using AIM or FTSE 350 as the benchmark, to check how the stocks you highlight above have performed comparatively over say the last 6 months.

hyleo, its not about crushing anything, its about very clear and present/future that are going to have an impact on things Chinese.

Some people try to portray China as zero risk, cannot lose stuff...........that is very much not the case.

Therefore, its good to make available access to articles which give a balancing view of things.

PP best ignored - EK lackey but a great contrarian indicator.

Reserve ratio up again, and interest rate rises coming soon it looks like.


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/19/business/worldbusiness/19yuan.html?ex=1363579200&en=13dc1892a3f601ca&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

China Moves to Stem Inflation and Calm Investors

By DAVID BARBOZA
Published: March 19, 2008

SHANGHAI Stock prices plummeted in China on Tuesday over inflation fears and growing concerns about the ripple effects of an economic slowdown in the United States. Showing its determination to hold down prices, the Chinese central bank then moved to tighten lending.

Shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange tumbled nearly 4 percent, with the composite index ending at 3,668.90. The index is down nearly 40 percent from its record high last October. The fall in the Shenzhen composite index was even steeper Tuesday off 6.6 percent, to close at 1,082.28.

Shares appeared to be recovering somewhat in early trading on Wednesday, after the United States central bank cut interest rates in a bid to rekindle growth.

In Hong Kong, shares rose on Tuesday by 1.42 percent. Other Asian markets, including Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, India and Indonesia, also rebounded modestly after a sharp sell-off Monday. Some of those markets appeared to be extending those gains on Wednesday.

The Tuesday sell-off in China came after Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said at a televised news conference on Tuesday morning that inflation this year would probably exceed the governments target of 4.8 percent, after a sharp rise last year. Continuing inflation is regarded as a sign that the Chinese economy may be overheating.

Officials in Beijing now say that fighting inflation is the governments top priority. That could mean raising interest rates, a step that often discourages investors from buying stocks.

After the markets closed, Chinas central bank said it would increase the reserve ratio for banks to 15.5 percent. The move, effective March 25, will force the banks to set aside slightly more money with the government, a step expected to tighten lending and slow inflation.

The central bank has repeatedly increased the reserve ratio over the last few years, taking it to 15.5 percent from about 7 percent in 2004.

Tuesdays stock sell-off is part of a wave of troubling economic and political news that appears to be striking this country at a time the government is preparing for the Olympic Games in Beijing and to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the start of Chinas market-friendly economic changes.

While the Chinese economy is still sizzling and investment continues to pour into the country, analysts are beginning to worry that if rising inflation does not cut Chinese growth, then weakening demand in the United States for Chinese-made goods will.

If the U.S. is falling into recession, and we think it is, it will mean downside pressure on exports from China and on economic growth, said Huang Yiping, chief Asia economist at Citigroup. This could be a bigger threat than inflation."

The analysts say that Chinese exports could also slow this year because of higher production costs and a rise in the value of the currency, the yuan, against the dollar in recent months.

Analysts are already lowering their growth forecasts for China, with an eye toward the financial troubles of Wall Street firms.

Stock prices in Shanghai are going through an extraordinary reversal of fortune. After a spate of feverish investing that sent the Shanghai composite index up more than 350 percent in the last few years, the market has gone into a tailspin.

New public offerings both here and in Hong Kong have dried up after two years of spectacular initial stock issues that swelled the ranks of Chinas billionaires.

Wall Street banks, which late last year boasted of their exciting pipelines of stock offerings, have shelved deals or delayed offerings.

Oddly, while the American economy seems headed toward recession, and Chinas economy is booming, the stock markets here have fallen more sharply than those in the United States, even though many investors in China seemed to think that the government would do whatever was required to keep stock prices high before the Olympics.

Great numbers of Chinese are involved in the market, some speculating with their life savings.

David M. Webb, a shareholder activist who is an independent director of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, remarked, There was an urban myth that the stock market would not go down until after the Olympics, and how much has it gone down?

ZSCROOGE ....perhaps your point would have far more validity if you also published the highs of these shares and/or their performance against the AIM .... this is especially so given that markets have fallen perhaps 20% (happy to know the correct figure) in the last 6 months or so.

cynic, it would be even better if they could list for each one when I went long, when I went short, when I purchased, and sold, and brought again and sold again..........

Of course, its a pure piece of fiction, but hey, if the idiots enjoy it and it makes them happy, so be it.......let them have their fantasies....

LOL :)

Rampers never give the game away!

halifax - perhaps you should say BB posters never give the game away. Not seen many people posting when they buy and sell, on the day they do it ?

i am happy to nail my colours to this mast ... have just shorted SOLA at around 256, half with a guaranteed stop ..... their figures will be out before 13:00 today, so it will be interesting to see what the analysts make of SOLA's prognostications for the coming year