WSJ Blogs

choi

(1) Bob Davis, Meet the New Wang, Not the Same as the Old Wang. China Real Time Report, Apr 19, 2013.
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealti ... me-as-the-old-wang/

Quote:

(a) "Mr Wang [Qishan] represented China in negotiations with Treasury secretaries and finance ministers, who counted on him to explain China’s thinking on economic issues and to explain their views in the highest council’s of Beijing.

(b) "After some weeks of indecision, China has appointed a new vice minister, Wang Yang, to the role of interlocutor.

(c) "But there are big differences between the two. As vice premier, Wang Qishan had responsibility for economic and financial matters. Wang Yang is in charge of trade, but finance comes under the purview of another vice minister, Ma Kai, said a Western official.

"Wang Qishan had deep personal ties with US officials. Former Bush administration Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson knew Mr. Wang from his days as head of Goldman Sachs and considers the Chinese official to be a friend. Mr Wang sometimes sent birthday presents to the father of the Obama Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner. The senior Mr. Geithner was head of the Ford Foundation in China during the late 1980s and funded some of Mr Wang’s studies.

"The new Wang lacks these contacts and also lacks his predecessor’s deep knowledge of how the Beijing bureaucracy works.

choi

(2) Michael Dunne, Appearances Could Deceive at Shanghai Auto Show. China Real Time, Apr 19, 2013
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealti ... shanghai-auto-show/
("Chinese car makers’ share of the domestic market is at its lowest level in five years. Northeast China’s FAW Car Co. Ltd. reported a loss in 2012, while Shenzhen-based BYD’s profits dropped 94% last year")


(3) Suddep Reddy, Where the World’s Poorest People Live. Real Time Economics, Apr 17, 2013
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2 ... oorest-people-live/
("he world's poorest people are now concentrated most heavily in Sub-Saharan Africa after China’s huge leap in pulling its citizens out of extreme poverty in recent decades, according to new estimates released Wednesday [Apr 17] by the World Bank")

choi

(4) Richard Silk, Zhang Yajun and Tom Orlik, Feeling Glum About China? Look to the Car Lots. China Real Time, Apr 17, 2013.
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealti ... ok-to-the-car-lots/

Quote:

"China’s manufacturers spent much of last year [2012] running down high levels of unsold stock. Many had ramped up production in hopes of higher sales but when demand faded, finished products were still sitting in store, waiting for a buyer.

"Now, warehouses full of inventory have started to empty

My comment: There is no need to read the rest.

choi

(5) Prudence Ho, CICC’s Nicholson Becomes Chinese National. MoneyBeat, Apr 17, 2013
http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2 ... es-chinese-citizen/

two consecutive paragraphs:

"Marshall Nicholson, managing director of Chinese investment bank China International Capital Corp., was naturalized as a Chinese national and renounced his US citizenship at the US consulate in Hong Kong Friday, according to an email Mr Nicholson sent to his friends and colleagues.

“'I am very proud to say I have become Chinese,' Mr Nicholson said in the email viewed by MoneyBeat.

Note: Marshall Nicholson
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Nicholson
(John Marshall Nicholson; 凌 瀚燊)

choi

(6) Richard Silk, For Empty Offices in China, It’s Location, Location, Location. China Real Time, Apr 15, 2013.
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealti ... -location-location/

first five paragraphs:

"There is something sad about the traffic lights blinking over empty boulevards in brand new 'business districts' all over China – places that have all the makings of a thriving commercial center except… well, actual businesses.

"The empty malls and office buildings, waiting for someone to move in, are visible reminders that local governments and their developer pals often build first and ask questions later.

"Optimists counter that Shanghai’s Pudong New Area felt like a ghost town when it was built, pretty much from scratch, in the 1990s. Now it is China’s Wall Street.

"But Pudong has the advantage of sitting just across the river from downtown Shanghai. As every realtor knows, location is everything.

“'In Beijing and Shanghai there is going to be demand for all the prime office space that is being built,' said Chris Brooke, head of real estate services firm CBRE in China, in a recent interview.

My comment: There is no need to read the rest.

choi

Due to lockdown, the private community place where I am to access a computer is going to close in minutes. So, see you tomorrow, if Boston University opens (nothing is certain now).  All universities in greater Boston Area are closed today, too.