Koizumi to return to power by spring, says Rheinwald - General - FinanceAsia.com - The network for financial decision makers

Koizumi to return to power by spring, says Rheinwald - General - FinanceAsia.com - The network for financial decision makers: "Koizumi to return to power by spring, says Rheinwald By Dan Slater | 20 September 2007 CLSA analyst Stefan Rheinwald predicts a return to power for Koizumi by spring 2008 and the Nikkei to hit 23,000 points. CLSA analyst Stefan Rheinwald predicted the demise of Yasuo Fukuda at the general election and a triumphant return to politics for Junichiro Koizumi at the third day of the CLSA forum in Hong Kong on Wednesday. Koizumi served as leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and prime minister of Japan between 2001 and 2006. Fukuda is the name of a candidate who has been touted as the successor of Shinzo Abe, who resigned last week on the back of disastrous personal approval ratings and ill health. The political schedule comprises an internal election for the party leadership, followed by a general election next year in spring for the post of president. As in the United Kingdom, the leader of the winning party becomes leader of the country. “Koizumi is one of the few politicians with the vision and creativity to push the country forward. Other Japanese politicians are too focussed on consensus,” says Rheinwald. 'In addition, Koizumi was brilliant at working the system. Even if it sometimes looked as if he was taking one step back for ever"

Faber: How investors can beat hyper-inflation - General - FinanceAsia.com - The network for financial decision makers

Faber: How investors can beat hyper-inflation - General - FinanceAsia.com - The network for financial decision makers: "Faber: How investors can beat hyper-inflation By Dan Slater | 24 September 2007 Commentator Marc Faber says investors could benefit from sky-high asset prices as the US stokes inflation. In a typically bearish appraisal, author of the Gloom Boom and Doom Report Marc Faber advised investors on the last day of the CLSA Hong Kong forum on Friday to stock up on physical gold and rural real estate ahead of possible global conflicts and US stagflation (inflation without growth, last seen in the 1970s.) Faber sees the US as a consumption giant unable or unwilling to make capital investments, with third-world infrastructure, and a tendency to binge on consumer goods actually produced by other people. He estimates the US GDP has shrunk from a 32% share of the world's GDP in 2000 to just 28% this year. He believes the rise of the Asian block is inexorable, and points out that in emerging markets, oil consumption is already greater than that of the G7 group of countries. The sale of semiconductor chips is also four times as great in Asia as that of semiconductor chips in the US. Faber believes the conditions for a period of higher interest rates, low growth and high inflation are now with us, rooted in recent US policy. advertisement Thus, he sees US GDP gro"

Land price report sends mixed signals / Stagnant incomes, inconvenient locations holding down increases in some areas : Business : DAILY YOMIURI ONLIN

Land price report sends mixed signals / Stagnant incomes, inconvenient locations holding down increases in some areas : Business : DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE (The Daily Yomiuri): "Land price report sends mixed signals / Stagnant incomes, inconvenient locations holding down increases in some areas Tsuyoshi Ito Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer The government's report on average residential and commercial land prices released Wednesday shows the land price rises that started in major metropolitan areas have now spread further afield. In some prime locations in Tokyo, there are transactions far exceeding average prices, prompting concerns among some real estate analysts that the market may be overheating in some areas. However, these concerns contrast with the expectations of some observers that the recent credit squeeze in international financial markets, caused by the U.S. subprime mortgage loan crisis, could cloud sentiment among foreign investors who have been facilitating investment in the real estate market. In some cases demand has not matched escalating land prices. Observers say the mixed news makes it difficult to predict the future direction of land prices. On the recent holiday weekend ended Monday, the upscale Chuo-dori avenue in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district was crowded with shoppers. General food retailer Meidi-ya Co.'s Ginza Building is located on the street. The benchmark land price for the plot was 83.49 m"

Contradictions mount in US and world economy in wake of Fed rate cut

Contradictions mount in US and world economy in wake of Fed rate cut: "Robert Shiller, a liberal Yale economist who correctly predicted the collapse of the dot.com bubble, told the panel that “the collapse of home prices might turn out to be the most severe since the Great Depression.” The housing slump would have a major impact on consumer spending, and posed a “significant risk” of recession over the next year, he said. “Low income people will be especially hard hit,” Shiller warned, because they hold a disproportionate number of the subprime mortgages which are now being liquidated. Rising home prices have been the major factor in the steady rise of consumer spending over the past seven years, despite stagnant or declining real incomes. Homeowners extracted an average of nearly $1 trillion a year in additional spending money from 2001 through 2005, through a combination of home sales, home equity lines of credit and mortgage refinancing. One quarter of this vast sum went directly into consumer spending. Now this process is going into reverse. According to a forecast released Wednesday by Moody’s economy.com, more than three-quarters of the housing markets across the US will suffer a decline in home prices in the next several years, and price declines will average 7.7 percent nationally, exceeding 10 percent in 86 of the 379 largest markets. The wo"

House prices to drop much lower: Greenspan | Reuters

House prices to drop much lower: Greenspan | Reuters: "VIENNA (Reuters) - A big overhang of property will bring U.S. house prices down further, but it is too early to say if the economy will plunge into recession, former Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan was quoted as saying on Friday. Greenspan said in an interview with Austrian magazine Format that low interest rates in the past 15 years were to blame for the house price bubble, but that central banks were powerless when they tried to bring it under control. 'It's a difficult situation, there is an enormous overhang on the real estate market,' Greenspan was quoted as saying. 'Many buildings which just have been finished can't be sold ...' 'So far, prices have dropped only slightly. But it was enough to cause alarm around the world,' he said. 'Prices are going to fall much lower yet.' 'However, it is too early to answer the question about a recession. We simply don't know yet. It depends on how flexibly the economy can react,' he said. Greenspan said deregulation and the introduction of market economies in the former Communist bloc after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 had caused a global boom and a worldwide reduction of interest rates, which both helped fuel the property bubble. 'There is no doubt about the fact that low interest rates for long-term government bonds have caused the real estate bubble"

FT.com / Home UK / UK - Crisis in S Korean building industry

FT.com / Home UK / UK - Crisis in S Korean building industry: "Crisis in S Korean building industry By Anna Fifield in Seoul Published: September 21 2007 03:00 | Last updated: September 21 2007 03:00 South Korea's mid-sized construction companies are collapsing like houses of cards, intensifying fears of a looming liquidity crunch in Asia's third-largest banking market. Korea has remained largely immune to the sub-prime woes that have afflicted international markets. But a series of smaller construction companies has been defaulting on project financing loans as they struggle to sell apartments outside Seoul. ADVERTISEMENT That has raised concern about a further deterioration in the quality of loans to construction companies and investors are beginning to worry about the impact on Korean banks. 'This is a critical moment,' said Chung Dong-joo of the Korea House Builders' Association. 'We call this a 'bankruptcy surplus', as companies have the ability to raise capital but are going bankrupt because of the high number of unsold apartment units. This hinders capital circulation and has plunged small and medium-sized companies intoa crisis.'"

New blow to dollar amid U.S. growth fears - International Herald Tribune

New blow to dollar amid U.S. growth fears - International Herald Tribune: "New blow to dollar amid U.S. growth fears By Carter Dougherty Published: September 20, 2007 E-Mail Article Listen to Article Printer-Friendly 3-Column Format Translate Share Article Text Size FRANKFURT: The world dumped the dollar on Thursday, pushing the greenback to an all-time low of $1.40 against the euro and to parity with the Canadian dollar for the first time in three decades as currency traders around the world digested the full implications of the U.S. Federal Reserve's new course for interest rates. The frenzied selling began early in the day in Europe, never let up, and reached across the Atlantic as traders concluded that the lower borrowing costs the Fed introduced on Tuesday would dampen the appeal of dollar-denominated assets like stocks, bonds and real estate just as other central banks are raising rates to create the opposite effect. Layered atop a weakening U.S. economy that is menaced as well by the prospect of a retreat by consumers who have driven growth for years, the dollar radiated instability as its traditional role as a refuge in times of crisis, one evident as recently as early August, appeared all but forgotten. 'It's pretty ugly right now for the dollar,' said Jim McCormick, the London-based chief of currency strategy for Lehman Brothers Intern"