Thursday, October 8, 2015

Investors are on track to pull $541bn (£357bn) out of emerging markets this year, as fears that China is headed for a ‘hard landing’ have prompted the greatest flight for safety since 1988.  The Institute of International Finance (IIF) said that the net outflows would most likely continue next year, as the prospect of US interest rate rises threatens to dampen the emerging market outlook further.  Charles Collyns, managing director and chief economist at the IIF, said that “emerging markets have seen sharp losses in recent months”. The IIF’s forecasts came as economists warned that emerging markets could face a brutal slowdown over the next 12 months.  The carnage in investments marks a huge reversal from 2014, when investors poured a net $32bn into emerging markets. ... I was recently in Malaysia for three months. An interesting juxtaposition of wealth and the poor, with many visible high-end luxury cars on the roads alongside homeless 75 yo Chinese-Malay rickshaw pedallers who sleep in their chariots at night. Ferraris, Aston Martins, Porsches, Lambos, Benzes, Range Rovers, Hummers, Rollers, Bentley Continental GTs, BMW Zs... these fancy motors with their inflated price tags due to 130% import duties can be seen cruising past the $1 won ton soup stalls. Meanwhile China-based developers plan to turn Malacca into a bigger shipping port than nearby mighty Singapore. Saw a computer shop at an IT mall in Penang advertising for a part timer. Wage offered: 6RM/hour. $1.40. Walmart ain't so mean after all...But when China sneezes, emerging markets are gonna catch a nasty flu.

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