asian markets plummet monday

[alocispepraluger102]

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/asia...E504BD927A2F%7D

[Jazzmoose]

Well, I know one guy who was glad the headline was "plummet" rather than "pummel"...

[connoisseur series500]

I'm sure the price of oil is not exactly thrilling stock market investors across the globe.

[connoisseur series500]

Then there's the dollar problem. I just read your link. Nobody likes a high currency. Kind of kills off the exporters.

[Guy Berger]

Then there's the dollar problem. I just read your link. Nobody likes a high currency. Kind of kills off the exporters.

Strong currencies are great for consumers because they make imports cheaper. Also, a strengthening (rather than strong) currency will reduce inflationary pressures.

Conversely, a weak currency is bad for consumers because imports are expensive and a weakening currency can increase inflation. Both are going on in the United States right now.

Nevertheless, the dollar needs to remain weak for a while in order to even out massive global imbalances; our country has been borrowing from the world too long. As long as it remains relatively orderly...

Guy

[Jazzmoose]

The problem is, "consumers" are also "producers". A strong currency makes imports cheaper, but hurts exports. And vice versa. So saying we can buy stuff cheaper when we can't sell stuff to get the money in the first place doesn't make much sense.

[connoisseur series500]

Then there's the dollar problem. I just read your link. Nobody likes a high currency. Kind of kills off the exporters.

Strong currencies are great for consumers because they make imports cheaper. Also, a strengthening (rather than strong) currency will reduce inflationary pressures.

Yes, but Asians don't consume. They certainly don't consume at American proportions; don't see that changing in the near future either.

[Claude]

All those families who lost their homes because they couldn't afford paying higher interest rates, where are they living now? So many houses are for sale, but there must be a higher demand for other homes (smaller houses, appartments, in poorer areas).

[catesta]

Then there's the dollar problem. I just read your link. Nobody likes a high currency. Kind of kills off the exporters.

Strong currencies are great for consumers because they make imports cheaper. Also, a strengthening (rather than strong) currency will reduce inflationary pressures.

Yes, but Asians don't consume. They certainly don't consume at American proportions; don't see that changing in the near future either.

Is this true?

I mean aren't China and Japan huge consumers?

[connoisseur series500]

Then there's the dollar problem. I just read your link. Nobody likes a high currency. Kind of kills off the exporters.

Strong currencies are great for consumers because they make imports cheaper. Also, a strengthening (rather than strong) currency will reduce inflationary pressures.

Yes, but Asians don't consume. They certainly don't consume at American proportions; don't see that changing in the near future either.

Is this true?

I mean aren't China and Japan huge consumers?

The Japanese are such savers (rather than spenders) that their banks often offer close to 0% savings rate. Maybe the younger Chinese generation are spending, but in general Asians don't spend much as consumers. They like to save. The average Chinese or Japanese would spend a fraction of what the average American spends. I think world exporters like to talk about a big Chinese market, but it really has to do with sheer population volume. I don't think the spending per person is very high. I do not have any figures. Perhaps Guy or JLarsen can help out.

[ejp626]

Then there's the dollar problem. I just read your link. Nobody likes a high currency. Kind of kills off the exporters.

Strong currencies are great for consumers because they make imports cheaper. Also, a strengthening (rather than strong) currency will reduce inflationary pressures.

Yes, but Asians don't consume. They certainly don't consume at American proportions; don't see that changing in the near future either.

Is this true?

I mean aren't China and Japan huge consumers?

The Japanese are such savers (rather than spenders) that their banks often offer close to 0% savings rate. Maybe the younger Chinese generation are spending, but in general Asians don't spend much as consumers. They like to save. The average Chinese or Japanese would spend a fraction of what the average American spends. I think world exporters like to talk about a big Chinese market, but it really has to do with sheer population volume. I don't think the spending per person is very high. I do not have any figures. Perhaps Guy or JLarsen can help out.

The average Chinese person may not consume that much, but the Chinese government has been consuming raw materials at a rate that beggars belief. There's a book coming out soon that I will probably pick up, called Concrete Dragon. Anyway, I heard this guy speak and he said that in a period of 10 years, the Chinese have paved as many roads as the entire US interstate system. There are plenty of other figures, but basically China is urbanizing and paving at a rate and scale that the world has not seen before. Problem for the US is that we largely don't sell raw materials, but other Asian and African countries do.