| Submit your comments on this article |
| Southeast Asia |
| Asian stock slide: Canary or just the jitters? |
| 2004-05-17 |
| EFL. This may be nothing, but the Asian economies seem particularly fragile right now. At any rate it bears watching Asian stocks slumped after oil prices climbed to a 21-year high, threatening to slow global economic growth. Samsung Electronics Co. and Advantest Corp. led declines. `A rise in oil prices would mean a profit squeeze for companies, which isn’t good news,’’ said Kiyohide Nagata, who helps manage about $3.2 billion at Invesco Asset Management (Japan) Ltd. in Tokyo. Taiwan’s Taiex Index tumbled 5 percent after China warned President Chen Shui-bian three days before his inauguration for a second term that he must accept Chinese sovereignty or ``face destruction by playing with fire.’’ India’s Mumbai stock exchange halted trading for an hour after the Sensex slid 10.9 percent. |
| Posted by:RWV |
| #8 To Phil B, your comments on the Sa'udis: "Saudia Arabia has gained billions of dollars from the terrorism and instability to date." are right on the money. Keep it coming! Open up on the Sa'udis with both 'barrels' of truth! |
| Posted by: Mark Espinola 2004-05-17 12:10:39 PM |
| #7 Funny how the socialists always manage to seem to come from behind and pull ahead at the last minute, to everyone's surprise. Maybe we should be looking a little bit more closely at this phenomenon. |
| Posted by: B 2004-05-17 10:23:40 AM |
| #6 Often markets are prescient. And East Asia is very dependant on imported energy. The market could be anticipating a catastrophic event and as ZF points out this could be loss of the US security guarantee. I don't think it will happen. In fact I am sure it won't, but the market is anticipating something. BTW the election of Congress in India didn't help - old fashioned socialists. |
| Posted by: Phil B 2004-05-17 10:17:37 AM |
| #5 Some of this is probably the US transfer of troops away from Korea. Whatever they might say about America, the US is the ultimate guarantor of the sovereignty of East Asian countries against China. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2004-05-17 10:01:38 AM |
| #4 The fed doesn't HAVE to raise the interest rates - they would only do so to prevent inflation. If the price of oil goes up, wouldn't that make all goods more expensive, thus accomplish the same effect as a raise in the interest rates? Seems to me that a rise in oil prices will prevent inflation and allow us to keep our interest rates low. Keeping the interest rates low should encourage investment here in the US instead of elsewhere. But what do I know. |
| Posted by: B 2004-05-17 8:45:07 AM |
| #3 They will flood the market if they have to. I wouldn't bet on it and anyway its not the real issue. The sources of oil are inherently unstable as well as the trasportation routes. A couple of well coordinated attacks could take millions of barrels off the market for months. I'll ignore the potential for market manipulation by suppliers deliberately staging such attacks. Saudia Arabia has gained billions of dollars from the terrorism and instability to date. |
| Posted by: Phil B 2004-05-17 6:13:07 AM |
| #2 I think that Saudi Arabia will put its 2 million Spare Capacity Production to use and will also try to sway other OPEC members to increase production very soon. SA cannot afford a global economic slow down like the one in 1973. They will do anything to try to bring the price of oil down. They will flood the market if they have to. |
| Posted by: Anonymous4617 2004-05-17 4:14:47 AM |
| #1 Bares watching is right. Fear has a hold on many traders in numerous market across the world, not only the Asian sectors. Just one additional attack on any OPEC related oil installation and I see another coupled of dollars being added to the price of crude which will result in increased inflation (if sustained for 4 to 6 months) and the market in general does not like the unknown when everyone already knows interest rates will have to rise in an attempt to curb expanding inflation caused of the high cost of energy and transportation. Many energy traders have already factored in the eventuality of $50.00 per barrel crude oil, but what transpires once oil reaches $50.00, will it head to $60.00 causing unleaded gasoline prices to shoot up to $3.50 to $4.25 a gallon? The likelihood is there and the terrorists unfortunately are in the 'drivers seat' in terms of deliberately triggering enormous price hikes in oil resulting in their pre-planed sabotage on oil 'targets' as one main economic method of harming us. Remember this, the majority of OPEC members hate us and with every $1.00 added to a barrel of oil on the international market these terrorist supporting states earn more petrol-profits to financially assist the very killers we are combating in Iraq, Afghanistan along with other areas throughout the world the death cult is trying to gain inroads. My partial solution to Iran exporting terrorism is a rigorously enforced blockade all supertankers loaded with Iranian crude from exiting the Persian Gulf and in doing so the principal source of revenue Iran has been suing for over 25 years for the sole purpose of spreading their Islamic cancer will suffer a server economic setback. I am not holding my breathe on that recommendation to be carried out since our good 'friends' in the E.U. will cry about it because, as in the case with Saddam, too many 'deals' have already been cemented with the enemy behind the enemy ...Iran. Keep an eye on the currency and bond markets. A rocky road has begun. |
| Posted by: Mark Espinola 2004-05-17 4:06:23 AM |