Africa: A Continent Left in the Dust of Western Capital...Bailed out by China???

Emerging Markets/BRICS and Africa...

Yo, so I'm in the office and the trading day is over...got some time on my hands and facebook gets pretty lame after a while. Figured I would write another up to date, like as of the past few hours, market update/advice. If this gets boring and lame after a while well umm....don't read it.

So... as the subject line reads and as many people have been saying for months, and Goldman Sachs has said since 2003 with the release of their highly, highly acclaimed BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) report... get into emerging markets. well yea everyone knows this...a few things occurred today that will really make this sector volatile in the months and years to come...most of this stuff is long term advice as almost all advice dealing with developing markets is...so up until recently by emerging/developing markets, analysts have meant Asian/south east Asian some have advised on eastern European markets and some on Latin American markets...these are all good markets. India's got a very rapidly developing bio-tech sector and a damn good IT sector. China has crazy human capital allowing for a huge industrial sector and a bunch of engineers allowing for the micro-chip sector to flourish...not to mention very cheap operating costs. These markets are obvious and strong, recently to the point where Indian bio-tech, arguably, has been affecting western bio firms as they have seen a bearish qrtr sliding downward. Some analysts have recommended even less developed markets such as Lithuania, Lesotho and even Bangladesh...see these markets are nothing compared to others in the region and the world...but the fact of the matter is that in our global economy we are at a point where everyone is beginning to find a place in the market and with revolutions in technology and transport and low costs of labor and production it is becoming cost affective to invest in these states...Standard and Poors now offers emerging market indices...a ton of big investment banking firms offer things they are calling BRICS (S=South Africa) funds, BRICT (T=Turkey) Goldman Sachs offers a "B-List Fund" for 11 other emering markets including Egypt, Pakistan, Indonesia and Vietnam to name a few, this began in 2005 and has caught the eye of a few big funds ...recent figures have shown as much as 33% growth in some these economies...So, thats enough background info on emerging markets...now on to my findings as of today...

So what is the new stuff?...... Figures on Africa's economy...yes i said Africa...the continent that has been left in the dust of western capital...were released today. The region's economy is booming...they have a projected growth rate of nearly 6% by the end of the year which is totally possible as they had a proven regional growth rate of 5.5% in 2006 with some states doing as well as 7% and 8% (Nigeria and Ghana). So beyond those simple figures...China has been pumping billions into Africa over the past few months which is f-ing genious...they are tapping into a market and region the west has totally neglected and this will prove to be an awesome investment for china as it already has. Not only will this secure energy (oil) for china's rapidly expanding economy...but also opens markets to them. Africa has the potential to have a huge industrial sector which benefit china immensely as they, in the words of good ole Marx, will be the "those who own the means of production" and Africans will be blue collar working folks...but this is awesome in many ways...it allows for Africa to break from the shackles of poverty...but if you read between the lines it is clear that this will also allow for a consumer economy in Africa...as small as it may be...to emerge in Africa allowing for cheap Chinese goods to be sold there...China jumped on something the west should've done years ago but failed to.

Today Nigeria, through China, launched their first ever communications satellite...a 311million dollar venture...this will allow for increased tele-com, internet, etc...over the past few years the telecom sector has been huge...as everyone already knows...now in 3rd world states even beggars have cell phones as my mom saw recently during a visit to Bangladesh...Africa, namely Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa have also followed this trend...this new satellite will boost this sector in Africa and will allow the high demand to be met...look into investing in intl telecom or regional African telecom companies over the next few months along with African ISP companies...

Alright its 5 now, I'm leaving the office... ask if there are questions.

Ahmadinejad Visits UAE...Trying to Break US-Gulf Ties

Today Iranian President Ahmadinejad visited the United Arab Emirates. Just days after Vice President Cheney visited the region. Ahmadinejad was greeted with pomp and circumstance upon his arrival, though Emirati leaders kept their distance thereafter.

This was the first visit by an Iranian leader to the UAE. This is a major shift in relations compared to the previous two decades. There has always been a tension between the Gulf States and Iran as Iran has sought to export revolution and empower the Shia's throughout the gulf, which would be a problem as these states are led by Sunnis.

Throughout Ahmandinejad's trip he demanded that the US presence in the region, with its 60,000 troops stationed throughout ground bases and ships must leave the region. The Emirati public may have agreed with this stance to a certain extent, but by no means did the Emirati leadership agree. As a matter of fact the day Ahmadinejad left the UAE the Emirati foreign minister departed for the United States.

Is Iran still vying for regional dominance or genuinely seeking cooperation with neighboring states? there has been a proposed joint cooperation between the two states to help one another in developing various sectors of their economy, including tourism amongst others...

Ahmadinejad is now en route to Oman, where the US has troops at 3 airbases...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6633074,00.html

Pope Decries Rich-Poor Gap in Latin America

So the Pope is wrapping up a trip to Latin America. He has advised religious leaders to not involve themselves in politics, however he very much condemns the rich-poor gap in South and Latin America.

Is the Pope a commie? No I would say not, but he certainly pointed out the obvious....but there's Chavez and Morales down there to take care of that yea?

Though both Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales are looking to decrease this gap and spread the wealth can this be done while being states in what has historically been "America's Backyard"?

36 People Killed in Karachi Mob Violence

After days of political crisis in Pakistan mainly aimed towards Parvez Musharraf and many Pakistanis not being satisfied with the way he is running their state on Saturday mobs clashed in the countries main port in Karachi.

Pro government clashed with anti-government activists. Any fool could have predicted this as Musharraf is seen as a puppet rather than a legitimate leader.

What does this mean for Pakistan's future and Musharraf?

Many have claimed that Pakistan is not only a hot bead of terrorism but rather THE hotbed of terrorism and that tomorrows terrorists will rise from the state. Pakistanis are peace loving people who happen to have a dip shit dictator as their premier. I am confident that once Pakistani politics normalizes and returns to a state of democracy things should cool down.

It is extremely unfortunate that 36 people lost their lives.

One Third Of California's High School Seniors Did Not Graduate

California Graduation Rates Reach 10 Year Low...

Absurd!

Official reports were released showing that only 2/3 of California's high school senior receive

We live in a time where India and China are pumping out more engineers and IT grads than ever before. This coupled with the facts that we as a society must become a service and by that i mean high skilled, service sector. We will not have jobs for non grads, we may not even have enough jobs for high school grads. Its very upsetting to see a state in which the higher education system is amongst the world best, to have insanely low high school graduation rates. Really a bummer.

Many blame it on the high school exit exam which was instituted for the class of 2004 onward. However this exam tests students on basic knowledge that all high school grads should possess. diplomas. Statewide graduation rates for the class of 2006 were a 67%. Whats happening?

Check it out...

Energies Energies Energies

Get in on energies, strongest sector in the market thus far. look for crude as well as wti oil (western Texas intermediary) to go up. Repairs have been announced on major US refineries and platforms throughout the gulf. that coupled with the fact that major operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will be completely shut down for massive repairs and the fact that operations in the Nigerian river delta have been waaay fucked up over the past few months due to local militia's kidnapping workers and such. beyond all this, the strait of Hormuz as of today has been shut down to oil transport. so all in all US oil supply will be low low low. at the end of this month we have this great holiday called Memorial day during which nine-0 bros and bro hoes like driving big gas guzzling trucks down to the river and dunes and romp around in gas guzzling boats and ATV's this sparks the summer season which traditionally has meant high high demand for gas which equates to oil being in high demand and with this low supply due to the shit i mentioned above oil is goin up up up. I would recommend getting in on Oil futures RIGHT NOW before they go up more. get in on futures contracts allow them to mature and sell of in early august or be a puss bag and bail sooner either way commodities namely energy is the way to go. I tried explaining this as easy as possible so you guys understand whats goin on. Its still a fundamentals based market when it comes to volatility. if you have questions on commodities do ask.

Chinese Fantan Fighters Spotted Over Skys of Darfur

Chinese Agree to Send Envoy to Darfur

After months of scrutiny China sees it as a good idea so send an envoy to Darfur. The Chinese government has a very intimate relationship with the Sudanese, as China has interests in Sudan's vast oil reserves. China is making friends throughout the African continent as a means of securing oil to fuel China's boom.

China has been accused by the US and UN of selling arms to the Sudanese government, arms which make their way into the hands of the governments Janjaweed Militias and adds further to the atrocities throughout Darfur.

It was only after the US sent Hu-JinTao a letter regarding their economic and arms meddling in Sudan, that China reacted.

If China is looking to make friends in Africa they should also make friends with the people of Africa, as opposed to their leaders and most importantly Resources.

Kabul Seeks Talks With Taliban

Afghan officials have expressed their anger towards the US and NATO in its on going efforts to sustain or even establish peace in various regions of Afghanistan, namely the North. Law makers have proposed a cease fire and negotiations with the Taliban.

So we the US was to eradicate the Taliban a few years back, no? well instead we pulled troops out of that state and shipped them over to Iraq. Thus the Taliban is not only still in existence but is certainly flourishing, acting as local power brokers.

The Taliban is doing so well that the government is looking to negotiate with them. Possible Taliban seats within the next Afghan government?...

Huge Blast Rocks Kurdish City of Irbil

The relatively calm Kurdish northern region was rocked by a massive bomb today. The city of Irbil is a major hub in that northern region of Iraq. The Kurdish state has been relatively autonomous since the early 1990s and has since then experienced relative calm.

Thus far sectarian violence has not struck the region as Kurds are an entirely different ethnicity than that of the dueling Sunni and Shia Arabs.

This bomb blast signifies rifts within the Kurdish people, which may arise as a huge problem as there are now multiple Kurdish parties within Iraq, but also within Turkey, Syria and Northern Iran.

Will this region of Iraq divulge into chaos in the near future?

Oh yea, Dick Cheney was in Iraq when this occured.

New Era For France...Sarkozy

End of Socialist Economics?

So Nicolas Sarkozy is the new Premier of France. Sarkozy is rather conservative relative to previous French administrations. So does this mean France will become more American?...hahah Yeah, right.

Sarkozy is looking to liberalize or further liberalize Frances economy, is looking to further trade, but all while keeping Frances amazing social welfare programs intact...

Sarkozy is also looking to bring an end to the countless demonstrations and even violence brought about by xenophobic Jacques and immigrant North Africans...

It will certainly be interesting to see how he will steer France in the coming years...

More Bodies Found in Chinese Mine Blast...

Death Toll Rises to 28...

So there has been yet another Chinese mine blast explosion. It has sadly almost become routine for these types of accidents to occur.

China is simply growing far too fast for itself. Its great that the Chinese economy is doing as well as it is...I mean after a few decades of hell...the Cultural Revolution Era...it is all well deserved...but can it all be handled?

Internally the government is concerned with high levels of extraction as to move the economy forward...maybe it should stop and think about regulation and workers safety...nah who cares?

China is more energy hungry than over...hence the massive amounts of investment in Africa. China's domestic energy infrastructure is not up to par to handle the mass amounts of extraction taking place. China needs to revamp its domestic infrastructure before it pumps billions into Africa, yea?



http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-05/07/content_866795.htm

Planet Earth...Documenting Our Planet for Our Forthcoming Generation...

Check out the clip below from the Discovery and BBC's "Planet Earth"

I see this as a way of documenting things that will not be around in the not so distant future.

Sick series! I'm buying the DVD set

They discovered over a 100 new species over the five years it took to film this.

The majority of stuff on television these days is garbage...this is Money!

Daewoo Workers Kidnapped in Nigeria

Yet Another Kidnapping Incident in Nigeria...This Time Koreans at a Daewoo Plant.

So this seems all too common now...one week its oil workers in an oil field...next week its oil workers off a ship...then workers off a rig...then Ethiopian oil fields...is this ever going to stop?

Well the low cost of labor, zero regulation and unending resources certainly looks attractive to the western investors eyes but most definitely comes at a price...a rather high one at that.

A group of Koran ex-pats working at a Daewoo plant in the Niger River delta were abducted and kidnapped by local guerrilla groups. This is the second of such incidents on the same plant and group of workers in the last nine months.

So how are these attacks to be prevented...perhaps sharing the wealth or maybe setting up some sort of welfare program for the local, dirt poor Nigerians...or maybe even providing jobs to the locals...they can surely provide unskilled menial labor. Or maybe just stay in the MNC's home state... I don't know just a suggestion...

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200705/200705040030.html

Pam Anderson Moving to Greece...In Dubai

So today Pam Anderson and former husband/rocker Tommy Lee have announced they are planning on buying a plot within the "World" offshore housing development off the coast of Dubai in the UAE.

Tommy says he chose Greece because his ancestors are Greek....What a fuckin Schmuck.

So the World Islands are quite the development...i think write a blog on that rather than stupid celeb garbage.

Fastest Walkers...

A group of British researches released their findings today concerning the speed at which people walk. Researches did their studies in the major metropolitan cities of the world. According to there studies the fastest walkers are residents of Singapore, followed by those residing in Copenhagen, followed by those walkers in Madrid.

So who cares? Well I guess this can be a sign of our fast paced lives and the increasing speed of our daily lives. These studies show that over the past decade there has been a 10% increase in walking speed. Walking works in Singapore as it is rather small, likewise in the metropolitan districts of Madrid and Copenhagen but why would this not be feasible in the states? Because everything is spread out, with the exception of maybe portions of Manhattan or Chicago, walking is not an option in the states.

"Nobody walks in LA"

Beijing and Shanghai were once renowned for their high number of cyclists, however as they are gaining more capital these bikes are disappearing and people are buying motor vehicles, this will significantly increase as the Chinese are soon to make their own domestic productions vehicles.

Walking is good for health both for us humans as well as our planet. WALK WALK WALK!!

Oil Goes Up Following Nigerian Attack

Soooo.....as I just wrote the other day about oil fluctuating due to these attacks on foreign controlled oil fields....Its occurred again today. This time in Nigeria. Rebels attacked a Chevron corporate ship killing a Nigerian sailor and kidnapping six foreign oil workers. Chevron is a California based company so there is a slight possibility the kid napped may have even been Californians.

At our trading floor today at Main Street Trading, the commodities trading firm I work at, we experienced the impact of this attack. Due to this attack Chevron said it had to shut down the pumping of nearly 15,000 barrels per day. This is especially bad as we are entering summer when oil in the states is in very high demand. Those that bought their oil futures three months ago were stoked, as we made them tons of profit as oil rose 75 cents per barrel. Because of this heating oil, Brent crude and even WTI (western Texas intermediary) saw fluctuations making holders of those contracts happy. Again this is a sign of how interconnected our global economy has really become, and geopolitics are of utmost important when it comes to commodities.