China says US is dumping those chickens!

China: complaints on US chicken dumping justified

BEIJING (AFP) – China said Sunday it had grounds to start a formal anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation into American chicken meat imports, as tensions persist following President Hu Jintao's visit to the US.

The Commerce Ministry announcement said an initial examination that began two weeks ago into domestic chicken producers' concerns had grounds and officials would now formally investigate the US imports.

"The ministry had carefully evaluated the applications... and decided to start an investigation into unfair trade practices such as dumping and subsidies of chicken products imported from the United States," it said.

Oaktree Capital Management to Receive $1 Billion from China Investment Corp.

A Los Angeles investment firm has come out a big winner in the battle among some of world's best-known money managers vying for a slice of cash from China's sovereign-wealth fund.

China Investment Corp., which is doling out billions of dollars as it tries to profit from a global economic recovery, has committed to invest about $1 billion with Oaktree Capital Management LP, people familiar with the matter said. The big allocation comes as the Chinese fund stands poised to make a wave of investments directly into hedge funds around the world.

WSJ Article

Oaktree Capital

Obama slaps tariffs on Chinese tire imports for 3 years

President Barack Obama has decided to slap punitive tariffs on all car and light truck tires entering the United States from China.

Accordingly, Obama sides with the United Steelworkers and against free trade interests within and outside the government.

This is a risky economic and foreign policy strategy. Increasing Chinese imports of American chicken meat already have been mentioned by Chinese state media as a possible retaliatory target. Also, Beijing could sell some of its extensive holdings of U.S. Treasury debt.

A recent Washington Post editorial opposed Chinese tire sanctions.

China no longer likes the risks associated with the derivatives markets

China delivered a blow to some of the world’s biggest investment banks on Monday as it declared its support for legal efforts by some state-owned companies that want to break loss-making oil derivatives contracts with foreign institutions.

The state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council said it was investigating a number of derivatives deals and would help companies find ways to “minimise losses”.

The move is the latest by Beijing to clamp down on the over-the-counter derivatives market after a number of state companies made disastrous bets on commodity prices and foreign exchange movements, losing billions of dollars.

But it will be greeted with dismay by foreign financial institutions, already reeling from a July decision by China’s banking regulator that sought to prevent state-owned enterprises from accessing the overseas derivatives market through domestic intermediaries.

Financial Times article

Markets hit by China commodity default

A report that Chinese state-owned companies will be allowed to walk away from loss-making commodity derivative trades provoked anger and dismay among investment bankers on Monday as they feared it may set a damaging precedent.

The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the regulator and nominal shareholder for state-owned enterprises (SOEs), told six foreign banks that SOEs reserved the right to default on contracts, Caijing magazine quoted an unnamed industry source as saying in an article published on Saturday.

While the details of the report could not be confirmed, it was Monday's hot topic in financial circles from Shanghai to Singapore as commodity marketers feared that companies holding underwater price hedges could simply renege on the deals, costing banks millions of dollars in profit.

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NYT: China: Shanghai Shares Tumble 6.75%

Shanghai Shares Tumble 6.75%

By MARK McDONALD

HONG KONG — The Shanghai composite index plunged 6.75 percent on Monday to close out August with a drop of 21.8 percent, the worst performance for the month among the world’s major exchanges.

Monday’s fall, coupled with a drop of nearly 3 percent last Friday, has made for “a huge, huge decline,” said Dariusz Kowalczyk, chief investment strategist at SJS Markets in Hong Kong.

The overall index was down 192.94 points on Monday to finish at 2,667.75, the lowest closing figure in more than three months. Shares on the Shanghai exchange had rocketed more than 90 percent this year until they began to fall back about three weeks ago.

“It has brought the index into bear market territory,” Mr. Kowalczyk said. “There’s mounting concern over liquidity in the market. This is a big development.”

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Article: China Promises Not To Prick The Bubble

No matter how softly the Chinese government may try to say that they won't prick the market bubble, their message is obvious.

This weekend both Premier Wen Jiabao and some senior policy makers came out and made it clear that they won't do anything that could slow down the roaring market.

Business Insider