America can throw Asia into chaos anytime.

[touchring]

Because of cheap money, Asia especially China has undertaken hundreds of billions of useless infrastructure projects and condos that altogether combined are not even worth a single company such as Apple. This inefficient use of money is close to insanity. It will be cheaper to just buy Steve Jobs over and ask him to create another Apple in China.

Millions of Asians have dumped in their entire life savings and "coffin money" as the Chinese say into condominiums at super inflated prices.

If America starts raising rates, hell will break lose.

Asia doesn't have much natural resources, everything must be imported, from oil to iron ore to soybean to natural gas. If the bubble bursts, tens if not hundreds of millions of people will go hungry, an Asian Spring is not inconceivable.

Worried about inflation? A simple interest rate stunt can erase $1 trillion dollars into thin air.

[raja]

Re: America can throw Asia into chaos anytime.

Because of cheap money, Asia especially China has undertaken hundreds of billions of useless infrastructure projects and condos that altogether combined are not even worth a single company such as Apple. This inefficient use of money is close to insanity. It will be cheaper to just buy Steve Jobs over and ask him to create another Apple in China.

Millions of Asians have dumped in their entire life savings and "coffin money" as the Chinese say into condominiums at super inflated prices.

If America starts raising rates, hell will break lose.

Asia doesn't have much natural resources, everything must be imported, from oil to iron ore to soybean to natural gas. If the bubble bursts, tens if not hundreds of millions of people will go hungry, an Asian Spring is not inconceivable.

Worried about inflation? A simple interest rate stunt can erase $1 trillion dollars into thin air.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought the "hundreds of billions of useless infrastructure projects and condos" were to supply jobs for the millions of Chinese streaming in from the countryside looking for work . . . to avoid a revolution.

[touchring]

Re: America can throw Asia into chaos anytime.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought the "hundreds of billions of useless infrastructure projects and condos" were to supply jobs for the millions of Chinese streaming in from the countryside looking for work . . . to avoid a revolution.

Yes, but what happens after they have been built?

[globaleconomicollaps]

Re: America can throw Asia into chaos anytime.

Yes, but what happens after they have been built?

You understand that the theory is that the Chinese economy is almost ready to transition to a more consumer oriented one? The strides that china is making are not "fake" or misapplication of capital. People will live in those buildings eventually. In ten short years China has closed the gap between third world status and first world. The problem they now have is a lack of cheap labor. The leap has been made. Now they have "rich people problems".

[shiny!]

Re: America can throw Asia into chaos anytime.

Now they have "rich people problems".

In the cities. In the countryside they still have "poor people problems", yes?

[jpatter666]

Re: America can throw Asia into chaos anytime.

You understand that the theory is that the Chinese economy is almost ready to transition to a more consumer oriented one? The strides that china is making are not "fake" or misapplication of capital. People will live in those buildings eventually. In ten short years China has closed the gap between third world status and first world. The problem they now have is a lack of cheap labor. The leap has been made. Now they have "rich people problems".

Not so -- shoddy construction is rampant, maintenance not done -- much of this "infrastructure" is rotting away.

[touchring]

Re: America can throw Asia into chaos anytime.

You understand that the theory is that the Chinese economy is almost ready to transition to a more consumer oriented one? The strides that china is making are not "fake" or misapplication of capital. People will live in those buildings eventually. In ten short years China has closed the gap between third world status and first world. The problem they now have is a lack of cheap labor. The leap has been made. Now they have "rich people problems".

Yes, but the population in China didn't increase over the last couple of years. China is in fact aging rapdily with the one child policy - every Chinese couple stands to inherit 2 homes, from each of their parents. The new buildings were built over demolished old buildings (old is relative, they can be quite nice as you can see from the photo below), often illegally acquired. If an earthquake were to hit a city, I'm not so sure if the often shoddily built new buildings would stand.