神马文学网谢国忠：扭曲的熊市
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谢国忠：扭曲的熊市(2009-04-06 10:11:03) 标签：慑力中国 财经 Bear wrestling
The world's economies and markets could remain depressed for years, and hopes for a recovery rest with Beijing
Andy Xie
Updated on Mar 31, 2009
Stock markets have stormed back in the past month, up 20 to 30 per cent across the board. Businessmen who have been reporting plummeting earnings are beaming with confidence about the future - that is, you should give them more money. Well, hold on to your cash; this is just a dead-cat bounce. The world is in a protracted bear market that will last at least throughout 2010 - and, with policymakers focused on stimulus rather than reform, it could last considerably longer. So don't join the chase. If you do, kiss your money goodbye first.
Cash is still king. There will be a time when the central banks' money-printing will make cash unsafe. Then, you'll want to swap cash into assets like oil and gold. But, before inflation rears its ugly head, cash is still safe. The time for switching will probably be in the first half of 2010.
Plummeting stock, property and commodity markets have cleaned out many wealthy people. But, the smarter ones escaped early and are cash rich now. After hibernating for months, they are itching for action. Unfortunately, the itchier ones will probably part with their cash for good, too. There will be many bear-market bounces over the next two years. They will swallow those who escaped the bear's clutches before. Stock markets are cash grinders now.
Most investors fondly remember stock markets as wealth fountains, in which buying opportunities always followed major declines. But such memories are opium that lure the unwary into traps. The past three decades have been the exception, not the norm, in stock market investing. Even Warren Buffett got lucky. The last bear market in the US lasted for more than a decade. Japan's market is lower today than it was a quarter of a century ago. South Korea's is lower than it was two decades ago. If you believe stock markets make money in the long run, you need to live for a really long time.
America and Europe have entered the sort of structural bear market that gripped Japan and South Korea two decades ago, for two reasons. First, the need to reverse the past borrowing binge will keep economic growth weak, so the pie won't expand significantly in the future. Second, there are more pressing needs, for example, coping with an ageing society. When a society abandons economic growth, is there any reason for favouring profit?
America's bank bailout plan was the catalyst for the current bounce. It wasn't significantly different from former US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's plan. The market's response was different because it had been in fear mode for so long that it was ready to interpret such action positively. But, the problem with stripping toxic assets from failing banks is their prices. The current market prices are too low for the banks to survive. The plan tries to boost demand for toxic assets by offering buyers leverage of six times with government-guaranteed debt. As the debt cost for such a private borrower is probably eight percentage points higher than the government's, the subsidy for the equity tranche is nearly 50 percentage points. By priming the upside for private investors, the Treasury hopes that demand for toxic assets will increase sufficiently for their prices to rise enough for banks to survive the stripping.
This hope is probably in vain. In contrast to the stock market's reaction, the credit market has barely changed since the plan's announcement. The prices for toxic assets may need to more than double for the banks to survive. The odds of this happening are quite low. The chances are that the Treasury will come back to nationalisation again.
The Federal Reserve's plan to buy up to US$1.15 trillion of treasuries, credit card loans and mortgage-backed securities was another reason for the market's optimism. Its main aim was to keep mortgage interest low which would, in turn, stabilise the US housing market. But, printing money to keep interest rates low only works temporarily; it will eventually cause the US dollar to crash. Shouldn't investors demand higher interest rates for holding dollar papers? It is working in the short term, as investors focus on the impact of the Fed buying Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's paper, and ignore its impact on the dollar.
The US is essentially counting on the treasury bubble to keep its economy alive. Because China, Japan and Saudi Arabia are locked in, a depreciating asset could sell at a high price. Like IT, property and collateralised debt obligations before, this bubble will burst. I believe that US asset prices will finally bottom out when the treasury bubble bursts, possibly in 2010.
Experience from the past two decades has taught investors to rush in when a market seems to have hit the bottom, as a V-shaped recovery has always followed. But you will be making a big mistake if you think it will happen this time: there will be no V-shaped recovery; perhaps no recovery at all. Economies and markets may remain at the bottom for years. Possibly the only hope for the next bull market is for China to pick up where the US left off. It has the size and growth potential to lead globalisation. But it must change its export/investment-led model and undertake three reforms:
l Float the yuan, open the capital account and cut income tax to 25 per cent. These actions will attract the rich and talented from all over the world. Shanghai would surpass London and New York as a global financial centre.
l Return the wealth to the people in the form of all government shares in state-owned enterprises. The initial impact would increase household consumption by 500 billion yuan (HK$568 billion). A good economy will tighten the labour market and push up wages, further boosting consumption.
l Designate 25 metropolises as mega cities, with 30 million people each. These cities should be allowed to issue bonds to finance their development, so they can keep property prices low, which would attract buyers. As migrant workers build the cities, the government should start a mortgage programme to allow them to buy the properties they build.
China has the potential to become a developed economy in two decades. There could be another bull market, but the catalyst will not be what Washington is doing. Watch Beijing, instead.
Andy Xie is an independent economist.
The world's economies and markets could remain depressed for years, and hopes for a recovery rest with Beijing
Andy Xie
Updated on Mar 31, 2009
Stock markets have stormed back in the past month, up 20 to 30 per cent across the board. Businessmen who have been reporting plummeting earnings are beaming with confidence about the future - that is, you should give them more money. Well, hold on to your cash; this is just a dead-cat bounce. The world is in a protracted bear market that will last at least throughout 2010 - and, with policymakers focused on stimulus rather than reform, it could last considerably longer. So don't join the chase. If you do, kiss your money goodbye first.
Cash is still king. There will be a time when the central banks' money-printing will make cash unsafe. Then, you'll want to swap cash into assets like oil and gold. But, before inflation rears its ugly head, cash is still safe. The time for switching will probably be in the first half of 2010.
Plummeting stock, property and commodity markets have cleaned out many wealthy people. But, the smarter ones escaped early and are cash rich now. After hibernating for months, they are itching for action. Unfortunately, the itchier ones will probably part with their cash for good, too. There will be many bear-market bounces over the next two years. They will swallow those who escaped the bear's clutches before. Stock markets are cash grinders now.
Most investors fondly remember stock markets as wealth fountains, in which buying opportunities always followed major declines. But such memories are opium that lure the unwary into traps. The past three decades have been the exception, not the norm, in stock market investing. Even Warren Buffett got lucky. The last bear market in the US lasted for more than a decade. Japan's market is lower today than it was a quarter of a century ago. South Korea's is lower than it was two decades ago. If you believe stock markets make money in the long run, you need to live for a really long time.
America and Europe have entered the sort of structural bear market that gripped Japan and South Korea two decades ago, for two reasons. First, the need to reverse the past borrowing binge will keep economic growth weak, so the pie won't expand significantly in the future. Second, there are more pressing needs, for example, coping with an ageing society. When a society abandons economic growth, is there any reason for favouring profit?
America's bank bailout plan was the catalyst for the current bounce. It wasn't significantly different from former US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's plan. The market's response was different because it had been in fear mode for so long that it was ready to interpret such action positively. But, the problem with stripping toxic assets from failing banks is their prices. The current market prices are too low for the banks to survive. The plan tries to boost demand for toxic assets by offering buyers leverage of six times with government-guaranteed debt. As the debt cost for such a private borrower is probably eight percentage points higher than the government's, the subsidy for the equity tranche is nearly 50 percentage points. By priming the upside for private investors, the Treasury hopes that demand for toxic assets will increase sufficiently for their prices to rise enough for banks to survive the stripping.
This hope is probably in vain. In contrast to the stock market's reaction, the credit market has barely changed since the plan's announcement. The prices for toxic assets may need to more than double for the banks to survive. The odds of this happening are quite low. The chances are that the Treasury will come back to nationalisation again.
The Federal Reserve's plan to buy up to US$1.15 trillion of treasuries, credit card loans and mortgage-backed securities was another reason for the market's optimism. Its main aim was to keep mortgage interest low which would, in turn, stabilise the US housing market. But, printing money to keep interest rates low only works temporarily; it will eventually cause the US dollar to crash. Shouldn't investors demand higher interest rates for holding dollar papers? It is working in the short term, as investors focus on the impact of the Fed buying Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's paper, and ignore its impact on the dollar.
The US is essentially counting on the treasury bubble to keep its economy alive. Because China, Japan and Saudi Arabia are locked in, a depreciating asset could sell at a high price. Like IT, property and collateralised debt obligations before, this bubble will burst. I believe that US asset prices will finally bottom out when the treasury bubble bursts, possibly in 2010.
Experience from the past two decades has taught investors to rush in when a market seems to have hit the bottom, as a V-shaped recovery has always followed. But you will be making a big mistake if you think it will happen this time: there will be no V-shaped recovery; perhaps no recovery at all. Economies and markets may remain at the bottom for years. Possibly the only hope for the next bull market is for China to pick up where the US left off. It has the size and growth potential to lead globalisation. But it must change its export/investment-led model and undertake three reforms:
l Float the yuan, open the capital account and cut income tax to 25 per cent. These actions will attract the rich and talented from all over the world. Shanghai would surpass London and New York as a global financial centre.
l Return the wealth to the people in the form of all government shares in state-owned enterprises. The initial impact would increase household consumption by 500 billion yuan (HK$568 billion). A good economy will tighten the labour market and push up wages, further boosting consumption.
l Designate 25 metropolises as mega cities, with 30 million people each. These cities should be allowed to issue bonds to finance their development, so they can keep property prices low, which would attract buyers. As migrant workers build the cities, the government should start a mortgage programme to allow them to buy the properties they build.
China has the potential to become a developed economy in two decades. There could be another bull market, but the catalyst will not be what Washington is doing. Watch Beijing, instead.
Andy Xie is an independent economist.