The investment world is convinced that China is about to engage in another massive round of stimulus. After all, this is what China did in 2008 when its economy slowed, so surely this is what they’ll do now that the economy is slowing again.
The fact of the matter is that China cannot do this and will not do this. The reason is that the Chinese Government today is facing a very different set of circumstances than it was in 2008.
Since 2008, global Central Banks have printed $10 trillion in new money. Between this and the supply shock for natural resource companies created by credit drying up in the crash, the inflation genie is now officially out of the bottle.
This is most clear in China, where workers have begun demanding wage increases.
With nearly a third of its population living off less than $2 per day, any bump in food prices hits China much harder than the US or other developed nations.
Chinese workers are now demanding higher wages to survive. Indeed, this situation is so serious that many multi-national manufacturing firms are in fact moving facilities to the US because of the greater stability there. Apple, Ford, GE, Bridgestone and many others have announced this.
Even China’s official data shows inflation is at a seven month high. Chilly weather is blamed in the official reports, but the truth is that China has a major problem with food inflation regardless of the weather.
The Chinese Government cannot suddenly print a massive amount of money without facing massive civil unrest. We already know that the Government is deeply concerned about losing its grip on society from the fact that it is making a very public display of cracking down on corruption.
This is meant to appease a population that has realized A) it’s no longer better off than before B) many government officials and their families are getting wealthy through corrupt means.
So China cannot and will not be engaging in massive stimulus for the simple reason that doing so would kick off a very dangerous wave of civil unrest. Indeed, China’s new party leader Xi Jinping has openly stated that China will not be pursuing high growth rates through stimulus going forward.
This is just one of many major issues pointing towards 2013 being a debacle for investors. With that in mind, smart investors are taking advantage of the lull in the markets to position themselves for what’s coming.
We offer several FREE Special Reports designed to help them do this. They include:
Preparing Your Portfolio For Obama’s Economic Nightmare
What Europe’s Crisis Means For You and Your Savings
How to Protect Yourself From Inflation
And last but not least…
Bullion 101: Everything You Need to Know About Investing in Gold and Silver Bullion…
You can pick up free copies of all of the above at:
http://gainspainscapital.com/ [8]
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Phoenix Capital Research