George Soros Warns "China Resembles US In 2008", Hard Landing "Practically Unavoidable"

China's credit growth in March (and $1 trillion surge in total social financing in Q1) is a "warning sign" according to billionaire George Soros, "because it shows how much work is needed to stop the slowdown." Speaking at an event in new York this evening, Soros commented on "troubling developments" in China, the anti-corruption drive's impact on capital outflows and the real-estate bubble "feeding on itself." His conclusion, rather ominously, was that despite all the naysayers and fiction-peddlers, China "resembles US in 2007-8," before credit markets seized up and spurred a global recession.

As Bloomberg reports, Billionaire investor George Soros said China’s debt-fueled economy resembles the U.S. in 2007-08, before credit markets seized up and spurred a global recession.

China’s March credit growth figures should be viewed as a warning sign, Soros said at an Asia Society event in New York on Wednesday. The broadest measure of new credit in the world’s second-biggest economy was 2.34 trillion yuan ($362 billion) last month, far exceeding the median forecast of 1.4 trillion yuan in a Bloomberg survey and signaling the government is prioritizing growth over reining in debt.

[ZH - f one adds up the Total Social Financing injected in the first quarter, one gets a stunning $1 trillion dollars in new credit, or $1,001,000,000,000 to be precise, shoved down China's economic throat. As shown on the chart below, this was an all time high in dollar terms, and puts to rest any naive suggestion that China may be pursuing "debt reform." Quite the contrary, China has once again resorted to the old "growth" model where GDP is to be saved at any cost, even if it means flooding the economy with record amount of debt. 

With China's debt/GDP already estimate at 350%, how much longer can China sustain this stunning debt (and by definition, deposit) growth continue?]

Soros, who built a $24 billion fortune through savvy wagers on markets, has recently been involved in a war of words with the Chinese government. He said at the World Economic Forum in Davos that he’s been betting against Asian currencies because a hard landing in China is “practically unavoidable.” China’s state-run Xinhua news agency rebutted his assertion in an editorial, saying that he has made the same prediction several times in the past.

Soros then went on to note that China’s capital outflow is a growing phenomenon driven by the nation’s anti-corruption campaign, which makes people nervous and spurs them to pull money out, and added that...

China’s decoupling of the yuan from the U.S. dollar can help rebalance the currency.

The linking to a basket of currencies is a “very positive, healthy” development for world.

Finally in an ironic twist for a man who has all too often used the press for his own ends...

China’s lack of a free press is “troubling development".

Of course one should bear in mind that Soros is among those who are betting heavily on the eventual devaluation of The Yuan against the USD, and as we noted previously, the cracks are starting to show... As the Chinese corporate bond market begins to break...

Credit to Zero Hedge

India drought: '330 million people affected'

At least 330 million people are affected by drought in India, the government has told the Supreme Court

Authorities say this number is likely to rise further given that some states with water shortages have not yet submitted status reports.

The drought is taking place as a heat wave extends across much of India with temperatures crossing 40C for days now.

An 11-year-old girl died of heatstroke while collecting water from a village pump in the western Maharashtra state.

Yogita Desai had spent close to four hours in 42C temperatures gathering water from the pump on Sunday, local journalist Manoj Sapte told the BBC.

She began vomiting after returning home and was rushed to hospital, but died early on Monday.

Yogita's death certificate says she died of heatstroke and dehydration.

The pump was a mere 500m from her house, but a typical wait for water stretches into hours.

India is heavily dependant on monsoon rains, which have been poor for two years in a row.

Credit to BBC

'We will respond with all necessary measures': Russia issues chilling warning to America days after its fighter jets buzzed US Navy warship

Russia accused the United States on Wednesday of intimidation by sailing a US naval destroyer close to Russia's border in the Baltics and warned that the Russian military would respond with 'all necessary measures' to any future incidents.

Speaking after a meeting between NATO envoys and Russia, their first in almost two years, Moscow's ambassador to NATO said the April 11 maritime incident showed there could be no improvement in ties until the US-led alliance withdrew from Russia's borders.

'This is about attempts to exercise military pressure on Russia,' the envoy, Alexander Grushko, said.

'We will take all necessary measures, precautions, to compensate for these attempts to use military force.'



Russia accused the United States on Wednesday of intimidation by sailing a US naval destroyer close to Russia's border in the Baltics. Above two Russian planes fly over USS Donald Cook April 12 in the Baltic Sea

Russia Moscow's ambassador to NATO Alexander Grushkos (above) said the maritime incident showed there could be no improvement in ties until the US-led alliance withdrew from Russia's borders

Grushkos said: 'This is about attempts to exercise military pressure on Russia. We will take all necessary measures, precautions, to compensate for these attempts to use military force'

US Ambassador to NATO Douglas Lute pressed Russia about the incident, warning it had been dangerous.

The United States has said the guided missile destroyer USS Cook was on routine business near Poland when it was harassed by Russian jets.

'We were in international waters,' a NATO diplomat reported Lute as telling Grushko during the NATO-Russia council meeting.

Last week Secretary of State John Kerry said the Navy ship could have opened fire on the Russian military jets that buzzed around it.

Kerry made the statement in remarks to CNN Espanol in Miami and condemned Russia's actions.

He said that 'under the rules of engagement (it) could have been a shoot-down'.

Despite what officials said was a calm and professional meeting, the public comments highlighted the state of tension that persists between the sides since Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea in March 2014 and its support for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.

The United States has said the guided missile destroyer USS Cook was on routine business near Poland when it was harassed by Russian jets. Above a Russian helicopter flies low near USS Cook in the Baltic Sea April 12


A NATO diplomat reported US Ambassador to NATO Douglas Lute telling Grushko during the NATO-Russia council meeting that 'We were in international waters.' Above a Russian aircraft flies near the USS Cook



Credit to Dailymail.co.uk
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3550181/Russia-warns-U-S-naval-incident-NATO-tensions-laid-bare.html#ixzz46QsacxkO

Russia, China and India Building Multipolar World

The meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia, India and China in Moscow suggests continuing rapprochement between the three countries. However this union seems to agitate American and Japanese neo-conservatives, according to the former Chinese diplomat Wang Yusheng.


© SPUTNIK/ VITALIY ANKOV

Russia-China Military Cooperation Considerably Grows in Recent YearsHowever, according to the diplomat these fears are abnormal and baseless because in reality the strategic partnership of Moscow, Delhi and Beijing will only benefit the multipolar world; online publication Global Times reported the diplomat as saying.

The strategic partnership between these three countries was first brought to light back in 1998 by then Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov. However, many did not share his point of view, considered it impossible and did not give it much importance.

However, his idea played quite an important role and gradually, meeting by meeting, these ties have evolved and expanded.

For many years now, the whole world is looking favorably on the partnership between Russia, India and China, which reinforces a multipolar system and contributes to stability in the region and around the world, the Global Times reported.

Russia, India and China are the largest countries in the world in terms of population and GDP. Russia inherited the power of the Soviet Union and has not lost its status as a great superpower; it is currently successfully recovering its position in the world.

Credit to Sputnik
Read more: http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160420/1038330821/russia-asia-partnership.html#ixzz46NFpaveb

Intel Fires A Massive 12,000 Workers

There were some rumors reported late last week that the world's biggest chip maker was about to fire a major portion of its workforce. Moments ago the company confirmed these rumors, when it reported that it was firing a whopping 11% of its entire workforce, laying off a massive 12,000 workers.

From the report:

Intel Corporation today announced a restructuring initiative to accelerate its evolution from a PC company to one that powers the cloud and billions of smart, connected computing devices. Intel will intensify its focus in high-growth areas where it is positioned for long-term leadership, customer value and growth, while making the company more efficient and profitable. The data center and Internet of Things (IoT) businesses are Intel’s primary growth engines, with memory and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) accelerating these opportunities - fueling a virtuous cycle of growth for the company. These growth businesses delivered $2.2 billion in revenue growth last year, and made up 40 percent of revenue and the majority of operating profit, which largely offset the decline in the PC market segment. 

The restructuring initiative was outlined in an e-mail from Intel CEO Brian Krzanich to Intel employees. 

“Our results over the last year demonstrate a strategy that is working and a solid foundation for growth,” said Krzanich. “The opportunity now is to accelerate this momentum and build on our strengths. 

“These actions drive long-term change to further establish Intel as the leader for the smart, connected world,” he added. “I am confident that we’ll emerge as a more productive company with broader reach and sharper execution. 

These changes will result in the reduction of up to 12,000 positions globally -- approximately 11 percent of employees -- by mid-2017 through site consolidations worldwide, a combination of voluntary and involuntary departures, and a re-evaluation of programs. The majority of these actions will be communicated to affected employees over the next 60 days with some actions spanning in to 2017. Intel expects the program to deliver $750 million in savings this year and annual run rate savings of $1.4 billion by mid-2017. The company will record a one-time charge of approximately $1.2 billion in the second quarter.

Credit to Zero Hedge

Obama Arrives In Saudi Arabia To "Reassure" His Close Ally That Nothing Has Changed

President Obama with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef,
center, and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in May 2015

As the WSJ reports, Obama arrived today in the Saudi kingdom for a brief trip "meant to provide reassurances to Gulf allies and to bolster his own foreign-policy legacy."

With just nine months left in office, Mr. Obama is aiming to steady what have become rocky relationships in the region and to tackle issues ranging from the fight against Islamic State to addressing Iranian aggression, along with easing tensions between Tehran and Saudi Arabia. But in Riyadh, the president will find frustrated allies who already have begun to look ahead to the next administration.

Obama plans to spend about 28 hours in the Saudi capital, holding talks with King Salman Wednesday afternoon and attending a Thursday summit hosted by leaders of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council. This trip, perhaps the last to Riyadh during Mr. Obama’s presidency, serves as a bookend for an administration that once sought a “new beginning” for the U.S. and the Islamic world, but now is confronting the prospect of a tense conclusion to this chapter.

Of course, the main reason for the simmering Saudi tensions has been the thawing of US relations with Iran, Saudi Arabia's self-proclaimed biggest regional threat.

Meanwhile, from the NYT, here are some pointers on what Obama should not do during his visit: sell even more weapons to the belligerent kingdom in exchange for goodwill that only lasts as long as the status quo is not threatened.




Credit to Zero Hedge

Saudi Arabia is a Cancer on the World